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1、英语阅读理解基本素材经济学人科技类Passage1WirelessbroadbandComputerchipsfor“open-spectrum”devicesareaclosedbookTELECOMMUNICATIONSusedtobeaclosedgame,fromthecopperandfibrethatcarriedthemessages,tothephonesthemselves.Now,opennessreignsintheworldofwires.Networksmustinterconnectwiththoseofcompetitors,anduse
2、rscanplugintheirowndevicesastheywill.Oneresultofthisopennesshasbeenalotofinnovation.Opennessiscomingtothewirelessworld,too.Cheapandpowerfuldevicesthatuseunlicensedandlightlyregulatedpartsoftheradiospectrumareproliferating.Butthereisaproblem.Thoughthespectrumisopen,themicroprocessorchips
3、thatdrivethedeviceswhichuseitarenot.Theinterfaceinformation—thetechnicaldataneededtowritesoftwarethatwouldallowthosechipstobeusedinnovelways—isnormallykeptsecretbymanufacturers.Theresultcouldbealotlessinnovationintheopenwirelessworldthanintheopenwiredone.Take,forexample,theChampaign-Urb
4、anaCommunityWirelessNetwork(CUWiN),inIllinois.Thisgroupistryingtocreateaso-calledmeshedWi-Finetwork.Wi-Fiisawirelesstechnologythatallowsbroadbandinternetcommunicationoverarangeofabout50metres.Thatrangecould,however,beextendedifthedevicesinanareawereconfiguredtoactas“platforms”thatbothre
5、ceiveandtransmitsignals.Messageswouldthenhopfromoneplatformtoanotheruntiltheygottotheirdestination.ThatwouldallowsuchthingsasneighbourhoodmobilephonecompaniesandaplethoraofradioandTVstations,andallforalmostnocost.Buttomakesuchgoodieswork,CUWiNneedstotweaktheunderlyingcapabilitiesofWi-Fi
6、chipsinspecialways.Whenitsengineersrequestedtheinterfaceinformationfromthefirmsthatfurnishthechips,however,theywereoftenrebuffed.Afewcompanieswithlow-end,oldertechnologysuppliedit.ButBroadcomandAtheros,thetwoproducersofthesophisticatedchipsthatCUWiNneedsifitssystemistosingproperly,refus
7、ed.NorisCUWiNaloneinitsenforcedignorance.SeattleWirelessandNYCwireless,amongothergroups,havesimilarideas,butaresimilarlystymied.ChristianSandvigoftheUniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign,whohasbeenstudyingthebrouhaha,believesregulatorsoughttoenforcemoreopenness.BroadcomandAthe
