阅读理解科普知识类第8关

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 (变得混乱)and there was no ready hand to set them light. 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 structure of American life, 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. It 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.

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 to both man and animal

本题答案： A B C D

参考答案：C
系统解析：
第2段第3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 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

本题答案： A B C D

参考答案：D
系统解析：
根据题干关键词the Challenger and Chernobyl査找到第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 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

本题答案： A B C D

参考答案：D
系统解析：
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 By using the phrase “the human quality of technology” (Line 6，Para. 2), 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

本题答案： A B C D

参考答案：B
系统解析：
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 The passage is based on the author’s ____.: A.keen insight into the nature of technology
B.prejudiced criticism of the role of the Industrial Revolution
C.cautions analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers
D.exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technology

本题答案： A B C D

参考答案：A
系统解析：
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，D项也可排除，A正确。