Passage 14 互联网上的世界数字图书馆 World Digital Library on the Internet
Step 1 阅读行不行
What is a place where you could find old pictures of camels carrying people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and also books about ancient Aztecs in Mexico? It is all found in the World Digital Library(WDL). Its collection is available on the Internet.
The library has 8,000 items from whole books to ancient writings, to music and photographs. There are 170 partners in 79 countries sending material to the World Digital Library. Partners include national or university libraries, museums and other cultural organizations.
The librarian of the United States Congress James Billington launched1 the WDL in 2009. John Van Oudenaren is the director of the library. He says Mr. Billington wanted it to include items that are both interesting and important.
Every item is explained in the 6 official languages of the United Nations:English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian plus Portuguese.
Since 2009, 25 million people have visited the website from 250 places. The greatest number is from Spanish-speaking countries. Mr. Van Oudenaren says users include schools, researchers and anyone interested.
Mussa Maravl is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan. He works with all the materials that are in Arabic. He recently published rare photographs of Mecca from 1885. He says, “These camels were, you know, lying their heads on the ground, which is very unusual2 for a camel. It means these camels have travelled so far, so long, and half of those camels were very thin, too, meaning they have exhausted3 all the fat they have stored there.”
Mussa Maravl believes the library provides tools for understanding, especially among Arabs, Muslims4 and United States. He says, “the WDL is posting many items about important developments in Arabic and Islamic5 science. The kind of cultural heritage you are promoting is exactly, I believe, what the world need to choose. Basically all these cultures contribute together to promote understanding throughout humanity6 in general.”
Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, kind of document or area of the world. The website is www.wdl.org.
keywords and phrases
1 launch /lɔ:ntʃ/ vt. 发动；开展（活动、计划等）
2 unusual /ʌnˈju:ʒʊəl/ adj. 不常见的，不普通的，难得的，罕有的
3 exhaust /ɪg'zɔ:st/ vt. 用尽，耗尽；使精疲力尽
4 Muslim /ˈmʊzlɪm/n. 穆斯林，伊斯兰教信徒adj. 穆斯林的，伊斯兰教信徒的
5 Islamic /ɪz'læmɪk/ adj. 伊斯兰教的；清真
6 humanity /hju:ˈmænətɪ/ n. 人类；人性；人道
phrase to know
official language 指的是“官方语言”，即一个国家通用的正式语言或认定的正式语言，用于国家机关、正式文件、法律裁决及国际交往等官方场合。有的国家只有一种官方语言，如中国的官方语言是普通话；有的国家有几种官方语言，如印度的第一官方语言是印地语，第二官方语言为英语；还有的国家没有法定的官方语言，如美国。
cultural heritage 表示“文化遗产”，包括物质文化遗产和非物质文化遗产。物质文化遗产是具有历史、艺术和科学价值的文物；非物质文化遗产是指各种以非物质形态存在的与群众生活密切相关、世代相承的传统文化表现形式。非物质文化遗产的英文是non-material cultural heritage，目前中国是世界上入选“非遗”项目最多的国家。
contribute to 在文中表示“有助于，促成”，根据语境，contribute to可以有多种解释，如：contribute to the future of the world表示“对世界的未来做出贡献”; contribute to Red Cross表示“捐助红十字会”; contribute to a newspaper则表示“为报纸撰稿”。
Step 2 手写行不行
★ 调查委员会已对该事件展开调查。(launch)
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★ 这种树这么早结果很不正常。(be unusual for)
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★ 我们已经把供应的食物都吃完了。(exhaust)
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★ 在许多穆斯林国家，妇女们在公共场所脸蒙面纱。(Muslim)
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★ 她拒绝恪守伊斯兰教严格的着装规定。(adhere to)
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★ 他们被指控犯有反人类罪。(commit crime)
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Step 3 口语行不行
Q1 What are the characteristics of traditional libraries？传统图书馆有哪些特点？
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Q2 What are the advantages of digital libraries？数字图书馆有哪些优势？
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Q3 What are challenging the development of digital libraries？数字图书馆的发展面临哪些挑战？
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试题解答篇
Step 2 手写行不行答案
1．The committee of enquiry has launched an investigation into the incident.
2．It's unusual for the trees to bear fruits so early.
3．We have exhausted all the food supplies.
4．In many Muslim countries, the women wear veils in public places.
5．She refuses to adhere to the strict Islamic dress code.
6．They were accused of committing crimes against humanity.
Step 3 口语行不行答案
1．Firstly, a traditional library emphasizes on storage and preservation of physical items, particularly books and periodicals. Secondly, traditional libraries are limited by storage space. Information of traditional library is physically assembled in one place and users must travel to the library to learn what is there and make use of it. Thirdly, the cost of maintaining a traditional library can be much high. A physical library must spend large sums of money paying for staff, book maintenance, rent etc.
2．The advantages of digital libraries are now widely recognized by commercial interests and public bodies alike. There is no physical boundary for digital libraries. The users don't have to go to the library physically. People from all over the world can gain access to the same information, as long as an Internet connection is available. Another major advantage of digital libraries is that people can gain access 24/7 to the information. In addition, the same resources can be used simultaneously by a number of institutions and patrons. Whereas traditional libraries are limited by storage space, digital libraries have the potential to store much more information, simply because digital information requires very little physical space to contain them and media storage technologies are more affordable than ever before.
3．Digital libraries are hampered by copyright law because the laws of digital copyright are still being formed. The republication of material on the web by libraries may require permission from copyright holders, and there is a conflict of interest between libraries and the publishers who may wish to create online versions of their acquired content for commercial purposes. Proposals have been put forward suggesting that digital libraries be exempt from copyright law. Although this would be very beneficial to the public, it may have a negative economic effect and authors may be less inclined to create new works.