Internet access slows to a crawl in China |
文章来源： 文章作者： 发布时间：2006-12-29 01:04 字体： [ 大 中 小] 进入论坛 |
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
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| Dec. 28 - Access to overseas websites from the Chinese mainland slowed to a crawl yesterday as a powerful earthquake off the Taiwan coast knocked off international undersea fibre-optic cables on Tuesday, affecting communications around Asia.
It is believed to be the most serious disruption since 2001, when a submarine cable connecting the mainland with the United States was cut off more than four times, mostly by fishing boats.
It is not clear when normal service will be restored.
China Telecom Corp, the mainland's largest fixed-line carrier, said six undersea cables were cut off 15 kilometres from the southern coast of Taiwan, causing severe Internet congestion1 on the mainland. International voice calls were also affected2.
A survey by Internet portal Sina.com yesterday showed that 97 per cent of Internet users on the mainland had difficulty accessing overseas websites, and 57 per cent said their lives and work were affected. But access to mainland websites remains3 normal.
Such disruptions underscore the increasing importance of back-up systems.
"We have to use alternative cables as well as satellite communications," said Xu Yongming, an official in charge of China Netcom's international network.
He added that mainland operators are working with their overseas counterparts to repair the damaged cables.
"Aftershocks off Taiwan make it even harder to repair the damaged cables," said a China Telecom spokeswoman.
The disruption affected telecommunications services in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Japan and paralyzed some banking4 services.
In Hong Kong, Internet connection, long distance calls and online financial transactions were affected, but the stock exchange said operations were normal.
Internet connection speed was much slower than normal. Some overseas websites in the United States, Britain and Taiwan could not be accessed. Emails and online chatting were barely functioning.
Internet Society of Hong Kong Chairman Charles Mok said overseas users connecting to Hong Kong and the mainland's websites were also affected.
Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination5 Centre Manager Roy Ko said it might take months to repair the cables.
Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom may be hardest hit. It said repairing the cable could take three weeks, adding that almost no calls could be made to Southeast Asia.
Chunghwa said voice calls to the mainland, Japan and the United States were down 10, 11 and 40 per cent of normal capacity.
The Chinese mainland is less affected as operators here have alternative lines away from quake-hit Taiwan, said Xu with Netcom.
He said it may take a shorter time to restore communications on the mainland but limited capacity could slow down access to overseas websites, especially during peak hours.
Current Internet networks on the mainland already face a bottleneck6 in capacity given the growing popularity of broadband Internet access as well as data-heavy services such as video downloads.
At the end of November, the mainland had 51 million broadband Internet subscribers, an increase of 13.7 million compared to the end of last year, according to the Ministry7 of Information Industry.
China Telecom Executive Vice-President Leng Rongquan last week said the current submarine cable network linking China and the US will not be able to meet demand after 2008.
Six operators from China, South Korea and the United States including Verizon Business last week signed a deal to build a submarine cable linking China and the United States at an investment of US$500 million.
The new cable will have more than 60 times the overall capacity of the existing one linking the United States and China.
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点击  收听单词发音
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1
congestion
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| n.阻塞，消化不良 |
参考例句： |
- The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
- Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。
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2
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 |
参考例句： |
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
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3
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 |
参考例句： |
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
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4
banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 |
参考例句： |
- John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
- He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。
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5
coordination
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| n.协调，协作 |
参考例句： |
- Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
- The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。
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6
bottleneck
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| n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环 |
参考例句： |
- The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
- China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。
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7
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 |
参考例句： |
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
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