大学体验英语第二册Unit8-Passage B

So Sorry to Bug¹ You
________________________________________
　"You'd think after all these years I'd know better than to spread a virus by email.
You'd be wrong. 　

　The email was from a woman I knew decades ago, back when we were spooning teenagers. We had corresponded electronically maybe three times since then, I swear. The subject line on this latest missive was "Homepage." The message read, simply: "Hi! You've got to see this page! It's really cool." It was signed with a goofy emotion, a winking², sideways smiling face-;0). "Ho, ho! You sly thing!" I thought, recalling the feverish³ summer of '70... and clicked on the attached file. Pause. Uh-oh. 　

　It was the dumbest thing I'd done since 1979, when I pitched a tent on a colony of army ants in Mexico. My screen started shimmering⁴ like a Yucatan sunset. I had unleashed⁵ a computer virus.　

　I felt like the doctor in The Andromeda Strain; the clock was outracing me. I went to my email program, clicked on File, then selected Work Offline. That, I assumed, would cordon⁶ me off from the Net and keep me from spreading the bug while I figured out how to get rid of it. Next I checked my Outbox. Argh! Sixty-five messages were queued up, waiting to be sent to my friends. Each was from me. Each bore the subject line "Homepage." Each had a file attached, as doom-laden as a warhead. 　

?I deleted the messages and emptied the Recycle Bin⁷. Then I went to the Web for guidance. Cursing myself for not using an anti-virus program on my home computer, I learned that the Homepage virus is the most common bug - technically⁸, it's a "worm" - out there. It afflicts⁹ only PC users of Microsoft Outlook and would not damage my computer. But it would immediately mail itself to everyone in my address book - that is, everyone to whom I've ever sent a Reply message. The worm also resets¹⁰ your browser's home page to one of four porn sites. This last bit had not happened to mine. Was I spared? 　

　Gingerly, I fired up Outlook and connected to the Net. Fifty messages poured into my Inbox. Most were from corporate¹¹ servers - such as Time Inc.'s - informing me that my email was being returned unopened since it contained a virus. The last message was from my friend Marshall: "If you don't mind my asking, which homepage?" Double argh! I had spread the accursed worm. I wrote a mea culpa warning, which I mailed to everyone in my address book: Don't click on that attachment¹²!　
　The worst part was that many of the people I had emailed were newbies - subscribers who had emailed me for help in connection with this column. Most of these folks were kind; only one asked me to remove her name from my address book. A guy from the Philippines, birthplace of the dread¹³ Love Bug virus, wrote, "It is quite ironic¹⁴ that I got a worm from you."　

? Let that irony¹⁵ be a lesson to you: Never open an attachment, even from a friend, unless you've been told to expect it. And always use virus protection. Finally, if you get an email from me whose subject is "Homepage," run. 　

1 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

2 winking   

n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• Anyone can do it; it's as easy as winking. 这谁都办得到，简直易如反掌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The stars were winking in the clear sky. 星星在明亮的天空中闪烁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

4 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

5 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》

6 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

9 afflicts   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Level 3-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 三级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。
• Level 1-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 一级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。

10 resets   

v.重新安放或安置( reset的第三人称单数 )；重拨（测量仪器指针）；为（考试、测试等）出一套新题；重新安置，将…恢复原位

参考例句：

• Regenerating the map resets the statistics in the Info screen. 重新生成地图时，信息窗口的统计数据会重置。 来自互联网
• This resets CSS values that browsers tend to set for you. 用于重置页面，对没有指定css属性的页面元素指定缺省值。 来自互联网

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

13 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

14 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

15 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。