VOA标准英语2013--How Relevant Are Computing Behemoths?

 

How Relevant Are Computing¹ Behemoths?

Your basic personal computer has one microchip at its core. The Central Processing Unit, or CPU, executes a set of commands contained in a predesigned program.

The first supercomputers had a few more CPUs, but computer science professor Andrew Grimshaw, at the University of Virginia says that changed as microprocessors² became cheaper and faster.

"Today, supercomputers are all what we call parallel machines. Instead of one CPU - central processing unit - they have thousands and thousands," he said. "And in the case of the Chinese machine, depending on how you count, millions of the central processing units."

Parallel machines consist of many individual computers called nodes, situated³ in one block. They use a lot of power, generate a lot of heat, and require huge cooling systems. Also, supercomputers use programs different from the ones used by ordinary computers.

With enough resources, Grimshaw says, anyone can build a supercomputer to address problems that require millions of mathematical calculations.  

But that's not always necessary. A virtual supercomputer can be created by networking individual computers within a university campus or company. These machines then process data during down time, when no one else is using them.

"Those are very easy to run on virtual supercomputers because each problem is independent of all the others and I can scatter⁴ these jobs out all around the place," Grimshaw said. "We run these all the time at UVA."

Grimshaw says that until a decade ago, engineers were focused on making computers faster. Since then, he says, they have worked to create more powerful parallel machines.

"It’s transforming science and engineering, and it’s going to continue to transform it in ways I think most people don’t fully⁵ grasp - how well we can model and simulate the world now," he said.

Grimshaw says computing ability makes the future of research look, "so bright I gotta wear shades."

1 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

2 microprocessors   

微（信息）处理机( microprocessor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This sort of work would have been inconceivable before the advent of microprocessors. 在微处理机问世之前这种工作是难以想象的。
• In microprocessors, the name used for the IEEE interface bus standard. 微处理机中，IEEE接口总线标准的名字。

3 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

4 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。