新概念雙語：最近網(wǎng)速變差：原來是圣誕樹惹的禍

Are your goldfish sabotaging your wifi? Or is it your Christmas-tree lights? Follow these top tips to keep your internet up to speed.

你的金魚破壞了你的無線網(wǎng)?或者是你的圣誕樹小彩燈的原因?看看下邊這些高招，讓你的網(wǎng)絡(luò)暢通無阻。

For many of us， untangling strings of Christmas-tree lights is an annual bore. But now it seems that’s not the only problem they pose.

對于很多人來說，每年解下圣誕樹上的小彩燈是個很讓人煩惱的事。但是小彩燈帶來的煩惱不止這些。

According to the regulator Ofcom， too many fairy lights can interfere with your wireless internet connection — making it hard to shop online， download music or watch films on the internet.

據(jù)通信管理局的管理員說，很多圣誕節(jié)小彩燈都會干涉無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)的連接—讓你無法網(wǎng)上購物，無法下載音樂和看電影。

An estimated six million Britons are routinely frustrated with the unreliability and sluggish speed of wifi in their homes — and interference from electrical appliances， including festive lights， is a major cause of slow internet.

大約有600萬英國人被家里無線網(wǎng)緩慢網(wǎng)速和不穩(wěn)定性折磨，然而網(wǎng)速的干擾因素很多歸咎于電子設(shè)備，包括圣誕節(jié)彩燈。

So is Ofcom right? Can fairy lights really ruin your wifi? And what else can wreak havoc with your connection? Here’s all you need to know.

那這么說通信管理局是正確的嘍?圣誕樹小彩燈真的會干擾你的網(wǎng)速嗎?那別的東西還會破壞你的網(wǎng)速嗎?下面這些是你需要了解的。

WHAT EXACTLTY IS WIFI?

WIFI 到底是什么?

Wifi is the wireless system that allows computers， smartphones， games consoles and other gadgets to connect to the internet.

Wifi 是一種無線系統(tǒng)，它可以讓你的電腦，智能手機，游戲機操作器和其他一些設(shè)備連接上網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

It stands for ‘wireless fidelity’ and the connections are made using radiowaves.

它代表著“無線準確”，連接是通過無線電波生成的。

HOW DOES IT WORK?

它是怎么工作的?

The heart of every home wifi network is a box called a wifi router (sometimes called a hub or wireless access point).

每個家庭無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)的中心是一個被叫做無線路由器的盒子(有時候稱無線鏈接點或者無線連接中心)。

The box is a mini radio transmitter and receiver which typically connects to the internet through an ordinary phone socket. It converts information from the internet into radiowaves， which it broadcasts to any nearby gadgets equipped with wifi。 At the same time， it receives radio signals from those gadgets and feeds them back to the internet.

該盒子是一個迷你無線電發(fā)射器和接收器，通常通過一個普通的電話插座連接到互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。它將信息從互聯(lián)網(wǎng)傳輸?shù)綗o線電波，向附近的任何配備WiFi的小設(shè)備發(fā)送電波。同時，它接收來自這些小設(shè)備的無線電信號，并將它們送回互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。

All new computers， smartphones and games machines have built-in wifi。 It is increasingly being fitted to TV sets to allow them to play programmes directly from the internet. Older devices can use wifi if they are fitted with a plug-in adaptor.

所有的新買的電腦，智能手機和游戲機都有內(nèi)嵌的wifi。無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)已經(jīng)逐漸配置到電視機里，讓它們可以直接播放來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的節(jié)目。舊的設(shè)備如果安裝上可插入的適配器也可以使用無線網(wǎng)。

WHEN IT GOES SLOW

什么時候網(wǎng)速變慢

As anyone with wifi in their home will testify， wireless internet can be unreliable.

因為任何人可以連接同一個無線網(wǎng)，所以說無線網(wǎng)是不安全的。

Some days， connections are fast： website pages appear instantly and video clips play without interruption. Other days， it slows right down， making online shopping， browsing and downloading a frustrating experience. One day the signal reaches every room in the house; the next it’s feeble.

有時候，網(wǎng)速特別快，網(wǎng)頁一點即開，視頻播放暢通無阻。而有些時候，網(wǎng)速卻沒那么順暢，網(wǎng)上購物、瀏覽網(wǎng)頁和下載東西都很不順暢。有時候，無線網(wǎng)覆蓋幾個房間，而有時候網(wǎng)絡(luò)信號卻很弱。

BEWARE FAIRY LIGHTS

小心圣誕樹小彩燈

Ofcom says fairy lights are a major cause of erratic wifi at this time of year. Anything that uses electricity generates an electromagnetic field — an invisible cloud of electrically charged particles. If the field is big enough， it can interfere with radiowaves used in wifi networks.

通信管理局說道，接近圣誕節(jié)，最近一段時間，圣誕節(jié)小彩燈成為影響網(wǎng)速的主要因素。任何使用電的東西都會生成一個電磁場——這是一種看不見的電子顆粒云。如果這個磁場足夠強大，它就會干擾使用無線網(wǎng)的電波。

Any electrical wiring or lights can disrupt wifi. But Christmas lights are especially bad because they contain so much wire， whether strung up in hallways or wrapped round trees， which makes the magnetic field larger.

任何電線或者電燈都會破壞無線網(wǎng)。但是圣誕節(jié)彩燈破壞性會很大，因為它們包括著很多電線，不管是將它們串在走廊里還是環(huán)繞在圣誕樹上，它形成的磁場都會比較大。

Experts say the interference is even worse when the lights are programmed to flash on and off， and when they are close to the wifi router. And， unlike many other electrical appliances， they are often left on all the time.

老師稱，當接近路由器的電燈忽隱忽現(xiàn)時，它對網(wǎng)絡(luò)的破壞性是很大的。小彩燈不像其他的電子設(shè)備，它們基本總是處于開啟狀態(tài)。

Internet company TalkTalk claims fairy lights can reduce wifi performance by 25 per cent.

Talk Talk 網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司聲稱小彩燈會將無線網(wǎng)的性能降低25%。