2006年VOA标准英语-Non-Profit US Group to Supply Children With Com

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
15 November 2006
 
The non-profit group , "One Laptop per Child" has unveiled a low-cost, high-durability¹ laptop computer that it says it wants to put into the hands of children across the globe. 

Children's laptop from One Laptop per Child   
  
For many developing countries, where the governments may be concerned with providing basic necessities, like food, health care and adequate sanitation², do children really need laptop computers?

Nicholas Negroponte, founder³ of the One Laptop per Child association, says the answer is, yes.

"If a child is starving and if a child has a disease, etc., etc., giving kids laptops, especially at $100 [each] is not really what we should be doing," he said. "And that criticism, which is more frequent than you could imagine, is completely eliminated when you ask somebody, 'please just substitute the word 'education' for 'laptop.' [And then] nobody would ever say that."

He says education is a vital issue in all cultures, and that the most important contribution laptop computers can make toward education is by replacing ink and paper books with an electronic version. He says he has made this argument with many education ministers.

 
Nicholas Negroponte (r) and One Laptop per Child's Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen with a prototype laptop (2005 photo)
  
"It's just a book," Negroponte said. "It's just an electronic book.' And the economics of textbooks could justify⁴ the whole thing. And then at night, the kids come out and use it as a laptop."

Negroponte feels so strongly about what he's doing that he took leave from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directed the university's media laboratory, to work on it full-time⁵.

In order to operate in rugged⁶ conditions in remote areas, the laptops have two main requirements - durability and accessibility to a power source. Negroponte says the new computers address the power issue by running on only a fraction of the energy needed for regular laptop computers.

"The reason we want to be low-power is not just to be environmentally friendly, but we want to be able to crank it and want to be able to use human power," he noted⁷.

He adds that toughness is an inherent part of the design.

"You're going to struggle to open it," he said. "And one of the reasons it's so closed is it's got to be mud-proof and sand-proof. It breaks my heart but we're going to destroy about 200 of these next week, by dropping them from various heights because they're supposed to be drop-resistant."

"One Laptop Per Child" says the laptops will be sold at cost, which is roughly $150 (US), to governments for their schools to issue to children in early 2007.

The first five countries include Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand.

Other countries discussing the program are Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Turkey and Uruguay.

Negroponte said the Inter-American Development Bank is organizing a program that would bring the low-cost computers to all of Central America.

He said he expects the price of the laptop to come down, as more of them are produced. He said the computer companies that produce the laptops are exploring the possibility of making a commercial version for sale to the general public.

1 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

2 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。