2016考研英语最新时文泛读：什么是代码？

考研英语来源：经济学人 2015-09-18　

今天的2016考研英语泛读文章源自2015年9月8日的《经济学人》，给我们介绍了到底什么事代码?文中涉及很多计算机用语，这在考研英语阅读真题当中是非常常见的，例如：code代码;programmer程序员;digital instruction数字指令;computers execute计算机执行等等。来看一下具体内容：

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?事实上，可以说当代文明是由软件驱动的，从电梯到汽车，从飞机到手机，都需要计算机及其控制的设备进行计算和对它们的环境做出反应的数字指令。那么软件是如何实现这一指令的呢?当然首先需要有人写出代码。但代码并不完全就是软件，可以说，代码是程序员绞尽脑汁创作出来的符号;而软件是计算机执行指令的结果。那么代码又是怎么一回事呢?

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.写代码的过程就是编程的过程，是为计算机编写指令的行为，这在人们表达自我与计算机实际运行之间搭建了一座桥梁。虽然编程语言有上百种之多，但通常使用一种高等级编程语言要先对更加容易一些。这样的语言才真正能够准确而高效地表达复杂抽象的指令。

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.与人类的语言类似，各种编程语言都能表达类似的思想。但在现实中，有些语言比其他语言更适合于某些用途，这就像法语传统上用于外交，而英语则是国际商业用语一样。而且，就如同懂得几门不同的语言能够让学习其他语言变得更容易一样，编程语言也是如此。

简单来说，编程是有魔力的。代码中的数字和符号被转化为可以由微电路去执行以便得到预想结果的指令。从而使图像现身屏幕(Pixels appear on the screen);电梯上升(lifts move);机票被预定(airline tickets are ordered);表单得到分类(lists are sorted)，电子邮件得以发送(e-mails are delivered)。但是，仅仅因为这些结果似乎是用魔力的，并不意味着编程就是神秘的、难以企及的。事实上，编程的一大乐趣就是，计算机是神秘的对立面：它们是以一种可预测性极高的、持续的和具有确定性的方式运行的。通过这篇文章的泛读，希望2016考研学子对计算机编程的基本常识以及常用术语有一个基本了解，以便顺利的理解英语原文。考研任重道远，小编与你同在!