2016考研英語比較新時(shí)文泛讀:什么是代碼?

　　今天的2016考研英語泛讀文章源自2015年9月8日的《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》，給我們介紹了到底什么事代碼?文中涉及很多計(jì)算機(jī)用語，這在考研英語閱讀真題當(dāng)中是非常常見的，例如：code代碼;programmer程序員;digital instruction數(shù)字指令;computers execute計(jì)算機(jī)執(zhí)行等等。來看一下具體內(nèi)容：

　　From lifts to cars to airliners to smartphones, modern civilisation is powered by software, the digital instructions that allow computers, and the devices they control, to perform calculations and respond to their surroundings. How did that software get there? Someone had to write it. But code, the sequences of symbols painstakingly created by programmers, is not quite the same as software, the sequences of instructions that computers execute. So what exactly is it?事實(shí)上，可以說當(dāng)代文明是由軟件驅(qū)動(dòng)的，從電梯到汽車，從飛機(jī)到手機(jī)，都需要計(jì)算機(jī)及其控制的設(shè)備進(jìn)行計(jì)算和對(duì)它們的環(huán)境做出反應(yīng)的數(shù)字指令。那么軟件是如何實(shí)現(xiàn)這一指令的呢?當(dāng)然首先需要有人寫出代碼。但代碼并不完全就是軟件，可以說，代碼是程序員絞盡腦汁創(chuàng)作出來的符號(hào);而軟件是計(jì)算機(jī)執(zhí)行指令的結(jié)果。那么代碼又是怎么一回事呢?

　　Coding, or programming, is a way of writing instructions for computers that bridges the gap between how humans like to express themselves and how computers actually work. Programming languages, of which there are hundreds, cannot generally be executed by computers directly. It is usually much easier to use a high-level programming language.寫代碼的過程就是編程的過程，是為計(jì)算機(jī)編寫指令的行為，這在人們表達(dá)自我與計(jì)算機(jī)實(shí)際運(yùn)行之間搭建了一座橋梁。雖然編程語言有上百種之多，但通常使用一種高等級(jí)編程語言要先對(duì)更加容易一些。這樣的語言才真正能夠準(zhǔn)確而高效地表達(dá)復(fù)雜抽象的指令。

　　Programming languages exist in many families and styles, rather like human languages. These programming languages are all capable of expressing the same ideas. But in practice some languages are better suited to some uses than others, just as French is traditionally used for diplomacy and English is the international language of business. And just as knowing a few different spoken languages makes it easier to learn another one, the same is true of programming languages.與人類的語言類似，各種編程語言都能表達(dá)類似的思想。但在現(xiàn)實(shí)中，有些語言比其他語言更適合于某些用途，這就像法語傳統(tǒng)上用于外交，而英語則是國(guó)際商業(yè)用語一樣。而且，就如同懂得幾門不同的語言能夠讓學(xué)習(xí)其他語言變得更容易一樣，編程語言也是如此。

　　簡(jiǎn)單來說，編程是有魔力的。代碼中的數(shù)字和符號(hào)被轉(zhuǎn)化為可以由微電路去執(zhí)行以便得到預(yù)想結(jié)果的指令。從而使圖像現(xiàn)身屏幕(Pixels appear on the screen);電梯上升(lifts move);機(jī)票被預(yù)定(airline tickets are ordered);表單得到分類(lists are sorted)，電子郵件得以發(fā)送(e-mails are delivered)。但是，僅僅因?yàn)檫@些結(jié)果似乎是用魔力的，并不意味著編程就是神秘的、難以企及的。事實(shí)上，編程的一大樂趣就是，計(jì)算機(jī)是神秘的對(duì)立面：它們是以一種可預(yù)測(cè)性極高的、持續(xù)的和具有確定性的方式運(yùn)行的。通過這篇文章的泛讀，希望2016考研學(xué)子對(duì)計(jì)算機(jī)編程的基本常識(shí)以及常用術(shù)語有一個(gè)基本了解，以便順利的理解英語原文�？佳腥沃氐肋h(yuǎn)，文都與你同在!