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让人头大的共享文档
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让人头大的共享文档
很久很久以前，同事们会依次对文件提出修改建议。 
双语精读
The horrors of shared docs
恐怖的共享文档
Long long ago, colleagues would suggest changes to documents sequentially. They would make comments and add revisions to a file on their own computer, and then send it on to the next person. It was inefficient and opaque.
很久很久以前，同事们会依次对文件提出修改建议。他们会在自己的电脑上对文件进行评论和修改，然后将文件发送给下一个人。这种做法效率低下，而且不透明。
The era of the shared doc has made this process much more user-friendly and transparent. But like all social activities, it has the great drawback of exposing you to other people.
共享文档的时代让这一过程变得更加用户友好，也更加透明。但是和所有社交活动一样，它有一个很大的缺点，就是把你暴露在其他人面前。
Start with the fact that you can see who else is in the document. A succession of initials at the top of the screen confirms that your actions are now being observed by multiple people. At least one of them will be completely unknown to you.
首先是你能看到参与文档编辑的还有谁。屏幕顶部出现的一连串姓名首字母缩写确定无疑地表明，你的行动现在正被多个人观察着，至少有一个你完全不认识的陌生人。
Some people may not be identifiable at all: they have usernames like "anonymous tapir". They might be the boss; they might be one of the interns. They are probably not a tapir.
有些人可能完全无法确定身份：他们的用户名是“匿名貘”之类的名字。他们可能是老板，也可能是实习生之一，但很可能不是貘。
One of these initials fades and brightens every few minutes, as the person in question repeatedly exits and re-enters the document. They either have nothing to do or are deeply anxious about what may be about to happen.
这些首字母中的一个每隔几分钟就会变暗又变亮，因为这个人反复退出又进入文档。他们要么无事可做，要么对即将发生的事情深感焦虑。
If they are the owner of the document, they are absolutely right to worry. For people will be busy rendering public judgment on their work in ways both overt and subtle.
如果他们是文档的创建者，那么他们绝对有理由担心，因为人们会忙着对他们的工作做出公开的评判，这些评判既有明显的，也有微妙的。
A cursor jumps rapidly from paragraph to paragraph, and then suddenly stops. It remains immobile, transfixed. Something must be very, very wrong with what they are reading. It moves more slowly after that, its confidence in the author visibly shaken. Someone else selects all of the document and then abruptly disappears: they are off to conduct major reconstructive surgery in private.
光标在段落间快速跳跃，然后突然停下。它一动不动，完全静止。那个人读到的内容一定出了非常非常严重的问题。之后光标移动得更慢了，对作者的信心明显动摇了。另一个人选中了整个文档，然后突然消失了：他们要私下对文档进行大规模重建手术。
Others are making changes publicly. Hierarchy and temperament determine how they do so. They might add polite comments, make gentle suggestions or just ruin things directly.
其他人正在公开做出更改。职位等级和个人性格决定了他们如何更改。他们可能会加上礼貌客气的评论，提出温和的建议，或者直接推翻重写。
If enough people are involved, chaos ensues. Someone adds a paragraph, causing someone else to make alterations in the wrong place. Two people are engaged in a furious virtual battle over a single word, taking it in turns to overwrite each other. The anonymous user spends so long rewriting one sentence that people start to wonder whether it might actually be a tapir after all.
如果参与的人足够多，混乱就会随之而来。有人添加了一段文字，导致另一个人改错了地方。两个人正在围绕一个单词进行激烈的虚拟战斗，轮流覆盖对方写下的内容。那位匿名用户花了很长时间重写一句话，以至于人们开始怀疑，这个人是否真的是一只貘。
If you are the owner of the document, you do not have to watch this carnage unfold in real time. But the carnage will still seek you out. Countless emails arrive to tell you that there has been "activity" in the document. Activity undersells what has been happening, in the same way that activity in the ground does not quite capture a massive earthquake.
如果你是文档的创建者，你不必实时观看这场屠杀的发生。但是屠杀仍然会找上你。无数的邮件涌来，告诉你文档中发生了“活动”。但“活动”一词是对正在发生的事的轻描淡写，就像用地下活动来描述大地震一样苍白。
词汇预习
- virtual [高考]
美[ˈvɜːrtʃuəl] | 英[ˈvɜːtʃuəl]
adj. 实质的；【计】虚拟的 - capture [高考]
美[ˈkæptʃər] | 英[ˈkæptʃə(r)]
vt. 捕获；占领；夺取；吸引；(用照片等)留存
n. 捕获；战利品 - publicly [高考]
美['pʌblɪkli] | 英['pʌblɪkli]
adv. 公开地；公然地；以公众名义 - absolutely [高考]
美[ˈæbsəluːtli] | 英[ˈæbsəluːtli]
adv. 完全地；绝对地；[语]独立地
int. （表示赞同）完全正确，一点没错 - repeatedly [高考]
美[rɪˈpiːtɪdli] | 英[rɪˈpiːtɪdli]
adv. 重复地；再三地 - surgery [高考]
美[ˈsɜːrdʒəri] | 英[ˈsɜːdʒəri]
n. 外科手术；外科；诊所；手术室；应诊时间 - multiple [高考]
美[ˈmʌltɪpl] | 英[ˈmʌltɪpl]
adj. 多种多样的；许多的
n. 倍数；并联 - unfold [高考]
美[ʌnˈfoʊld] | 英[ʌnˈfəʊld]
v. 展开；开放；显露 - massive [高考]
美[ˈmæsɪv] | 英[ˈmæsɪv]
adj. 巨大的；大量的；大规模的；大范围的；严重的 - anonymous [高考]
美[əˈnɑːnɪməs] | 英[əˈnɒnɪməs]
adj. 匿名的；无名的；没特色的 - determine [高考]
美[dɪˈtɜːrmɪn] | 英[dɪˈtɜːmɪn]
v. 决定；决心；确定；测定 - conduct [高考]
美[kənˈdʌkt] | 英[kənˈdʌkt]
n. 行为；举动；品行
v. 引导；指挥；管理
vt. 导电；传热 - battle [高考]
美[ˈbætl] | 英[ˈbætl]
n. 战斗；争斗
v. 与 ... 作战；与 ... 竞争 - document [高考]
美[ˈdɑːkjumənt , ˈdɑːkjument] | 英[ˈdɒkjumənt , ˈdɒkjument]
n. 文件；公文；文档
vt. 记载；(用文件等)证明 - ruin [高考]
美[ˈruːɪn] | 英[ˈruːɪn]
vt. 毁灭；毁坏；（使）破产；糟蹋，使（妇女）失去贞操
n. 毁灭；废墟；崩溃 - judgment [高考]
美['dʒʌdʒmənt] | 英['dʒʌdʒmənt]
n. 裁判；判断；判断力；意见；判决书 - transparent [高考]
美[trænsˈpærənt] | 英[trænsˈpærənt]
adj. 透明的；明显的；清晰的 - file [高考]
美[faɪl] | 英[faɪl]
n. 档案；卷宗；文件；锉刀，指甲锉
vt. 把 ... 归档；提出(申请书、议案等) - drawback [高考]
美[ˈdrɔːbæk] | 英[ˈdrɔːbæk]
n. 缺点；退税；退款；不利条件；弊 - chaos [高考]
美[ˈkeɪɑːs] | 英[ˈkeɪɒs]
n. 混乱；无秩序；混沌 - in private [高考]
美[ɪn 'praɪvɪt] | 英[ɪn 'praɪvɪt]
秘密地； 私下地 - era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代 - remains [高考]
美[rɪˈmeɪnz] | 英[rɪˈmeɪnz]
n. 剩余物；遗迹；遗体 - subtle [高考]
美[ˈsʌtl] | 英[ˈsʌtl]
adj. 微妙的；敏锐的；不明显的；精细的；狡猾的 - would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式 - succession [四级]
美[səkˈseʃn] | 英[səkˈseʃn]
n. 连续；继承权；继位 - inefficient [四级]
美[ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃnt] | 英[ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃnt]
adj. 无效率的；无能的；不称职的 - furious [四级]
美[ˈfjʊriəs] | 英[ˈfjʊəriəs]
adj. 狂怒的；猛烈的 - slowly [四级]
美[ˈsloʊli] | 英[ˈsləʊli]
adv. 缓慢地 - abruptly [四级]
美[əˈbrʌptli] | 英[əˈbrʌptli]
adv. 突然地；莽撞地；陡峭地；不连贯地 - immobile [四级]
美[ɪˈmoʊbl] | 英[ɪˈməʊbaɪl]
adj. 不动的；不能活动的；不变的；静止的 - identifiable [四级]
美[aɪˌdentɪˈfaɪəbl] | 英[aɪˌdentɪˈfaɪəbl]
adj. 可辨认的 - temperament [四级]
美[ˈtemprəmənt] | 英[ˈtemprəmənt]
n. 气质；性情 - in question [四级]
美[ɪn 'kwestʃən] | 英[ɪn 'kwestʃən]
正在考虑的 - involved [四级]
美[ɪnˈvɑlvd] | 英[ɪnˈvɒlvd]
adj. 涉及的；牵连的；复杂的；感情投入的；有密切关系的 - opaque [六级]
美[oʊˈpeɪk] | 英[əʊˈpeɪk]
adj. 不透明的；难懂的 - right to [六级]
美 | 英
...的权力；对某事物的权利 - anxious about [六级]
美 | 英
adj. 担忧(焦虑) - overt [专八]
美[oʊˈvɜːrt] | 英[əʊˈvɜːt]
adj. 公开的；明显的；公然的 - visibly [考研]
美[ˈvɪzɪblɪ] | 英[ˈvɪzəbli]
adv. 明显地；看得见地 - engaged in [考研]
美 | 英
使从事于, 使忙于
重点讲解
The horrors of shared docs
恐怖的共享文档
sequentially adv. 按顺序地；依次地
【例】The engineers formerly performed their jobs sequentially, but can now do them at the same time.
工程师们以前是按顺序进行工作的，但现在可以同时进行多项工作。
【拓展】sequence n. 顺序；序列
sequential adj. 按顺序的
【辨析】consequence n. 结果；后果
Long long ago, colleagues would suggest changes to documents sequentially. They would make comments and add revisions to a file on their own computer, and then send it on to the next person. It was inefficient and opaque.
很久很久以前，同事们会依次对文件提出修改建议。他们会在自己的电脑上对文件进行评论和修改，然后将文件发送给下一个人。这种做法效率低下，而且不透明。
sequentially adv. 按顺序地；依次地
【例】The engineers formerly performed their jobs sequentially, but can now do them at the same time.
工程师们以前是按顺序进行工作的，但现在可以同时进行多项工作。
【拓展】sequence n. 顺序；序列
sequential adj. 按顺序的
【辨析】consequence n. 结果；后果
The era of the shared doc has made this process much more user-friendly and transparent. But like all social activities, it has the great drawback of exposing you to other people.
共享文档的时代让这一过程变得更加用户友好，也更加透明。但是和所有社交活动一样，它有一个很大的缺点，就是把你暴露在其他人面前。
expose sth/sb to
1. 把某物/人暴露于……
【例】He did not want to expose his fears to anyone.
他不想向任何人显露他的恐惧。
Do not expose babies to strong sunlight.
不要让婴儿受到强烈的阳光照射。
2.让某人接触……
【例】to expose the kids to art and culture
让孩子们受到艺术和文化薰陶
to expose ourselves to new ideas
让我们接触新思想
Start with the fact that you can see who else is in the document. A succession of initials at the top of the screen confirms that your actions are now being observed by multiple people. At least one of them will be completely unknown to you.
首先是你能看到参与文档编辑的还有谁。屏幕顶部出现的一连串姓名首字母缩写确定无疑地表明，你的行动现在正被多个人观察着，至少有一个你完全不认识的陌生人。
a succession of 一连串的；一系列的
【例】a succession of good news
一连串的好消息
【近义词】a sequence of 一连串的
【搭配】do sth in succession 连续做某事
【例】He won the three challenges in succession.
他连续赢了三场挑战。
【拓展】successive adj. 连续的；不中断的
【例】three successive victories 连胜三场
Some people may not be identifiable at all: they have usernames like “anonymous tapir”. They might be the boss; they might be one of the interns. They are probably not a tapir.
有些人可能完全无法确定身份：他们的用户名是“匿名貘”之类的名字。他们可能是老板，也可能是实习生之一，但很可能不是貘。
a succession of 一连串的；一系列的
【例】a succession of good news
一连串的好消息
【近义词】a sequence of 一连串的
【搭配】do sth in succession 连续做某事
【例】He won the three challenges in succession.
他连续赢了三场挑战。
【拓展】successive adj. 连续的；不中断的
【例】three successive victories 连胜三场
One of these initials fades and brightens every few minutes, as the person in question repeatedly exits and re-enters the document. They either have nothing to do or are deeply anxious about what may be about to happen.
这些首字母中的一个每隔几分钟就会变暗又变亮，因为这个人反复退出又进入文档。他们要么无事可做，要么对即将发生的事情深感焦虑。
in question
1. 讨论中的
【例】I don't know the man in question.
我不认识所说的那个人。
2. 有疑问；不确定
【例】Your loyalty is not in question.
你的忠心是不容置疑的。
【反义词】without/beyond question 没有疑问的
【拓展】out of the question 不可能发生的
【例】A three-month holiday is out of the question.
放三个月的假根本不可能。
If they are the owner of the document, they are absolutely right to worry. For people will be busy rendering public judgment on their work in ways both overt and subtle.
如果他们是文档的创建者，那么他们绝对有理由担心，因为人们会忙着对他们的工作做出公开的评判，这些评判既有明显的，也有微妙的。
overt adj. 明显的；不隐瞒的
【例】overt support 公开支持
overt hostility 公开的敌意
【近义词】obvious adj. 明显的
【反义词】covert adj. 隐秘的；暗中的
【例】covert activities 暗中行动
A cursor jumps rapidly from paragraph to paragraph, and then suddenly stops. It remains immobile, transfixed. Something must be very, very wrong with what they are reading. It moves more slowly after that, its confidence in the author visibly shaken. Someone else selects all of the document and then abruptly disappears: they are off to conduct major reconstructive surgery in private.
光标在段落间快速跳跃，然后突然停下。它一动不动，完全静止。那个人读到的内容一定出了非常非常严重的问题。之后光标移动得更慢了，对作者的信心明显动摇了。另一个人选中了整个文档，然后突然消失了：他们要私下对文档进行大规模重建手术。
immobile adj. 不动的；静止的
【例】His illness has left him completely immobile.
他的病使他完全丧失了活动能力。
【反义词】mobile adj. 移动的
【拓展】mobility n. 移动能力
automobile (auto) n. 汽车
Others are making changes publicly. Hierarchy and temperament determine how they do so. They might add polite comments, make gentle suggestions or just ruin things directly.
其他人正在公开做出更改。职位等级和个人性格决定了他们如何更改。他们可能会加上礼貌客气的评论，提出温和的建议，或者直接推翻重写。
ensue v. 接着发生
【例】An argument ensued.
接着是一场争论。
【近义词】follow v. 接着发生
【拓展】ensuing adj. 接着的；随后的
【例】the ensuing argument 接下来的争论
【近义词】following/subsequent adj. 接着的；随后的
be engaged in sth 忙于某事；从事于某事
【例】They were engaged in conversation.
他们正在聊天中。
【拓展】engage sb in sth 让某人做某事
【例】She tried desperately to engage him in conversation.
她用尽办法让他加入谈话。
If enough people are involved, chaos ensues. Someone adds a paragraph, causing someone else to make alterations in the wrong place. Two people are engaged in a furious virtual battle over a single word, taking it in turns to overwrite each other. The anonymous user spends so long rewriting one sentence that people start to wonder whether it might actually be a tapir after all.
如果参与的人足够多，混乱就会随之而来。有人添加了一段文字，导致另一个人改错了地方。两个人正在围绕一个单词进行激烈的虚拟战斗，轮流覆盖对方写下的内容。那位匿名用户花了很长时间重写一句话，以至于人们开始怀疑，这个人是否真的是一只貘。
ensue v. 接着发生
【例】An argument ensued.
接着是一场争论。
【近义词】follow v. 接着发生
【拓展】ensuing adj. 接着的；随后的
【例】the ensuing argument 接下来的争论
【近义词】following/subsequent adj. 接着的；随后的
be engaged in sth 忙于某事；从事于某事
【例】They were engaged in conversation.
他们正在聊天中。
【拓展】engage sb in sth 让某人做某事
【例】She tried desperately to engage him in conversation.
她用尽办法让他加入谈话。
If you are the owner of the document, you do not have to watch this carnage unfold in real time. But the carnage will still seek you out. Countless emails arrive to tell you that there has been “activity” in the document. Activity undersells what has been happening, in the same way that activity in the ground does not quite capture a massive earthquake.
如果你是文档的创建者，你不必实时观看这场屠杀的发生。但是屠杀仍然会找上你。无数的邮件涌来，告诉你文档中发生了“活动”。但“活动”一词是对正在发生的事的轻描淡写，就像用地下活动来描述大地震一样苍白。
undersell v. 低价卖出；弱化
【例】Don't undersell yourself at the interview.
面试时不可过分自谦。
【近义词】understate v. 轻描淡写；避重就轻
【反义词】oversell/overblow/overstate v. 吹嘘；夸张
课后练习
The author's attitude towards shared documents is ____.
A. positive
B. negative
C. mixed
D. ambiguousWhat can be learned about the participants in a shared document?
A. You are familiar with all the participants.
B. Some participants’ identities are unclear.
C. The participants make revisions in succession.
D. The participants are confused about the document.Why should the document owner be worried?
A. Because the document may be ruined.
B. Because they might lose editing access.
C. Because others will openly or subtly judge their work.
D. Because the document might automatically delete itself.What does the comparison to "a massive earthquake" mean?
A. The anger and quarrels among the editors.
B. The literal shaking of computers during typing.
C. The disruption and chaos in editing the shared document.
D. The significant improvement of the document after revising.
