Unit 33

Muffin Man has more than 2,000 songs on his hard drive, and he’s happy to share them. He’s a big fan of bands like Pearl Jam and the White Stripes, so there’s plenty of hard rock in his collection.

But chances are you’ll never get to it. The 21-year-old pizza cook, who asked to be identified by his online nickname, makes his songs available only through private file-sharing networks known as darknets. Unlike such public networks as Kazaa or Morpheus, which let you share songs with anyone, private networks operate more like underground nightclubs or secret societies. To gain access, you need to know the name of the group and a password. And the only way to get that information is from another member who invites you in. Some darknets even encrypt files and mask your identity within a group to keep eavesdroppers from finding out who you are and what you are sharing.

It’s a handy invention now that the recording industry has taken to suing kids who share music online. But darknets are not just for digital music files. Carving out a bit of privacy online has wide appeal; students, community groups and even political dissidents can use these hidden networks to share projects, papers and information. One part of the allure is anonymity; the other is exclusivity. Since participation is limited, file searches don’t turn up a lot of junk or pornography. Darknets offer the convenience of the Web without a lot of the bad stuff.

You need special software to start a darknet of your own. The two most popular programs are Direct Connect by NeoModus（at neomodus.com）and an open-source variation of it called DC++, available at sourceforge.net. More than 800,000 copies of DC++ have been downloaded since mid-July. A third program, called Waste（also at sourceforge.net）, automatically encrypts files but is much harder to use.

There are no good estimates of how many people use darknets. Lowtec, a college sophomore studying computer engineering, figures that 10% of the students at his school（which he declined to name）share files through Direct Connect. “It’s much faster than Kazaa,” he says. That’s because private networks typically link small, close-knit communities in which all members have superfast connections.

The recording industry so far hasn’t put much effort into combatting the secret networks, but its neglect might not last long. If networks like Kazaa become too risky, darknets could quickly rise to take their place. And if that happens, the music industry could find itself chasing users who are that much harder to catch.

注（1）：本文选自Time；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1、2、3、5题分别模仿2004年真题Text 4第1、2题，Text 1第2题和Text 3第5题；第4题模仿2006年真题Text 2第5题。

1. From the first two paragraphs, we learn that ______.

A) Muffin Man’s songs will be available if you know his online nickname

B) outsiders cannot visit darknets without the invitation from a member

C) Kazaa is to darknets what the police are to underground world

D) it’s impossible for people to find out your true identity on the darknets

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A) Darknets are being accused by the recording industry of allowing kids to share music online.

B) People use darknets to share music mainly.

C) One advantage of darknets is that people can avoid reading unwanted information.

D) Users of private networks are mostly students.

3. The word “allure”（Line 4, Paragraph 3）most probably means ______.

A) advantage

B) achievement

C) feature

D) appeal

4. We can draw a conclusion from the text that ______.

A) darknets may become a headache of the music industry

B) the age of darknets is within reach

C) darknets may excel Kazaa in the number of its users very soon

D) the music industry will lose the battle against darknets

5. From the text we can see that the writer seems ______.

A) positive

B) negative

C) doubtful

D) uncertain

篇章剖析

本篇文章是一篇说明文，介绍了一种名为“地下网络”的私人文件共享网络。文章第一段介绍了在这种网络中活动的一位典型的用户；第二段介绍了这种地下网络的特点；第三段说明地下网络受人欢迎的原因；第四段说明如何创立自己的地下网络；第五段介绍了目前使用地下网络的情况；最后一段得出结论：这种网络有可能崛起并取代现有的一些共享音乐的公共网络。

词汇注释

encrypt / ɪnˈkrɪpt/ v. 【计】加密，将…译成密码

eavesdropper /ˈiːvzˌdrɒpə(r)/ n. 偷听者

dissident /ˈdɪsɪdənt/ n. 持不同政见者

allure /əˈljʊə/ n. 诱惑力

anonymity /ˌænəˈnɪmɪti/ n. 匿名

exclusivity /ˌekskluːˈsɪvɪti/ n. 排外（主义）；排他性

pornography /pɔːˈnɒgrəfi/ n. 色情资料

难句突破

Some darknets even encrypt files and mask your identity within a group to keep eavesdroppers from finding out who you are and what you are sharing.

主体句式：Some darknets encrypt files and mask your identity.

结构分析：本句是个复杂句，介词短语within a group作状语表范围，不定式短语作目的状语，在这个短语中有一个who和what引导的并列宾语从句作finding out的宾语。

句子译文：一些地下网络甚至在组织内部还要对文件进行加密，并且对你的身份进行伪装，以防好事之徒发现你的身份以及你所共享的内容。

题目分析

1. B 推理题。根据文章第二段“要想进入这样的网络，你需要知道该组织的名称以及密码。而唯有获得一位组织成员的邀请，你才能得到那些信息。”可以看出，外人要访问这些网络必须获得网络成员的邀请。C项意为“Kazza和地下网络的关系如同警察同地下世界一般”，这里包含一个句型A is to B what C is to D，从文章可知把Kazza换为唱片业，这种关系才成立。

2. C 细节题。文章第三段提到由于参与人数有限，文件搜索不会带来很多垃圾文件或者色情文件。继而总结darknets的好处是：既提供了网络的便利，又摆脱了网络的糟粕。所以避免读到讨厌的信息是darknets的一大优势。A项错是因为起诉的是那些网上共享音乐的孩子，而非darknets。

3. D 语义题。根据上文，第三段分析darknets为何受人欢迎。其中提到了“在网上留出隐私空间has wide appeal”，接着又探讨其他原因，一个是匿名性，一个是排外性，这都是the allure的一部分，可见allure的意思应该和appeal相近或者相同。

4. A 推理题。根据文章最后一段，作者假定如果音乐行业要起诉那些共享音乐的网络，公共网络可能由此停办，darknets将迅速崛起并取而代之，而音乐行业会发现他们追查的用户要难捉得多。可见darknets有可能成为令音乐行业头痛的事情。

5. A 情感态度题。根据文章的材料选择，基本上没有负面的材料，而且第三段在介绍darknets为何吸引人的时候，作者还讲到了这种私人网络“既提供了网络的便利，又摆脱了网络的糟粕”的优势。在结尾，作者说如果可以共享音乐的公共网络倒下，这种darknets就会迅速崛起并取而代之。可见作者对这种网络所持的是一种肯定的态度。

参考译文

“松糕人”的硬盘上存有2000多首歌曲，他很乐意和他人分享这些歌曲。他的收藏中有很多硬摇滚音乐，因为他是“珍珠果酱”以及“白色条纹”等乐队的超级粉丝。

不过你很可能永远也无法分享他的音乐收藏。这位21岁的比萨饼厨师要求只披露他的网名。他的歌曲只能通过一些所谓“地下网络”的私人文件共享网络获得。与卡泽（Kazaa）或者摩尔普斯（Morpheus）等允许所有人共享音乐的公共网络不同，私人网络的运作方法更像是地下夜总会或者秘密组织。要想进入这样的网络，你需要知道该组织的名称以及密码。而唯有获得一位组织成员的邀请，你才能得到那些信息。一些地下网络甚至在组织内部还要对文件进行加密，并且对你的身份进行伪装，以防好事之徒发现你的身份以及你所共享的内容。

由于唱片业现在开始起诉那些在网上共享音乐的孩子，这项发明就显得十分便利。不过地下网络不仅仅用于共享数字音乐文件。在网上拥有一些隐私是极具吸引力的事情；学生、社会团体，甚至持不同政见者都能利用这些隐秘的网络来共享方案、论文和信息。匿名性是这类网络的一大诱人之处；另外就是排外性。因为参与人数有限，因而文件搜索不会带来很多垃圾文件或者色情文件。地下网络既提供了网络的便利，又摆脱了网络的糟粕。

你需要特殊的软件才能创立一个自己的地下网络。两个最受欢迎的程序是由新方法（NeoModus）公司（网站地址neomodus.com）推出的“直接连接”（Direct Connect）和该程序的开放源码变本，即被称作DC++的程序，这两个程序都可以在sourceforge.net上找到。自从7月中旬以来，DC++的下载次数已经超过了800000次。第三个程序叫做“浪费”（Waste）（也能在sourceforge.net上找到），它能够自动给文件加密，但用起来比较困难。

很难估计到底有多少人在使用这些地下网络。“低技术”是一个计算机专业的大二学生，他认为他所在的学校（他拒绝透露该校名称）有10%的学生通过“直接连接”来共享文件。“它比卡泽要快得多，”他说。出现这种情况是因为私人网络连接的都是组织严密的小型社区，所有成员的网络连接速度都非常快的缘故。

目前唱片业还没有把太多精力花在打击秘密网络上来，但这种疏忽不会太久。如果像卡泽这样的网络面临太多风险的话，那么地下网络就会迅速崛起并取而代之。到那时候，音乐业会发现他们追查的用户要难捉得多。