Lesson 10-1      Silicon valley

Technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to the future. Carver Mead, a pioneer in integrated circuits and a professor of computer science at the California Institute of Technology, notes there are now work-stations that enable engineers to design, test and produce chips right on their desks, much the way an editor creates a newsletter on a Macintosh. As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures. Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office -- spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast. 'We're got more garages with smart people,' Mead observes. 'We really thrive on anarchy.'

silicon /ˈsɪlɪkən/ 硅

integrated /ˈɪntɪɡreɪtɪd/ 集成的;综合的;完整统一的;

circuit /ˈsɜːrkɪt/  电路;线路;巡回;  周游

integrated circuit  集成电路

workstation  工作站

chip /tʃɪp/ 芯片、集成电路片

much the way 就像。。。。一样

drop to  下降到;降到;

soar /sɔːr/  翱翔、高飞范围;上升高度

penalize /ˈpiːnəlaɪz/ 惩罚;处罚;

be free to 可以做。。。

customize /ˈkʌstəmaɪz/ 按客户要求定制的

spawn /spɔːn/ 引起、酿成

rival /ˈraɪvl/ 竞争对手

thrive /θraɪv/  繁荣;蓬勃发展;茁壮成长;

anarchy /ˈænərki/ 无政府状态;混乱;