Directions: Read the
following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into
Chinese. Write your translation clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Electronic or "cyber" warfare holds the promise of destroying an army’s —
or even a whole nation’s — ability to function without hurting human life. The
technology is reaching the point, however, where cyber warfare may be decisive
in its own right. 61) In highly centralized military operations,
communications and data management have become essential tools linking
individual small units and the central command structure.
The neutron bomb is one of the most horrid weapons ever devised: It
doesn’t damage property; it only kills higher life-forms. 62) Wouldn’t the
opposite be wonderful, a device like the robot’s ray in The Day the Earth Stood
Still, which melts down weapons but not soldiers Electronic or "cyber"
warfare — hacking into an enemy’s computers, jamming radio transmissions, and
the like-holds that promise. It can-destroy an army’s — or even a whole nation’s
— ability to function, but does not hurt human life. The United
States has very good electronic warfare capabilities, but has used them only to
support conventional military operations. The technology is reaching the point,
however, where cyber warfare may be decisive in its own right. 63) Before we
imagine what such a "cyberwar" scenario might be like, let’s briefly look at how
electronic warfare developed. During the Civil War,
operations conducted by the Union army against the Confederate telegraph system
foretold modern twentieth-century electronic warfare. Union operatives
penetrated Confederate lines to tap into and read military traffic on the
Confederate telegraph system. 64) Not only did these operations yield
valuable intelligence information, but some operators even began sending bogus
messages to sow confusion in the Confederate ranks. Just
before World War I, radio communication seemed like a real boon to naval
operations because it allowed ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications,
especially in bad weather. Before this time, flags or light blinkers with
limited range provided the only means of communication between ships.
Naval ship captains, however, were aware that a sophisticated set of
shore-based equipment could locate ships by their radio transmission. By
listening to the transmissions, the enemy could ascertain the number and type of
ships even if they could not decode actual messages. For this reason, the U. S.
Navy was particularly resistant to using radio. However, U.S. military observers
aboard British warships soon saw that the tactical advantages of radio
outweighed the intelligence losses. Electronic warfare grew
rapidly in World War II with the advent of radar. 65) Monitoring radar
frequencies allowed spoofing or jamming of enemy radar and led to major units
and equipment devoted solely to countermeasures and counter-countermeasures.
Gathering intelligence from radio transmissions also increased greatly.