VOA慢速英语-Education Report - Fighting Music Piracy on College

The debate over the best way to prevent illegal downloading by students. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
04 June 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
　

University of Maryland student Mike Lin describes how the file sharing system works on the school's computer network. Maryland is one of only a few schools nationwide that offer students a legal way to download copyrighted files.

When the parents of today's young people were in school, sharing music was a slow process. They had to copy songs from a vinyl record or a cassette using a tape recorder.

Today friends can share the latest hits at the speed of light over the Internet. Peer-to-peer networks make file sharing easy -- and, in many cases, illegal.

Five years ago, the Recording² Industry Association of America, the R.I.A.A., launched a major effort to catch music pirates. Piracy³ violates copyright laws. These laws protect creative works against reproduction or sale without permission.

The industry group has brought thousands of civil actions against university students. Students caught pirating can also pay a settlement to avoid a lawsuit⁴ and possible fines.

The association uses special software to identify illegal file sharing on campus networks. But many colleges and universities oppose efforts to require schools to use similar technology. They see it as a waste of resources. They say much more illegal sharing takes place through commercial Internet providers than through campus networks.

Educause is a group that works for what it calls the "intelligent use" of information technology in higher education. Steven Worona from Educause says about eighty percent of college students do not live on school grounds. And their computers, he says, are generally not linked to school networks.

On its Web site, the R.I.A.A. says it has chosen to target college students because their music piracy remains⁵ an especially big problem. It says that some recent surveys show that more than half of the nation’s college students often download music and movies illegally.

The industry group has also pushed Congress to take action. In February, the House of Representatives approved a higher education bill containing anti-piracy requirements. The measure would require all schools involved in federal financial-aid programs to develop plans to deal with unlawful downloading. Schools could invest in technology to block piracy, or they could offer legal file-sharing services.

A similar bill in the Senate would require schools to inform their students about issues related to peer-to-peer file sharing. Educause's Steve Worona says most American colleges and universities already do this with incoming students. Students who get caught often have to pay fines, or they lose their use of the school’s network.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Jill Moss⁶. I’m Steve Ember.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

4 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。