访谈录 2010-09-13&09-15 牛津词典推出在线版

Forget the dreaming spires¹ and the bicycles, the reason I've come to Oxford² is leather bound with meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary has turned over a new leaf, having undergone a digital makeover. The second edition of the full version or twenty volumes has been online for ten years. And now gets more than 6 million hits a month from subscribers.
“We've always had a commitment to keep up to date with the best delivery method for passing on our research and our knowledge about the English language to the widest possible audience. A digital medium seems to be one which conveys that knowledge in a very, very effective way, on a very, very large scale.”
The Oxford University Press made 115 million dollars last year, selling 115 million other books. The Oxford English Dictionary has never made a profit in its 120-year history. With the success of the online version, where subscribers can pay up to 315 dollars a year, the full version of the third edition may not make it onto paper.
Superfluous³, that is “not needed or required, unnecessary, needless, uncalled-for.”
But its digital destiny won't be decided⁴ just yet. Only 28% complete. The 80 lexicographers working on the third edition will need at least another decade before it's finished. By that time, it’s uncertain if there'll be any demand for the 1,200-dollar printed version.
"We need to decide whether to publish the print or not. Whether you do or not is just a question whether there is some market for it or not.”
The online version is updated every three months with roughly 250 new words, reflecting change not only in languages, but also in technology.
App, an application program.
"We don't put words into the dictionary as soon as they are coined. We fully⁵ wait five or ten years before we put the word in the dictionary. The word 'Vuvuzela', a sort of horn trumpet⁶, they were heard when in the World Cup. So, some of you will be working on that. And their job will be to amass⁷ as much information as they can about the history of the words and to bring that to altogether to write a definitional basis for what evidence they have got.
The definition of dictionary has changed. With online versions, iPhone apps, and even Word of the Day email alerts. It's another sign of our technological⁸ times. We are having the ability to upload twenty volumes of the English language. It's something to blow your Vuvuzela about.
Ayesha Durgahee, CNN, Oxford, England.

1 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

7 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

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。