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'Wiki' – W-I-K-I. There can't be many people left who haven't heard of Wikipedia.
Wiki（维基）。现在应该很少有人没听说过维基百科了。
At least not many who have access to the internet.
至少在那些上网的人中，不会有太多。
But ask them what a 'wiki' is, and there's a good chance you'll be met with a blank look and a scratch of the head.
但是要问他们什么是'wiki'，很有可能你会看到一个茫然的表情和挠头的动作。
But what is Wikipedia?
那么，什么是Wikipedia呢？
If you've followed this series from the beginning, you'll have already seen some examples of words which are formed by blending two words together.
如果你是从一开始就跟随这个系列的话，那么你应该已经看到了一些由两个词混合在一起而形成一个新的单词的例子了。
This is another example – OK, I get the '-pedia' part – that's from encyclopedia, right?
这是另外的一个例子--好的，看一下'pedia'这部分--它来源于encyclopedia（百科全书），对吗？
Yes, but what about the wiki?
好的，那么wiki呢？
In fact it's the 'wiki' part which is the USP (unique selling point) of Wikipedia.
事实上，'wiki'这部分是Wikipedia的独特卖点。
It means that anyone can contribute their own information and content to the site.
它指的是任何人都可以为该网站提供他们自己的信息和内容。
It's open to anybody, anywhere at any time.
它对任何人、任何地点都是开放的。
The 'wiki' part is actually a Hawaiian word meaning 'quickly'.
'wiki'这一部分实际上是夏威夷语中'快'这个词。
Ward Cunningham, the man credited with developing the wiki concept for the internet,
沃德·坎宁安，这个被认为是为互联网发展出维基观点的人，
was at Honolulu airport in Hawaii and was told to take the 'wiki wiki bus'.
有一次在夏威夷的檀香山机场被告知要乘坐wiki wiki bus（机场内巴士）。
He was understandably confused and when he asked what it meant was told it simply meant the quick bus.
他当时很困惑，而当他问这是什么意思的时候，则被告知就是简单的意味着快捷巴士。
He liked it so much he decided to name his new web project after it.
他非常喜欢这个词，于是他决定以此给自己的新的网络项目命名。
Basically, wikis are websites which are very easy to set up,
大体上来说，维基是指那些很容易建立的网站，
because they generally use WYSIWYG tools (see Series 2) and they can then be edited by anybody
因为它们通常使用的是所见即所得工具（见系列2），可以被任何人来编辑，
you don't have to be the creator of the site to add more content.
你没必要是以网站的创建人的身份来增加更多内容。
They are used in education, for class projects, in business and even in politics.
维基可以用于教育领域的课程项目，也可以用于商业领域甚至政治领域。
But the open nature of wikis and their ease of use can be a disadvantage.
但是维基开放的环境和其易用性也成为了一个缺点。
In 2006 the UK government department for environment, food and rural affairs (DEFRA) set up a wiki to invite discussion about new environmental policies.
2006年，英国环境、食品及农村事务部搭建了一个维基论坛，来讨论新环境政策。
Unfortunately, not all the contributions were entirely serious.
不幸的是，不是所有的投稿内容都很严肃。
In reply to the question, 'What tools can be used to deliver the environmental contract?'
作为对问题“什么样的工具可以用来交付环境合同”的回复，
one contributor wrote: 'Spade, Organic Yoghurt Stirrer, Old washing up liquid bottle, Sticky Back Plastic'.
一位投稿者写道：“铁锹、有机酸奶搅拌器、旧的洗液瓶、粘性塑料滚筒。”
At the time some reports of the story were along the lines of 'Hackers deface government website',
当时，一些有关这一事件的报道是类似这样的：“黑客破坏政府网站”，
a headline which totally missed the point that the key to wikis is the fact that they are open and can be added to by anybody
这样的一个大标题完全忽略了一点，那就是对于维基来说，最重要的是他们是公开的，可以被任何人添加，
and that's exactly what happened in this case.
而这恰恰就发生在这一案例中。
The UK government might think twice before setting up another wiki.
英国政府在搭建另一个维基论坛之间，可能要仔细思考一下了。
