When was the last time you thought about living in a hyperconnected world?
你上一次是什么时候想到自己会生活在这样一个超级链接的世界中？
It’s easy to take email, social media, instant messaging and even the web for granted sometimes. They’ve become such a ubiquitous part of our lives that we ping messages to the other side of the earth with barely a second’s thought. But for those of us who remember the pre-internet days, the phenomenal changes brought about by the advent of digital communication are sometimes still truly breathtaking.
现在随处可见的电子邮件发送，社交媒体的应用，网络信息的传送，见怪不怪了早就。这些互联网应用的普及使我们可以在转瞬即逝之间给远在地球另一边的朋友发信息。可是对于那些习惯于没有互联网生活的老一辈人来说，这些新兴科技有时候还会让他们感叹不止。
Peering back in time
回到过去
If we peer back all the way to 1970, the world was a very different place. To communicate with someone on the other side of the world involved barely audible international phone calls with crackly lines and the risk of sudden and unexpected disconnection (not to mention the eye watering phone bill afterwards). Letters were an even more precarious method of communication. Scribbled onto paper and stuffed in an airmail envelope, we literally entrusted them to a network of mail carriers hauling them out of depots and onto aeroplanes and back into depots before finally (if we were lucky) arriving at their intended destinations.
如果我们再一次回到1970年代，会发现一个完全不一样的世界。为了和远在地球另一边的对方对话，你需要花很多钱打国际长途，而且信号时好时坏。写信更是让人感觉不牢靠。想想要把大把大把的信息写到一张纸上，用信纸包好，通过飞机寄到远在他乡的朋友，你就觉得不可靠。不仅要等很长时间，而且还有可能让对方收不到。
The mere thought of being able to pore over the Instagram feeds of Iranian fashion bloggers or retweet witticisms made by Canadian comics would have been so fanciful as to appear absurd. We could never have imagined following a video recipe from an amateur chef in Vietnam or getting into a heated debate about comic book trivia with a fellow geek in Peru. We seem to have normalised these miraculous wonders of technology incredibly quickly. In fact, we’re all so accustomed to this hyperconnected world that sometimes we forget what a recent development in human history it represents. Perhaps we’ve even become a little blasé?
有时想一想自己可以在instagram上看到关于伊朗时装的博客或者来自加拿大漫画的精品合集，就会不禁想到现在互联网力量的不可思议。我们之前从不会想到自己可以在网上收看一个来自越南大厨分享的菜谱秘方，也不会想到自己可以在线上参与一场关于一个卡通作品的辩论大会。我们貌似早已在互联网时代对这些科技应用见怪不怪了，甚至早已对它漠不关心了。
The year 1970 is significant because it saw the launch of the very first Earth Day. This worldwide event began just a year earlier with the simple idea of a peace activist from San Francisco to honour the earth and the concept of peace. This aim struck a chord around the world and over the years the movement grew to incorporate more and more people all across the planet. These days it is celebrated in 193 countries around the world and involves the participation of millions.
1970年是一个不同寻常的一年，因为它见证了第一个世界地球日的建立。这个世界节日源于之前一年一个来自美国旧金山的和平爱好者的设想，为了使传播世界和平的理念。后来这个节日逐渐被世界各国更多人所接受，现在全球有193多个国家都有参与进每年世界地球日的活动当中。
What does this mean for you?
这个对你来说有什么意义？
So, what does all this have to do with you? Well, the upcoming Earth Day (on April 22) is the perfect opportunity to reach out to your fellow human beings and make a connection that goes deeper than clicking on a “like” button or sharing a link with your family and friends. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with these everyday forms of interaction that we all utilise, but the possibilities for more are almost overwhelming in their scale. And this is where italki.com comes in. This language learning site helps you to connect with enthusiastic and friendly people from all over the world and allows a much more meaningful interaction than we’ve become accustomed to since the dawn of the digital age.
所以这个对你来说有什么意义？即将来临的世界地球日（4月22日），对你来说是绝佳的机会去结交新朋友，建立更深远的友谊。这在当今稍纵即逝的数字时代显得更尤为重要。而这里italki为大家提供一个最好的平台，我们这个语言学习网站致力于将世界各地志同道合学语言的人串联起来，相互提供机会互动，授课。为大家创建电子虚拟数字时代中可以培养深远友谊的平台。
Finding a conversation partner on the other side of the world means you can celebrate Earth Day in the most fitting way possible: by forging connections with your fellow human beings and sharing ideas, hopes and dreams for the future. Perhaps you’ll be speaking to a structural engineer in Uzbekistan or a librarian in Hong Kong? Maybe you’ll connect with a student in New York (home of the very first Earth Day) or an accountant in Brazil? Whoever you speak to, it’ll give you an opportunity to experience the hyperconnected world at its very best by bringing people together and sharing ideas about the planet we all live on.
在我们italki平台找到一个来自地球另一端的语言搭档，共同庆祝世界地球日，是最圆满的方式。因为你可以通过这个语言平台和世界各地的人互动，分享信息，希望。传播对未来美好的展望。也许你可以有幸和一个来自乌兹别克斯坦的工程师来互动，也许你可以找到一个来自香港的图书馆管理员，或是一个来自纽约的学生，甚至一个来自巴西的会计。无论你在我们的平台找到的是谁，你都可以和它构建联系，共同分享这个世界的精彩。
Language learning is one of the vital steps to realising the incredible potential of this hyperconnected world: being able to communicate with your fellow earthling. Digital communication has made the world a much smaller place and will undoubtedly continue to change how societies and individuals interact over the coming years. So, why not say hello to your neighbour this Earth Day?
语言学习是在如今强大数字时代必不可少的，你需要通过语言学习和来自世界不同的人来进行交流。电子科技如今已经将当今世界变得很小，人们相互之间都可以很容易地进行交流。所以如果你能学习掌握相互的语言，岂不是更好。
How to find your Earth Day partner
如何找到你世界地球日的搭档？
Finding a partner to share your Earth Day experience with couldn’t be easier. Visit italki.com/partners and search by languages. You can find someone who speaks your target language or even just someone who wants to practice your mother tongue. After finding someone suitable, send them a message to introduce yourself. What are your interests? How do you spend your time? What surprising or amazing things have you done in your life? Remember to include any relevant information about what you’d like to get out of the experience, such as learning about their culture or getting a unique insight into their life. Perhaps you’re involved in your own Earth Day project and want to talk about what it means for you?
想在世界地球日找到你的搭档其实很简单。你只需要光临我们italki的网站，来搜寻你的语言搭档。你可以找到想和你做语言交换学习的人，给他们的主页发个信息，介绍一下你自己，你就有机会可以展开一段跨越国际的语言学习。但是别忘了告诉你的语言学习搭档你的学习目标，而且还要力求在语言交换学习中学习对方国家的文化，做到多方位学习。也许你已经参与到世界地球日的宣传活动当中，那么尝试把它分享给你的语言搭档吧，听听他们怎么说。
If you’re passionate about languages, you’re passionate about the world you live in. So, there’s no excuse for not sharing that passion with others! Earth Day is about building a movement, inspiring change on the personal level and implementing changes on the global level. By taking the time to connect with someone on the other side of the world you can change the way they think about the planet and its future. What a privilege! And remember to share your Earth Day stories in the comment section below.
如果你对学习语言充满兴趣，那么说明你对生活充满向往。所以，你没有借口不向他人分享你生活中的没好点滴。这也就是世界地球日的意义所在———向来自世界各地的人分享你生活中的美好点滴，传递快乐和激情。通过和来自世界各地的人建立交往，共同致力于为我们地球家园创建美好未来。请给我们留言，分享给我们你关于世界地球日的故事。
