万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-07-14&07-15, 儿童专用手机

Hello, I'm David Pogue, now as a technology columnist,I must say, I'm blissfully free of the kind of heated contentious¹ controversy² that dogs other kinds of columnists³, those who write about, say, politics or religion, or Ashley Simpson. But this week, I'm afraid I've really stepped in it. I reviewed these.

What? Cellphones for kids? They don't need any outside plant. Go away!

Not only that do I think it's a great idea, I mean, I would buy stocking it.

Cellphones for, for 6-year-olds? Come on.

When they get lost at the mall, or I am blamed picking them up, how do I get one?

When I grew up, we didn't have any technology at all,look out, I've treated that OK, goodbye.

Now I should explain that these aren't ordinary cellphones, they don't do pictures, text messaging, voice mail or e-mail, they don't get on the Internet. In fact, they can't even dial out, except certain preprogrammed numbers that you've input⁴.

For example, the firefly has buttons for mom, dad, and a phone book button that lists up to 20 other authorized⁵ numbers. Verizon's Migo phone can dial a maximum of 5 numbers, but it does have the best sound and construction quality plus a speakerphone and a vibrate-phone. And then there is the Tic-Talk. It's built really cheaply and you're supposed to talk into it like a speakerphone. But it's filled with educational games and you program it from a website which is a really great idea.

They are pretty cool-looking. In fact, most of the 5 to 10year-olds I showed them to were pretty enthusiastic.

Wow, this is awesome⁶, can me, please, pretty please , have this, pretty please with....., please, please...please!! What a great thing!

The phone was cool.

I should know, however, that the status conscious age group over about 11 were somewhat, less enthusiastic?

I would not because, Dad will call on this thing in public.

Get me a real cellphone.

So this is a phone, that only calls my parents, great.

The age when Americans first get a cellphone has been dropping year after year. And thanks to cellphones like these, kindergareners are now packing cell phones. And guess what? I don’t think that's the end of it.

Daddy?

Yeah, hi, how are you? Hey , listen, I'm learning a little late this afternoon, why don't you meet me out in front and I'll pick you up after karate⁷ and then we can go on...

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Outside plant: 1. In civilian⁸ telecommunications, all cables, conduits, ducts, poles, towers, repeaters, repeater huts, and other equipment located between a demarcation point in a switching facility and a demarcation point in another switching center or customer premises⁹.

Note: The demarcation point may be at a distribution frame, cable head, or microwave transmitter.

2. In DOD communications, the portion of intrabase communications equipment between the main distribution frame (MDF) and a user end instrument or the terminal connection for a user instrument.

karate: A Japanese art of self-defense in which sharp blows and kicks are administered to pressure-sensitive points on the body of an opponent.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 columnists   

n.专栏作家( columnist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This story will be more fodder for the gossip columnists. 这个传闻会是闲谈专栏作家的又一素材。
• The columnists coined the phrase \"to broderick\", meaning to rough up. 专栏作家们杜撰出一个新词“布罗德里克”意思是“动武”、“打架”。 来自辞典例句

4 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。