The Final Mile

The Final Mile
最後一哩的難題Bringing broadband to the backcountry
Is it possible to have high-speed Internet in places that are far away from the city?
让高速网路直通偏远地区，能否克服重重难关？
by Vance Fry

Sometimes we have to turn around and look behind us in order to see how far we’ve come. For me, it happened on a recent visit to a friend who lives on a farm some thirty minutes from town. I wanted to show him a video on YouTube that I liked, so we tried watching it over his dial-up Internet connection. The operative word here is tried. The video skipped and hiccuped. It stuttered and sputtered. It. Was. Agonizing.

Most of us are accustomed to a broadband Internet connection to the point of taking it for granted. Whether cable, DSL or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the days of the poky dial-up modem. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download in a fraction of the time it would have taken ten years ago. (And the files are much bigger too.) There's a catch, of course: You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don't, it's poky dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.

7-21-09

Technology experts often talk about the "last mile" problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it's relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely populated areas. The handful of Internet subscribers they would reach wouldn't justify the expense.

But every year, technological advancements allow broadband access to reach more and more people. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren't available everywhere. Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables promise to bring blisteringly fast Internet connections to more users.


Still, the last mile remains elusive. There will always be somewhere that doesn't have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication, it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.

DSL =digital subscriber line

operative (adj)-重要得，关键地 operate (v)-操作，运作。
The operative factor to her successful diet was exercise.
operative word-一段话或是一个句子中，最关键的字
*When she was employed with the company she made a lot of money. "Was" is the operative word here, because she just got fired last month.
sputter(v)-popping then slow down or stop. start a car then nothing happen.发出噼噼叭叭的声音（暴溅声）。噼噼叭叭的响声。或做慌乱的说话，口沫横飞的讲话。语无伦次的说话。争论。喷溅出的碎末。喷出。
The old car sputtered to life when Jordan turned the key.
*The air-conditioner sputtered for a while and then completely shut down.
*After he heard the news, he sputtered incoherently in a rage. 盛怒中
poky(adj)-very slow, dullness 无精打采的, 迟钝的
We were stuck behind a poky old truck all the way down the road.
Sometimes a mother will say to her children "stop being so poky, speed up"
catch(n)-问题，陷阱。
Judy wants this particular book but there is a catch. She has to buy two others to get it.
*The price of the house is way too cheap. There must be a catch to it some where.
*The salary of this job is great, but the catch is that you have to work night shifts.
hiccuped- 打嗝
stutter- 口吃，结疤。结结巴巴的说话。
broadband-频率多的，多种频率的。
dial-up-
agonizing- 使人烦恼的，苦闷得慌，痛苦难忍的
sparsely (adv)-related to remote, very few, separate apart from each other. 稀少地，稀疏地sparse-稀少的
Susan sat on the only chair in the middle of the sparsely decorated room.
*This sparsely populated area has no freeway. 人口稀少
*Dave just moved here, so his house is still sparsely furnished.房子空荡荡的，没什么家具。
justify (v)- to make right or balance to what it is done. or have a good reason to use it for. 正当的，有充分理由的.
just-公平的，公義的.
The buses here are so quick that it is hard to justify owning a car.
*Higher productivity can justify the cost of purchasing new machine.
*NO matter the reasons, you cannot justify your rudeness toward your parents.没理由的,,对父母粗劣的态度是不可以的
blisteringly (adv)-极度的。here refer to very very fast, rapidly. blistering-极坏的,极其的,极度的,(有恶劣的意思) blisteringly 大部分用来修饰副词或形容词。
Sam was blisteringly quick and won the race easily.
*The cars raced by blisteringly fast.
*No one can work in such blisteringly harsh weather conditions.
elusive (adj)-difficult to describe, mystery.
Sandra is so elusive that it's hard to find her.
reluctant -hesitate, not sure.
remote place- far from city, not too many people live.

Grammar:
Most of us are accustomed to a broadband Internet connection to the point of taking it for granted.
to the point of="to the level of" or "to the degree of"
Most of us are accustomed to a broadband Internet connection.
......to the point of taking it for granted.
The Travelers were tired to the point of collapsing.
Sandra was mad to the point of not being able to say anything at all.

Chat Room:
backcountry/wilderness
backcountry （任何）偏远未开发的地区is similar to wilderness矿野（含有纯朴，未受污染的空旷之地）, backcountry apply to it's position, and wilderness is apply to it's condition. a wilderness can exist in the backcountry. but not every backcountry is wilderness.
the outback-偏僻未开发的地区，尤指澳洲的内陆。
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The last final mile - The final mile-refer to the final step.
The final stretch-marathon you can call the final mile is the final stretch.
stretch- 可以表示运动场上，跑道的直线部分，接近终点的直线跑道--延伸出来的意思是最后階段.
final stretch of the pregnancy-一个怀胎8个月的孕妇.
The eleventh hour-12 hours on the clock, the time before 12 at 11, that means it doesn't have too much time left, the time is running out, it's running out of time. 最后时刻, 常用于截止前的时刻.