Remember the Stone Age days of research back in elementary school and middle school？ We would spend countless hours digesting1 the information we could find on index cards. Do you recall using those ancient computers that ran with the Gopher program or some generic2 database whose name connoted3 a marmot4 that could take half an hour to find Moby Dick？

　　Well， all I have to say can be summed up5 in five words： Thank God For The Internet！ Screw6 going to the library！ I have access to dozens of databases， journals， and collections of literature right at my fingertips. I can complete all of my research at home and no longer must run amok7 in the library， stressing out while trying to find Shakespeare's8 The Tempest9 or some other book， all the while trying to block out the noisy study groups who have forgotten what the " silence policy of libraries" means.

　　If you recall the flood epidemic10 that hit Colorado State University just a couple summers ago， that natural disaster wreaked11 havoc12 all over campus. A large portion of journals and texts were located in our libraries' basement which completely filled up with about 10 feet of rain water in a matter of hours.

　　The Lory Student Center's basement was also flooded and that was where the university bookstore was located. This forced almost every professor to order new textbooks and that really put a dent13 in our wallets. Many students here， myself included， still have to face the disappointment of searching for a particular book or journal for a last minute paper， only to find out that the certain item was a casualty14 of the flood.

　　Thanks to the Internet， the university implemented15 the Inter-Library Loan system. Several universities around Colorado have generously aided us in our research endeavors by loaning any resource we need for at least two to three weeks. All we have to do is type in a request and five other university libraries automatically search for that information.

　　Without this program， I may have failed several papers and projects. I would have had to spend my nights running from public library to public library around the state just to find a certain article or novel. The World Wide Web has also given us the capability to order any textbook at a much lower price than the university bookstores charge. Hey， we're all college students and we're usually broke16，so anytime we can find a deal or discount that will save us a few bucks17， we will gladly take it.

　　And last but not least18， for those of us who are constantly homesick， have a special someone far away， or still want to keep in touch with pals， we have e-mail. Like most of you， I moved away from home to go to school and my high school friends spread out across the globe. Instead of wasting money on stationery and envelopes and stamps （which seem to increase in price about every year）， I can chat with everyone through the Internet. Plus， scanning19 has allowed us to send pictures to our sweethearts， friends， and family who have forgotten what we look like. So， I'm asking everyone to get on their hands and knees and to pay homage20 to the tele- communications god， the Internet.

　　還記得上小學和中學時那種石器時代的研究方法嗎？我們得花數不清的時間去整理我們在索引卡片上所能找到的信息。你還記得使用那些古老的計算機，靠運行黃鼠工具程序，或者是一種名字意味著土撥鼠的某種數據庫，要花上半個小時的時間才能找到《大白鯊》這本小說嗎？

　　我所說的一切可以歸結為五個字：感謝互聯網！別了圖書館！我的手指一動，就可以輕而易舉地進入很多數據庫，找到大量期刊和文學作品。我在家就能完成我的所有研究，而不用再去圖書館緊張地去尋找莎士比亞的《暴風雨》或其他的書，也不必去忍受那些吵鬧的學習研究小組，他們常忘了"在圖書館要保持安靜"的規定。

　　你是否還記得幾年前襲擊科羅拉多州立大學的那場洪水，這場自然災害使整個校園遭殃。我們學校的圖書館地下室存放著大量期刊和教材，在幾個小時里都完全泡在深達10英尺的雨水里。

　　洛里學生中心的地下室也被洪水淹了，那里是大學的書店所在地。這使幾乎所有教授都要定購新的教科書，當然是我們學生掏腰包。許多學生包括我自己，仍然要面對令人沮喪的現實：在要完成一篇論文的最后一分鐘去查找某本書或某本期刊，結果發現這本書或期刊已成為洪水的犧牲品。

　　幸虧有了互聯網，大學得以使用圖書館際租借系統。科羅拉多州的幾個大學已經為我們的研究工作提供了很大的幫助，他們可以借給我們所需的任何資料至少兩三個星期。我們所要做的只是將查詢內容敲進計算機，其他五所大學的圖書館會自動地搜索這個信息。

　　如果沒有這個程序，我可能就無法完成我的數篇論文和課題項目。僅僅為了找到一篇文章或小說，我就不得不利用晚上的時間從州內一個公共圖書館跑到另一個公共圖書館。萬維網使我們能夠以比大學書店定價低得多的價格定購任何課本。嘿，我們這些大學生常常是不名一文的，因此只要有這種能節省我們幾元錢的買賣和折扣，我們都樂意接受它。

　　最后但卻是很重要的一點，對于我們這些常犯思鄉病的人來說，不是想遠方那位特別的人，就是想與哥們兒朋友保持聯系，電子郵件可以滿足我們的愿望。就像你們大多數人一樣，我也是遠離家鄉來上大學，我中學時的朋友遍布全球。不愿在信箋、信封和郵票（其價格似乎每年都在上漲）上浪費錢財，我可以通過因特網與每個人聊天。而且，我們可以用掃描儀把自己的照片傳給那些已經忘記了我們模樣的心上人、朋友和家人。因此，我要讓每個人對互聯網這個電子通信的上帝誠心誠意地表達敬意。

　　注釋：

　　1.digest vt.整理，把…分類

　　2.generic adj.類的，通用的

　　3.connote vt.包含，意味著

　　4.marmot n.旱獺，土撥鼠

　　5.sumup總結，概括

　　6.screw vt.別了，讓…見鬼去

　　7.runamok 失去控制，狂熱追求

　　8.Shakespeare William莎士比亞（1564～1616）英國劇作家，詩人

　　9.tempest n.暴風雨

　　10.epidemic adj.流行的

　　11.wreak vt.造成（破壞等）

　　12.havoc n.（天災）大破壞，大毀壞

　　13.dent n.損害，削減

　　14.casualty n.損失（或毀壞）的東西

　　15.implement vt.實施，使生效

　　16.broke adj.不名一文的，破了產的

　　17.buck n.（一）元，（一筆）錢

　　18.notleast相當重要地，特別，尤其

　　19.scanning n.掃描儀

　　20.homage n.崇敬，敬意

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