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式是什么？无论什么问题，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.

虽然我们中的许多人都记得万维网出现前的生活是怎样的，但是我们中很少有人能够想象没有它未来会是怎样的。搜索令人难堪问题的答案，或是与来自全世界的人交流-所有的这些都可以通过键盘完成-这些都难以放弃。有了更加快速的宽带网络，以及我们到的每个地方都有免费WiFi，大多数人几乎24小时都是保持联系的。

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:

我们把互联网能让我们的生活变得更简单，更美好的一些事情都放在一起了。我们也许常常认为这些都是理所当然的。但是这对于提醒我们感谢互联网也没有害处，我们现在能够：

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 (or broke) 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。有时候昂首阔步走进银行，拿走大量的贷款对于年轻（或破产）的企业家来说并不是个好选择。

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 Rift¹ to fund its first virtual gaming product, garnering² 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，互联网使人们通过众筹网站（例如Kickstarter 和Indiegogo）为公司和个人项目筹集资金变得容易。当Bros.拒绝资助他们时，"美眉校探"的粉丝结合起来，在Kickstarter筹集了将近600万美元来制作"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产品成为可能，从支持者那获得超过200万美元的费用。可以有把握的说，这个数量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 Phoenix³ offer students the flexibility⁴ 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.

如果你求知若渴，那么网络是满足你的嗜好的完美之地。没有时间到教室上课的上班族妈妈，当她的孩子在楼上睡着时，现在可以攻读MBA或致力于护理学位的学习。在线大学，例如凤凰城大学，给学生提供攻读学位的灵活性，无论什么时间，无论什么地点都便于他们学习。越来越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 (MOOCs) 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没有兴趣的人来说，大规模的开放网络课程(MOOCs)研究机构，例如可汗学院和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技巧，包括编码、网页设计、app开发。通过突破障碍，网络给予偏远地区的人 （否则不会有的）学习知识的机会。

3. Stay connected.保持联系。

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. Forums⁵ 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 simultaneously⁶ in real-time. A basic internet connection allows people to transcend⁷ thousands of miles and connect with others in a way that just wasn't possible a couple decades ago.

现在人们保持联系比以前容易多了。Facebook 担当起每日高中和大学校友聚会的角色，通知你老朋友订婚的时间或要小孩的时间。类似于Skype和FaceTime的平台，可以让在中国的高管同她在纽约的团队保持联系。类似于Reddit的论坛和消息平台，可以让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让你同时实时的同演出的粉丝聊天。一个基本的网络连接可以让人们跨越数千英里，在某点上同其他人联系，这在几十年前是不可能的。

4. Improve our health.改善我们的健康。

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 (hello, hypochondriacs), and book doctor appointments while sitting at their desks.

过去，当你生病时，你通常都是叫你的家庭医生，他可能会为你做检查，然后给你介绍一位专家。现在，病人可以得到医疗建议，研究补救措施以及自我诊断（你好，忧郁症患者），当他们坐在办公桌前时，就可以预约医生了。

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 costs 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.

但是网络的建议也会对我们的医疗保健以及我们的生活质量产生深远的影响。对于那些不能亲自去看医生的人，远程医疗的实践象征着医疗保健的未来。使用视频会议或智能手机，医生能够远距离的检查病人--不管他们诊断的是普通的感冒还是评估中风症状--这样在降低花费和其它资源的同时，也帮助拯救生命。远程外科手术，帮助医生给病人做手术，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 practitioners⁸ together to learn from each other and collaborate⁹ on new advancements¹⁰. 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.

并且网络将健康从业者组织在一起，互相学习，共同协作共同进步。这些可以在医院发生，也可以跨越国界发生：例如，Johns Hopkins与巴西Moinhos de Vento医院合作分享医疗知识、研究以及同这里的医生和职工的最好的经验。

5. Be entertained (or entertain someone else).娱乐自己（或者娱乐其他人）。

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 subscription¹¹, 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。如果你很幸运的有一个可以信任的网络连接和Netflix订阅服务，那么你可能是周围最幸福的父母。

And forget about your kids — what about you? How many hours have you dedicated¹² 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 commute¹³ bearable to serving as the perfect (secret) distraction¹⁴ 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长时间的电视和电影呢？可能比你会承认的要多。在2014年，Netflix用户仅仅只在第一季度就看了将近65亿个小时的视频。很多看的都是《纸牌屋》和《女子监狱》。从难以忍受的长途通勤到作为无聊会议时的绝佳（秘密）放松方式，网络成为了我们的默认系统，我们利用它浏览节目和下载娱乐节目。