2021考研英语：纽约时报精选·疫情期间,你的网速慢了吗?

考研英语来源：文都半岛真人体育整理 2020-04-10　

WASHINGTON — In late January, as China locked down some provinces to contain the spread of the coronavirus, average internet speeds in the country slowed as people who were stuck inside went online more and clogged the networks. In Hubei Province, the epicenter of infections, mobile broadband speeds fell by more than half.

华盛顿——1月下旬，正值中国封锁一些省份以遏制冠状病毒的时候，全国的平均网速慢了下来，因为被困在室内的人们开始更多地上网，导致网络堵塞。在疫情暴发的湖北省，移动宽带速度下降了一半以上。

In mid-February, when the virus hit Italy, Germany and Spain, internet speeds in those countries also began to deteriorate.

2月中旬，当病毒袭击意大利、德国和西班牙时，这些国家的网速同样开始下降。

Quarantines around the world have made people more reliant on the internet to communicate, work, learn and stay entertained. But as the use of YouTube, Netflix, Zoom videoconferencing, Facebook calls and videogaming has surged to new highs, the stress on internet infrastructure is starting to show in Europe and the United States — and the traffic is probably far from its peak.

世界各地的隔离使得人们更加依赖网络来进行交流、工作、学习和娱乐。但随着YouTube、Netflix、Zoom视频会议、Facebook通话和电子游戏的使用飙升至新高，互联网基础设施所承受的压力开始在欧洲和美国显现——而这个流量可能还远未达到峰值。

Some tech companies have responded to the call to ease internet traffic. YouTube, which is owned by Google, said this week that it would reduce the quality of its videos from high to standard definition across the globe.

一些科技公司已对缓解互联网压力的号召作出回应。谷歌旗下的YouTube本周表示，将在全球范围内将其视频质量从高清降至标清。

Internet service providers said they could handle the deluge of traffic but were adding capacity. Verizon, Cox and AT&T said they were building more cell sites to strengthen mobile networks, increasing the number of fiber connections on their network backbones, and upgrading the routing and switching technology that lets devices talk to one another and share an internet connection.

互联网服务提供商表示，他们可以处理大量的流量，但也在扩容。威瑞森、考克斯(Cox)和AT&T表示，他们正在建设更多蜂窝站，以加强移动网络，增加其网络主干上的光纤连接数量，并升级路由和交换技术，使设备之间能够相互通信并共享互联网连接。

To prevent clogged networks, Europe has taken the most aggressive steps.

为了防止网络拥堵，欧洲已经采取了一些激烈的措施。