Week 73

NCE4 Lesson 10 Silicon Valley

Technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to the future. Carver Mead, a pioneer in integrated circuits and a professor of computer science at the California Institute of Technology, notes there are now work-stations that enable engineers to design, test, and produce chips right on their desks, much the way an editor creates a newsletter on a Macintosh. As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imagination soar without being penalized by expensive failures. Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office—spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast. 'We've got more garages with smart people, ' Mead observes. 'We really thrive on anarchy.'

And on Asians. Already, orientals and Asian Americans constitute the majority of the engineering staffs at many Valley firms. And Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Indian engineers are graduating in droves from customs and languages to forge tighter links with crucial Pacific Rim markets. For instance, Alex Au, a Stanford Ph.D. from Hong Kong, has set up a Taiwan factory to challenge Japan's near lock on the memory-chip market. India-born N. Damodar Reddy's tiny California company reopened an AT&T chip plant in Silicon Valley may prove a classroom for building a global business.

integrated /'ɪntɪgreɪtɪd/

adj. 各部分完美组合在一起的，综合的

integrated

adj. with various parts fitting well together

eg. integrated circuit

integrate A with B

eg. ntegrate theory with practice

penalize /'pi:nəlaɪz/

v. 处罚，惩罚

penalize v. to officially punish someone, usually implies a monetary

penalize sb. for sth.

eg. A referee may penalize players for wasting time.

penalty

eg. death penalty

fine

fine sb. (money) for sth.

eg. He was fined $300 for reckless driving.

sentence

be sentenced to …

eg. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

discipline

discipline sb. for sth.

eg. The worker was disciplined for insubordination.

customize /'kʌstəmaɪz/

v. 为用户定做，使个人化

eg. a customized car

spawn /spɔ:n/

v.（鱼或青蛙）产卵；引起，引发

spawn

v. to make a series of things happen or start to exist

eg. New technology has spawned new business opportunities.

breed

eg. Unemployment breeds social unrest.

give birth to …

eg. Marx’s ideas gave birth to communism.

propagate

eg. Such lies are propagated in the media.

thrive /θraɪv/

v. 植物茁壮成长；兴旺，繁荣

eg. This type of plant thrives in tropics.

thrive = prosper

a thriving / prosperous industry

anarchy /'ænəki/

n. 无政府状态；混乱

eg. In the absence of their teacher, the class was in a state of anarchy.

arch(y) = rule

oriental /7ɔ:ri'entl/

adj. 东方的；n. 东方人

the Orient

Asian-American

Chinese-American

constitute /'kɒnstɪtju:t/

v. 组成，形成，构成

eg. Twelve months constitute a year.

eg. The rise in crime constitutes / poses a threat / menace to society.

drove /drəʊv/

n. 一群牲畜；移动的人群

a drove of horses / cattle …

in droves

eg. Tourists come in droves to see the Imperial Palace.

innovator /'ɪnəveɪtə(r)/

n. 革新者，创新者

forge /fɔ:dʒ/

v. 打铁，锻造； 建立联系；伪造

eg. The United Sates forged an alliance with France in 1776.

eg. a forged passport

much the way

The steak is cooked the way I like it.

= The steak is cooked in the way I like it.

= The steak is cooked as I like it.

much

adv. nearly; about; approximately

eg. The patient's situation is much the same.

As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures.

• drop / fall / decrease (to …)

• rise / go up / increase / climb / escalate (to …)

  eg. House prices have escalated to a worrying level.

• soar / rocket (to …)

  eg. Gold prices soared / rocketed to their highest level since 1983.

Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office—spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast.

• perfect=bring … to perfection

• start-up

  n. a new small company, esp. one whose work involves

• get a jump on sb.

  gain an advantage over sb.

  give sb. a jump on sb.

• thrive on sth.

  eg. I wouldn’t want much pressure, but she seems to thrive on it.

a lock on sth.

= complete control of sth.

AT&T

American Telephone and Telegraph the largest telecommunications company in the United States, based in New York City.