篇章阅读24：科技
To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf s assertion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.
Yet we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is a human creation; it does not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object on which to rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywire and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use our technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades. and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.
Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the Industrial Revolution. Yet when we ask why the Industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was a revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.
In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the struccure of American fife, particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The Industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. n is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represents its greatest potential and that poses the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society.
参考译文
如今，生活在美国就会理解达伦道夫关于社会变化无所不在的断言。作为知识的实际性应用。技术是社会变化的主要根源。
但是，我们应当提醒自己：技术也是人类的产物，它不是自然存在的。一根矛或一个机器人都既是客观物体又是文化产物。除非人们用矛去捕获猎物或用机器人去生产机器零件，否则二者都只不过是硬梆梆的物体而已。对于一只寻找栖息物的小鸟来说，一根矛或一个机器人所起的作用完全一样。美国挑战者号航天飞机的爆炸以及俄罗斯切尔诺贝利核泄露事件彻底暴露了技术的人为性特征。在这些案例中，规划良好的体系一下子变得混乱，而且没人能让它们立即恢复正常运转。既然技术是人类的创造，我们就要对它所造成的后果负责。悲观者担心我们利用技术到头来会把这个世界和我们自己炸成齑粉。但是这话他们说了几十年，到目前为止，我们还是安然无恙，甚至欣欣向荣。我们能否在未来的岁月里继续如此还是未知之数。显然，技术给我们生活所带来的影响值得进一步调查研究。
很少有其他技术发展比计算机革命给我们生活带来的影响更大了。科学家和工程师设计出专门的机器来完成曾经是只有人类才能完成的任务。有人断言这种以信息为基础的经济转型可以同其他重大的历史里程碑 尤其是工业革命相提并论。但是，当我们探询工业革命何以是场革命的时候，我们发现原因不在于机器的革新，首要原因在于工业革命引发了巨大的社会变化。它促进了大规模生产。并通过大规模生产，产生了一个财富不只为少数人拥有的社会。
遵循多少有些相同的模式，计算机注定会使美国人的生活结构发生革命性变化，尤其是计算机解放了人脑，在获取知识和交流沟通方面开辟了新的途径。工业革命利用机械手段补充和替代了人和动物的部分体力劳动。计算机深化了这种发展趋势，利用电子手段补充和替代了人类思维的某些方面。正是计算机这种解决问题和做出判断的能力代表了它巨大的潜力，也为人们预测其对社会所带来的影响增加了极大的难度。
测试题
1. A spear or a robot has the quality of technology only when it_____________.
A) is used both as a cultural and a physical object
B) serves different purposes equally well
C) is utilized by man
D) can be of use co both man and animal
2. The examples of the Challenger and Chernobyl cited by the author serve to show that_________________.
A) if not given close examination, technology could be used to destroy our world
B) technology is a human creation, so we are responsible for it
C) technology usually goes wrong, if not controlled by man
D) being a human creation. technology is liable to error
3. According to the author. the introduction of the computer is a revolution mainly because__________________.
A) the computer has revolutionized the workings of the human mind
B) the computer can do the tasks that could only be done by people before
C) it has helped to switch to an information technology
D) it has a great potential impact on society
4. By using the phrase the human quality of technology , the author refers to the fact that technology_______________.
A) has a great impact on human life
B) has some characteristics of human nature
C) can replace some aspects of the human mind
D) does not exist in the natural world
5. The passage is based on the authors_______________.
A) keen insight into the nature of technology
B) prejudiced criticism of the role of the Industrial Revolution
C) cautious analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers
D) exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technology
选项翻译与答案详解
1.长矛和机器人只有在什么时候才有技术含量?
A)它们被用作文化和物理实体的时候。
B)它们能同样满足不同的需要的时候。
C)它们被人类所利用的时候。
D)它们可以被人类和动物所利用的时候。
第2段第3句提到，除非人们用矛去捕获猎物或用机器人去生产机器零件，否则二者都只不过是硬梆梆的物体而已。也就是说只有这些东西为人类所用的时候，它们才具有科技含量，C正确。其他选项利用原文个别信息，胡乱拼凑而成，不符题意。
2.作者引述了挑战者和切诺比的例子是为了论证_________________。
A)如果技术没有经过严密的检查，就告被用来摧毁我们的世界
B)技术是人类创造出来的，所以我们应该对它们负责
C)技术如果不受人类控制的话通常会出问题
D)技术是人类创造出来的，容易出错
根据题干关键词the Challenger and Chernobyl查找到第2段第5句。该句提到，美国挑战者号航天飞机的爆炸以及俄罗斯切尔诺贝利核泄露事件彻底暴露了技术的人为性特征。也就是说技术是人为创造出来的，容易出问题,D正确。B虽然文中有所提及，却不是作者举例要说明的问题，A.C在原文中找不到依据。
3.作者认为，电脑的引入是一种革命，主要的原因是____。
A)电脑大大改变了人类的工作
B)电脑现在可以做以前只能由人来做的工作
C)电脑帮助促成了信息技术
D)电脑对社会有很大的潜在影响力
第3段倒数第2句提到，工业革命之所以是一场革命，原因不在于机器的革新，主要原因是工业革命引发了巨大的社会变化，因此D正确。其他三个选项为这一变化的某一具体表现，不够全面，因此排除。
4.作者使用了 技术的人为性 (第2段第7行)，指的是技术____。
A)能对人类生活产生很大的影响 B)有着一些人性的特点
C)可以取代人类思维的某些方面 D)在自然世界中不存在
根据题干查找到第2段，本词组所在句以两个技术事件说明技术的人为性特征，即技术同人性一样，存在弱点，B正确。
5.文章是建立在作者____的基础之上的。
A)对于技术本质的精辟洞察力
B)对于工业革命作用带有偏见的批判
C)对干人类思维被电脑取代的谨慎分析
D)对技术的负面影响的夸张描述
本题可用排除法。B中的 批判 ，C中的 人类思维被电脑取代 在原文找不到作者的相关观点;虽然文中提及科技带来负面的东西，却没有对技术的负面影响进行夸大的描述，此三项均可排除，A正确。