Passage Thirty-three (Importance of a Computer)
As citizens of advanced but vulnerable economies, we must either relentlessly increase the quality of our skills or see our standard of living erode. For the future, competition between nations will be increasingly based on technological skill. Oil and natural resources will still be important, but they no longer will determine a nations economic strength. This will now be a matter of the way people organize them selves and the nature and quality of their work. Japan and the new Japans of East Asia are demonstrating this point in ways that are becoming painfully obvious to the older industrial countries.
There is simply no way to rest on our past achievements. Todays competition renders obsolete huge chunks of what we know and what forces us to innovate. For each individual. Several careers will be customary, and continuing education and retraining will be inescapable. To attain this extraordinary level of education, government, business, schools, and even individuals will turn to technology for the answer.
In industry, processing the information and designing the changes necessary to keep up with the market has meant the growing use of computers. The schools are now following close behind. Already some colleges in the United States are requiting a computer for each student. It is estimated that 500,000 computers are already in use in American high schools and elementary schools. Although there is an abysmal lack of educational software, the number of computers in schools expands rapidly.
The computer is the Proteus of machines, as it takes on a thousand forms and serves a thousand functions. But its truly revolutionary character can be seen in its interactive potential. With advanced computers, learning can be individualized and self-paced. Teachers can become more productive and the entire learning environment enriched.
It is striking how much current teaching is a product of pencil and paper technology. With the computers capacity for simulation and diverse kinds of feedback, all sorts of new possibilities open up for the redesign of curriculums. Seymour Papert, the inventor of the computer language LOGO, believes that concepts in physics and advanced mathematics can be taught in the early grades with the use of computers. On every-day level, word-processing significantly improves the capacity for written expression. In terms of drill and practice, self-paced computer-assisted instruction enables the student to advance rapidlywithout being limited by the conflicting needs of the entire class. In short, once we learn to use this new brain outside the brain, education will never be the same.
Industry, faced with the pressures of a rapidly shifting market, is already designing new methods to retrain its workers, In the United States, a technological university has been set up to teach engineering courses by satellite. And the advances in telecommunications and computational power will dramatically expand the opportunities for national and international efforts in education and training.
Without romanticizing the machine, it is clear that computers uniquely change the potential for equipping todays citizens for unprecedented tasks of the future. Particularly in Europe and the United States, innovation will be the basis for continued prosperity. New competitors are emerging to challenge the old economic arrangements. How successfully we respond will depend on how much we invest in people and how wisely we employ the learning tools of the new technology.
What is the decisive factor in future competition between nations?
[A]. Oil.
[B]. Technological skill.
[C]. Natural resources
[D] Education
2. The main idea of this passage is
[A]. Knowledge of a Computer.
[B]. Importance of a Computer.
[C]. Function of Knowledge.
[C]. Function of Technology.
3. Why does further study become indispensable?
[A]. People want to so more jobs.
[B]. People want to attain this extraordinary level of education.
[C]. People would not rest on the past achievements.
[D]. What we know becomes obsolete.
4. The word Proteus is closest in meaning to
[A]. flexibility.
[B]. diversity.
[C]. variety.
[D]. multiplicity.
Vocabulary
relentlessly 始终不懈的 obsolete 过时的,大量的,绝大部分的 chunk 大块,大量的,绝大部分 abysmal 无底的,极端的 Proteus 希腊神话中海神,能随意变化。这里指flexible, 灵活多变
6. take on 显现,显示
7. LOGO=logotyre 标识语,作为标志的语言
8. rapidly shifting 瞬息万变的
9. romanticizing 使浪漫化,使幻想化
桥的那一边On the Other Side
崭新的一天A New Day
献给20几岁正在迷茫的人:时间已经不多了
我有一个梦想:如何在10分钟内发现你的人生目标
专心地忧伤ClearYourMentalSpace
不想穷下去就仔细看:你可以成功,就看你给不给自己机会
态度决定一切:六种调整心态的方式重塑你的生活
成功的8个秘笈Eight Things Leading to Success
突然的改变A Change in Lifestyle
《少年派的奇幻漂流》八句经典台词
摧毁意志力的四样东西Four Things That Undermine Your Willpower
花之歌Song of The Flower
双语美文:来自内心的礼物
我是怎样地爱你How do I love thee
每周后悔两小时:人生最后悔的20件事
美好生活,从学会感激开始
让我们心怀信仰, Let Us Have Faith
问得好,傻瓜
比尔盖茨十句语录:揭成为首富的秘密
做最好的自己:这十件事请放手人生篇
语言的力量可能改变你一生的10句话
圣雄甘地的十句改变世界的名言:爱是勇者的特权
生命很短生活很长:人人都该知道的十大人生哲学
我的世界观The World as I See It
汉诗英译:狼和爱情The Wolf and Love
锻炼消除你的消极思想Practice Ignoring Your Negative Thoughts
品味感恩名言:感恩为你开启充实生活之门
水调歌头Thinking of You
哲理:五件值得承认的事情5 Things Worth Admitting To
时不我待,珍惜现在Stop Waiting
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |