VOA慢速英语2012 Economics Report - Websites Cut Service to Protest US Antipiracy Bills

Economics Report - Websites Cut Service to Protest US Antipiracy Bills

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Some popular websites have protested two proposed United States laws aimed at fighting illegal copying of writing, movies and other intellectual property on the Internet. Wednesday, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia², blacked out its English language website for twenty-four hours.
Jay Walsh is head of communications for the Wikimedia Foundation which operates Wikipedia.
JAY WALSH: "It is detrimental³ to the free and open web. It is detrimental to Wikipedia. And we want to make sure that we send a message."
The blogging site Boing Boing and Social news website Reddit also went black.
Erik Martin is General Manager of Reddit.
ERIK MARTIN: "This is a really big deal and this is something we're going to fight, and this is something we think threatens the entire tech sector⁴."
Both Wikipedia and Reddit urged users to contact their Congressional representative to oppose the law. Even Internet search leader Google protested, although it continued to provide service.
The Stop Online Piracy¹ Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act are known as SOPA and PIPA for short. Supporters say they are a way to fight foreign websites that sell pirated copies of American movies and music.
Steven Tepp is a lawyer with the U.S. Chamber⁵ of Commerce. He says piracy of books, music, movies and other forms of intellectual property hurt the economy and threaten jobs.
STEVEN TEPP: "These rogue⁶ sites are hurting American jobs, stealing American jobs, they're harming American consumers and they have no business being on the Internet."
But many online businesses like blogs, news sites and search engines say the laws force them to become censors⁷.
David Smith is with the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He says the proposed laws would hurt Wikipedia and other sites that depend on material provided by people who use the sites. He says websites would be required to police all the material they carry.
DAVID SMITH: "It creates a legal situation in which a complainant can go before a judge and get an order, and it then makes the various Internet companies, the Internet service providers, responsible for what they're carrying. And, this is where the rub (problem) comes, because it basically turns the Internet service provider into a monitor."
The House and Senate are expected to work on the bills in the coming weeks. But after the online protests, some lawmakers have already said they have doubts about the bill. Republican Senator Marco Rubio urged lawmakers to take more time to consider the concerns of both supporters and opponents of the bills.
Obama administration spokesman John Carney said the president opposes any law that hurts freedom of expression or security.
On Wednesday, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner admitted there is now a lack of agreement among lawmakers on the bills.
And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report. Get transcripts⁸ and mp3s of our reports at voanews.cn. I’m Mario Ritter.
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Contributing: Alex Villarreal

1 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。

2 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

3 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

7 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

8 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句