What are bitcoins, and should you invest in them? How many calories do you burn while riding a bike for an hour? What's the best way to unclog a toilet? No matter what the question is, you can find the answer on the internet.
比特币是什么，你要投资他们吗?当你骑一个小时自行车时，你消耗了多少热量?疏通马桶的最好的方法是什么?无论那些问题，你都可以在网上找到答案。
While many of us remember what life was like before the World Wide Web, few of us can imagine the future without it. The ability to search for answers to an embarrassing question or communicate with people from across the globe — all with the stroke of a keyboard — would be pretty hard to give up. And with faster broadband networks and WiFi hotspots everywhere we turn, many of us stay connected nearly 24 hours a day.
虽然大家中的很多人都记得万维网出现前的生活是什么样的，但大家中极少有人可以想象没它将来会是什么样的。搜索让人难堪问题的答案，或是与来自全世界的人交流-所有些这类都可以通过键盘完成-这类都很难舍弃。有了愈加迅速的宽带互联网，与大家到的每一个地方都有免费WiFi，大部分人几乎24小时都是维持联系的。
We've put together our own list of a few things the internet can do to make life easier and more enjoyable for everyone. We may take most of them for granted. But it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves that thanks to the internet, we can now:
大家把网络能让大家的生活变得更简单，更美好的一些事情都放在一块了。大家或许常常觉得这类都是理所当然的。但这对于提醒大家感谢网络也没害处，大家目前可以：
1. Fund a business.
投资业务。
Coming up with a great idea for a new business is only half the battle. The other half involves coming up with the money to fund that great idea. And sometimes waltzing into a bank and taking out a substantial loan isn't an option for a young entrepreneur.
为一项新业务想到了一个好点子只成功了一半。另一半需要资金来资助这个好点子。有时昂首阔步走进银行，拿走很多的贷款对于年轻的企业家来讲并非个好选择。
Fortunately, the internet has made it easy for people to raise capital for startups and personal projects through crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. "Veronica Mars" fans banded together to raise nearly $6 million on Kickstarter to produce the "Veronica Mars" film when Warner Bros. refused to fund it. The crowdfunding website also made it possible for the technology startup Oculus Rift to fund its first virtual gaming product, garnering over $2 million from supporters. It's safe to say the amount is nowhere close to what a bank would have offered the young entrepreneurs.
幸运的是，网络使大家通过众筹网站为公司和个人项目筹筹资金变得容易。当Bros.拒绝资助他们时，"美眉校探"的粉结合起来，在Kickstarter筹集了将近600万USD来制作"美眉校探"电影。众筹网站同样让技术创业Oculus Rift资助第一个虚拟游戏商品成为可能，从支持者那获得超越200万USD的成本。可以有把握的说，这个数目比银行可以提供给年轻企业家的差远了。
2. Learn something new.
学习新东西。
If you're hungry for knowledge, the internet is the perfect place to satisfy your appetite. A working mom who doesn't have time to make it into a classroom can now earn her MBA or work toward a nursing degree while her kids are fast asleep upstairs. online universities like University of Phoenix offer students the flexibility to earn degrees whenever and wherever is convenient for them. More and more traditional universities are also offering online education as a supplement to on-campus classes.
假如你求知若渴，那样互联网是满足你的癖好的完美之地。没时间到教室上课的工薪族母亲，当她的孩子在楼上睡着时，目前可以攻读MBA或致力于护理学位的学习。在线大学，比如凤凰城大学，给学生提供攻读学位的灵活性，无论什么时间，无论什么地址都便于他们学习。愈加多的传统大学也提供一些在线教育作为在校课程的补充。
For those who aren't interested in jumping all the way into a degree, Massive Open online Courses at institutions like Khan Academy and Coursera give you the ability to pick and choose courses on just about any subject — ranging from organic chemistry to art history — while sites like Tree House Academy and Codecademy allow users to hone in on specific skills including coding, website design, and app development. By breaking down barriers, the internet gives people located in the most remote parts of the world access to knowledge they wouldn't otherwise have.
对于那些对攻读一个学位不感兴趣的人来讲，大规模的开放互联网课程研究机构，比如可汗学院和Coursera，给你提供可以选择任何课程的权利--从有机化学到艺术史--类似Tree House Academy 和Codecademy的网站允许用户全心钻研具体的方法，包含编码、网站制作、APP定制开发。通过突破障碍，互联网给予偏远区域的人 学习常识的机会。
3. Stay connected.
维持联系。
It’s now easier than ever before to stay connected with people. facebook serves as a daily high school and college reunion, informing you when old friends have gotten engaged or are expecting a child. Platforms like Skype or FaceTime can keep an executive in China connected to her team based in New York City. Forums and messaging platforms like Reddit let you argue with someone in Minnesota about "The Walking Dead" all the way from Los Angeles. Twitter lets you chat with fans of the show simultaneously in real-time. A basic internet connection allows people to transcend thousands of miles and connect with others in a way that just wasn't possible a couple decades ago.
目前大家维持联系比以前容易多了。facebook 担当起每天高中和大学校友聚会的角色，公告你老友订婚的时间或要孩子的时间。像Skype和FaceTime的平台，可以让在中国的高管同她在纽约的团队维持联系。像Reddit的平台和消息平台，可以叫你从洛杉矶一路都同明尼苏达州的人争论关于“行尸走肉”的话题。Twitter叫你同时实时的同演出的粉聊天。一个基本的互联网连接可以叫人们跨越数千英里，在某点上同别的人联系，这在几十年前是不可能的。
4. Improve our health.
改变大家的健康。
It used to be that when you got sick, you called your family doctor, who might examine you and then refer you to a specialist. Today, patients can get medical advice, research remedies, self-diagnose , and book doctor appointments while sitting at their desks.
过去，当你生病时，你一般都是叫你的家庭大夫，他或许会为你做检查，然后给你介绍一位专家。目前，患者可以得到医疗建议，研究弥补手段与自我诊断，当他们坐在办公室桌椅前时，就能预约大夫了。
But the advances of the internet also have far-reaching implications for healthcare and the quality of our lives. For those aren't able to visit a doctor in person, the practice of telemedicine represents the future of healthcare. Using videoconferencing or smartphones, doctors can examine patients remotely — whether they're diagnosing a common cold or evaluating stroke symptoms — which helps save lives while cutting down on cosplayts and other resources. Telesurgery, which enables doctors to operate on patients despite not being in the room, is dramatically expanding healthcare opportunities for people in underserved communities.
但互联网的建议也会对大家的医疗保健与大家的生活水平产生深远的影响。对于那些不可以亲自去看大夫的人，远程医疗的实践象征着医疗保健的将来。用视频会议或智能手机，大夫可以远距离的检查患者--不管他们诊断的是普通的感冒还是评估中风症状--如此在减少花费和其它资源的同时，也帮助拯救生命。远程外科手术，帮助大夫给患者做手术，尽管不是在房间里面，也为缺医少药的社区大幅度地扩大了医疗机会。
And the internet is bringing health practitioners together to learn from each other and collaborate on new advancements. This is happening both within hospitals and across borders: Johns Hopkins, for example, has partnered with Hospital Moinhos de Vento in Brazil to share medical knowledge, research, and best practices with the doctors and staff there.
并且互联网将健康从业者组织在一块，互相学习，一同协作一同进步。这类可以在医院发生，也可以跨越国界发生：比如，Johns Hopkins与巴西Moinhos de Vento医院合作推荐医疗常识、研究与同这里的大夫和职工的最好的经验。
5. Be entertained .
娱乐自己。
You're stuck in the airport on a six-hour layover with two unruly kids ... for six hours. If you're fortunate to have a reliable internet connection and a Netflix subscription, then you're most likely the happiest parent around.
你和两个不守规矩的孩子被困在机场6个小时...6个小时。假如你非常幸运的有一个可以信赖的互联网连接和Netflix订阅服务，那样你可能是周围最幸福的爸爸妈妈。
And forget about your kids — what about you? How many hours have you dedicated to binge-watching television shows and movies on a rainy Saturday afternoon? More than you'd probably like to admit. In 2014, Netflix users streamed nearly 6.5 BILLION hours of video in the first quarter alone. That's a lot of "House of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black." From making a long commute bearable to serving as the perfect distraction in a boring meeting, the internet has become our our default, go-to conduit to streaming and downloadable entertainment.
忘了你的孩子--你呢?在下雨的星期六的下午你会看多久的电视和电影呢?可能比你会承认的要多。在2014年，Netflix用户仅仅只在首季就看了将近65亿个小时的视频。不少看的都是《纸牌屋》和《女子监狱》。从很难忍受的长途通勤到作为无聊会议时的绝佳放松方法，互联网成为了大家的默认系统，大家借助它浏览节目和下载娱乐节目。
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（责任编辑：何莹莹）
