VOA标准英语2012--Mixed Future Awaits Hyper-Connected Youth

Mixed Future Awaits Hyper-Connected Youth

For a long time, there was talk about America’s “Generation X” and then “Generation Y,” referring to our young people.

Now the buzzword is “millennials,” since many of our teenagers and young adults were born in the years just before and right after the turn of the century - which also happened to be the beginning of a new thousand-year millennium¹.

Others call our young people the “always-on” generation.

They seem to be in perpetual touch with each other - and sampling information from the world over - via cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Now Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life Project have produced a study of millennials and what the future may hold for them. It’s based on a survey of more than 1,000 tech experts, scholars, and educators.

The survey finds that today’s young Americans are, in its words, “hyper-connected.” That’s both good and bad for their future.

On the good side: Millennials are nimble, quick-acting “multi-taskers” who approach problems in fresh ways and have an almost magical ability to quickly process a great deal of information. They are astute² at telling the difference between so-called “noise” and truly important messages in what the report calls “the ever-growing sea of information.” 

These abilities could lead to important breakthroughs that will benefit the country. 

But the experts interviewed by Elon and the Pew Project found a troublesome flip³ side as well: They predict that the “always-on” generation will, in the report’s words, “exhibit a thirst for instant gratification and quick fixes, a loss of patience, and a lack of deep thinking ability,” due to what one expert called “fast-twitch wiring.”

That particular conclusion won’t surprise parents and other older adults who watch today’s young people zip through information with the speed - and sometimes the analytical⁴ skills - of a buzzing gnat⁵. 

Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Project, notes what he called “palpable concern” that the marvelous communications skills exhibited by many “tech-literate” young people are not shared by all of their peers. He says this could create “new social and economic divisions” between Americans who can comfortably navigate⁶ through the maze⁷ of technological⁸ gadgets⁹, and those who cannot.

In other words, a different kind of “lower class” that literally¹⁰ isn’t up to speed.

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。

3 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

4 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

5 gnat   

v.对小事斤斤计较，琐事

参考例句：

• Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.小事拘谨，大事糊涂。
• He's always straining at a gnat.他总是对小事很拘谨。

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

8 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

9 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。