VOA慢速英语2014 美国政客辩论"网络中立"

 

AS IT IS 2014-11-25 US Politicians Debate 'Net Neutrality' 美国政客辩论"网络中立"

Another political fight is taking shape in Washington, D.C. At issue: proposed changes to the way the Internet is regulated in the United States. One side wants rules to suspend plans to charge extra for some heavy users of the Internet. The other side says new rules will slow the economic growth fueled by online services. Both sides say their way of thinking will lead to continued innovation.

Earlier this year, U.S. regulators proposed big changes in the way the Internet operates in the country. The Federal Communications Commission voted to offer a plan that could affect Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Under the plan, the service providers could make deals with companies like Google and Facebook to provide them with faster paths to get their content to consumers.

Some consumer groups and Internet companies oppose the plan. So do a majority of people questioned in a new University of Delaware study. President Barack Obama also dislikes the proposed changes. He spoke¹ recently about how the Internet should be organized around ideas like openness, fairness and freedom.

“Ever since the Internet was created, it has been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness and freedom. There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access, there are no toll² roads on the information superhighway. This set of principles, the idea of net neutrality, has unleashed³ the power of the Internet and given innovators the chance to thrive. Abandoning these principles would end the Internet as we know it."

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent regulator. So President Obama cannot order the FCC to make changes. Last week, the President sought to persuade commission members to regulate consumer Internet services like a public utility.

Harold Furchtgott-Roth is an economist⁴ and former FCC commissioner⁵. He says the Internet adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. He adds that new rules would be unnecessary and unwise. 

"American online companies are the leading on-line companies in the world in practically every field.  I think that is in part a result of our lighter⁶ regulatory approach relative to a lot of other countries."

He says proposals to govern the Internet as if it was a telephone company would interfere⁷ in many decisions, including pricing. He says those decisions should be made by people who operate the business.

The former commissioner says even the threat of new rules is bad for the investments needed to support innovation on the Internet. Some Republican members of Congress and the U.S. Chamber⁸ of Commerce are in agreement with Mr. Furchtgott-Roth. The Chamber of Commerce speaks for many major businesses. 

Words in this Story

economy – n. the system by which money, industry and

trade are organized

principle - n. a basic truth or theory; an idea that forms the basis of something

innovation – n.  the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods

regulate – v.  to bring something under the control of authority; to set or adjust the amount, degree, or rate of something

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。