Lesson 10 Silicon Valley
What does the computer industry thrive on apart from anarchy?
Technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to the future. Carver Mead, a pioneer in integrated circuits and a professor of computer science at the California Institute of Technology, notes there are now work-stations that enable engineers to design, test and produce chips right on their desks, much the way an editor creates a newsletter on a Macintosh. As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures. Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office—spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast. ‘We’re got more garages with smart people,’ Mead observes. ‘We really thrive on anarchy.’
And on Asians. Already, orientals and Asian Americans constitute the majority of the engineering staffs at many Valley firms. And Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Indian engineers are graduating in droves from California’s colleges. As the heads of next-generation start-ups, these Asian innovators can draw on customs and languages to forge righter links with crucial Pacific Rim markets. For instance, Alex Au, a Stanford Ph. D. from Hong Kong, has set up a Taiwan factory to challenge Japan’s near lock on the memory-chip market. India-born N.Damodar Reddy’s tiny California company reopened an AT & T chip plant in Kansas City last spring with financing from the state of Missouri. Before it becomes a retirement village, Silicon Valley may prove a classroom for building a global business.
文章结构
- 第一段：低成本的芯片制造技术降低了创业门槛，”车库创业”文化让美国得以快速试错、快速创新。
- 第二段：亚裔工程师成为硅谷工程团队的主力，凭借语言和文化优势连接环太平洋市场，是硅谷的另一大动力来源。
文化背景：Garage start-ups（车库创业）是硅谷传奇，苹果、惠普都起源于车库；Pacific Rim（环太平洋）指亚太经济圈；文中提到的内存芯片市场当时由日本主导。这篇文章写于20世纪末，预见了亚裔人才和全球化对硅谷的重要性。
逐句讲解
Technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to the future.
技术趋势可能会把硅谷推回到未来。—— “back to the future” 是双关，指用未来的技术回归早期车库创业的模式。
Carver Mead, a pioneer in integrated circuits and a professor of computer science at Caltech, notes there are now work-stations that enable engineers to design, test and produce chips right on their desks, much the way an editor creates a newsletter on a Macintosh.
卡弗·米德——集成电路先驱、加州理工计算机科学教授——指出，现在的工作站能让工程师在自己桌上设计、测试、生产芯片，就像编辑在苹果电脑上排版一样。—— enable sb to do sth = 使某人能做某事；much the way = 就像……的方式一样。
As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures.
随着造芯片的时间和成本降到几天、几百美元，工程师很快就能自由地放飞想象，而不用为高昂的失败付出代价。—— let imagination soar = 让想象力自由驰骋；be penalized by = 因……受罚。
Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office—spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast.
米德预测，发明家们能利用一个周末在办公室完善强大的定制芯片——催生新一代车库创业公司，让美国在把新产品快速推向市场这件事上领先于外国对手。—— spawning 是分词作结果状语；give sb a jump on = 使某人领先于。
‘We’ve got more garages with smart people,’ Mead observes. ‘We really thrive on anarchy.’
“我们有更多藏着聪明人的车库，”米德说，”我们就是靠这种无序状态茁壮成长的。”—— thrive on = 依靠……而繁荣；这里 anarchy 指宽松自由、不受束缚的创新环境。
And on Asians.
还依靠亚洲人。—— 省略句，补全是 We also thrive on Asians，承接上一句的 thrive on，简短有力。
Already, orientals and Asian Americans constitute the majority of the engineering staffs at many Valley firms. And Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Indian engineers are graduating in droves from California’s colleges.
东方人和亚裔美国人已经占了硅谷许多公司工程团队的大多数，中、韩、菲、印工程师正成批从加州高校毕业。—— orientals 是较老的说法，现在多用 Asians；in droves = 成群结队地。
As the heads of next-generation start-ups, these Asian innovators can draw on customs and languages to forge tighter links with crucial Pacific Rim markets.
作为下一代创业公司的领军人物，这些亚裔创新者能靠共通的习俗和语言，与至关重要的环太平洋市场建立更紧密的联系。—— draw on = 凭借、利用。
For instance, Alex Au, a Stanford Ph.D. from Hong Kong, has set up a Taiwan factory to challenge Japan’s near lock on the memory-chip market.
比如来自香港的斯坦福博士 Alex Au，在台湾建厂挑战日本对内存芯片市场近乎垄断的地位。
India-born N. Damodar Reddy’s tiny California company reopened an AT&T chip plant in Kansas City last spring with financing from the state of Missouri.
出生于印度的 N. Damodar Reddy 名下的加州小公司，去年春天靠密苏里州的资助，重新开办了 AT&T 在堪萨斯城的芯片厂。
Before it becomes a retirement village, Silicon Valley may prove a classroom for building a global business.
在变成”退休村”之前，硅谷或许能成为教全世界如何做全球生意的课堂。—— 暗含警示：不把握好人才和全球化机遇，硅谷也会衰落；反之则能成为典范。
核心词汇
| 词汇 | 词性 | 含义 | 用法/例句 |
|---|---|---|---|
| thrive /θraɪv/ | v. | 茁壮成长、兴旺 | thrive on sth（依靠……而繁荣）；Some people thrive on pressure. |
| anarchy /ˈænərki/ | n. | 无政府状态、无序 | 文中指宽松自由的创新环境；形容词 anarchic |
| circuits /ˈsɜːrkɪts/ | n. | 电路 | integrated circuits（集成电路） |
| soar /sɔːr/ | v. | 翱翔；激增 | let imagination soar；Prices soared. |
| penalized /ˈpiːnəlaɪzd/ | v. (过去分词) | 惩罚 | be penalized by/for |
| spawning /spɔːnɪŋ/ | v. (现在分词) | 催生、大量产生 | 原意鱼类产卵，引申为”引发一大批” |
| orientals /ˌɔːriˈentlz/ | n. | 东方人 | 现代英语中偏旧，多用 Asians |
| droves /droʊvz/ | n. | 群、大批 | in droves（成群结队地） |
| crucial /ˈkruːʃl/ | adj. | 至关重要的 | 同义词 critical, vital, essential |