Considering how recent these developments are, it is even more remarkable that as long ago as the 1960s, an Englishman, Leon Bagrit, was able to predict some of the uses of computers which we know today.

considering ^{prep. & conj. in view of (the fact that); taking into consideration  考虑到…，鉴于…（非谓语如果属于固定习语搭配时，就不再要求逻辑主语与主句主语统一，所以干脆被看成了介词）}

• Considering  the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
• Considering (that) he's only just started, he knows quite a lot about it.

as long ago as … = as early as … ^{早在…就…}

• As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters.

Bagrit dismissed the idea that computers would learn to 'think' for themselves and would 'rule the world', which people liked to believe in those days.

dismiss ^{v. 含义1. to remove someone from their job 解雇，辞退 (比 fire 文言一些)}

• The poor girl was dismissed instantly.

dismiss ^{v. 含义2. to refuse to consider sb’s idea, opinion etc, because you think it is not serious, true, or important 对…不予理会，对…不屑一顾}

• The government has dismissed criticisms that the country's health policy is a mess.

do sth. for oneself ^{亲自…，独立…}

• The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself.
• So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialized labour.

in those days ^{在当年，在当初}

• In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for Prize money. 
• Though in those days, traveling was not as easy as it is today, steam boats carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe.
• Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please.
• In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere. They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport.

Bagrit foresaw a time when computers would be small enough to hold in the hand, ^{定语从句1}

when they would be capable of providing information about traffic jams and suggesting alternative routes, ^{并列定语从句2}

when they would be used in hospitals to help doctors to diagnose illnesses, ^{并列定语从句3}

when they would relieve office workers and accountants of dull, repetitive clerical work. ^{并列定语从句4}

foresee ^{vt. (foresaw, foreseen) 预见 …}

• The disaster could not have been foreseen.
• Few analysts foresaw that oil prices would rise so steeply.

traffic jams = traffic congestion  ^交通堵塞

• People are fed up with all these traffic jams. ^{人们厌烦这么多的交通堵塞。}
• I got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. ^{我被困在最严重的一次大塞车之中。}
• The plan should ease traffic congestion in the town. ^{这项计划对城里的交通拥挤状况应该有所缓解。}
• The problems of traffic congestion will not disappear in a hurry. ^{交通堵塞问题不会很快消失。}

diagnose ^{v. 诊断}

• The test is used to diagnose a variety of diseases. ^{此项化验可用于诊断多种疾病。}
• How did they diagnose you? ^{他们怎么给你的诊断的？}
• It could also help doctors diagnose illnesses. ^{它也能协助医生诊断病情。}

relieve sb. of sth. ^{to help sb. by taking sth. heavy or difficult from them 替某人做某事，使某人免于…}

• Let me relieve you of some of your bags.
• The new secretary will relieve us of some of the paperwork.

clerk ^{n. 含义1. person employed in an office, a shop, etc to keep records, accounts, etc. 文书；办事员；事务员}

• She was offered a job as a clerk with a travel agency. ^{她找到了在一家旅行社做文书的工作。}

clerk ^{n. 含义2. (AmE) assistant in a shop 店员，售货员}

• Now Thomas was working as a clerk in a shop that sold leather goods. ^{现在托马斯在一家卖皮革品的店里做售货员。}

All these computer uses have become commonplace.

commonplace ^{adj.happening or existing in many places, and therefore not special or unusual 寻常的，司空见惯的，不足为奇的}

• Car thefts are commonplace in this part of town. 
• Computers are now commonplace in primary classrooms. 

Of course, Leon Bagrit couldn't possibly have foreseen the development of the Internet, the worldwide system  that enables us to communicate instantly with anyone in any part of the world by using computers linked to telephone networks.

can’t / couldn’t possibly … ^{used to emphasize that you cannot do sth., or that sth. cannot or could not happen or be done（强调）不能或不可能……}

• I can't possibly allow you to go home in this weather. 
• She couldn't possibly have heard what was said.

possibly ^{经常与 can / could 连用以表示“尽全力”的意思，后跟动词时常用can / could possibly + 动词，后省略动词时常用 possibly can / could}

• No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go. ^{（前后动词不一致，不可省略）}
• She's done everything she could possibly think of to help. ^{（前后动词不一致，不可省略）}
• We shall be contributing as much as we possibly can to the campaign. ^{后面省略了“contribute”}
• Doctors did everything they possibly could to save his life. ^{后面省略了“do”}

No matter what the conditions were, He believed that a person should contribute as much as he possibly could to society. ^{无论在任何情况下，他都认为一个人应该尽可能地为社会做出贡献。}
No matter what the conditions were, He believed that a person should make as many contributions as he could possibly think of to society.^{无论在任何情况下，他都认为一个人应该为社会做出他能想到的尽可能多的贡献。}

… to communicate instantly with anyone …

• Instant messaging allows users to communicate instantly with business contacts and colleagues.^{即时消息传递使用户能够与业务联系人和同事进行即时沟通。}
• By means of modern technology we are able to communicate with each other instantly.^{通过现代技术，我们可以即时通信。}

instant communication ^{即时交流沟通}

• Instant communication is accepted by people as a way of communication.^{即时通信作为一种通信形式受大众喜爱。}
• What do you think of Taobao's instant communication software provided?^{您对于淘宝网站所提供的联系方式的看法？}

IM (instant messaging) ^{a type of service available on the Internet that allows you to quickly exchange written messages with people that you know 即时通讯}

• Are you addicted to instant messaging? ^{您痴迷于即时消息？}
• Email, calendaring, and instant messaging. ^{电子邮件、日历和即时消息传递。}
• Email and instant messaging changed all that. ^{电邮和即时短信把这一切都改变了。}
• Instant messaging from the mail database. ^{来自邮件数据库的即时消息。}

Nor could he have foreseen how we could use the Internet to obtain information on every known subject, so we can read it on a screen in our homes and even print it as well if we want to.

Nor is the city without its moments of beauty. ^部分倒装

Computers have become smaller and smaller, more and more powerful and cheaper and cheaper.

比较级 ^{表示“越来越”}

This is what makes Leon Bagrit's predictions particularly remarkable. ^主系表

particularly ^{adv.非常，尤其；特别是；清楚地，明确地}

• Progress has been particularly disappointing. ^{进展一直格外令人失望。}
• Keep your office space looking good, particularly your desk. ^{保持你办公的地方整洁美观，特别是办公桌。}
• More local employment will be created, particularly in service industries. ^{更多的面向当地的就业将被创造出来，尤其是在服务业。}

If he, or someone like him, were alive today, he might be able to tell us what to expect in the next 50 years.

“疑问词 + to do” ^{可以视为名词性从句的缩略形式}