2024年4月27日发(作者：信晓枫)
Is Technology Moving Too Fast?阅读理解答
案
Is Technology Moving Too Fast?
Differing fundamentally from the prior technologies such
as telephone, television and automobile, which are better known
as lock-in, the new technologies—computers, biotechnology and
nanotech (纳米技术)—are self-accelerating. This means that the
products of their own processes enable them to develop even
more rapidly. Since they drive almost whole sectors of society,
creating unstable, unpredictable and unreliable conditions, there
is a growing public concern that perhaps what civilization needs
is a NOT-SO-FAST button.
Supporters of technological determinism make a strong
case for letting self-accelerating technologies follow their own
life cycle. Rapid development in computer technology, they
point out, has separated robotics and the Internet—to the great
benefit of industry and human communications. Besides, it isn’
t so easy for a free society to put the brakes on technology. Even
if one country decided to abandon the next technological
revolution, another country would gladly take it up.
However, there are comforting situations in which
technology may brake itself.
In the aging population of the developed world, many
people are already tired of trying to keep up with the latest cool
new tech. Youth-driven tech acceleration could be interpreted as
simple youthful stupidity—short-sighted and short-lived. The
market for change could dry up, and lock-in might again
become the norm. Stress and great tiredness make powerful
decelerators.
Change that is too rapid can be deeply divisive. If only
elite (精英) can keep up, the rest of us will grow increasingly
puzzled about how the world works. We can understand natural
biology, complex as it is, because it holds still. But how will we
ever be able to understand quantum computing (量子计算) or
nanotechnology if its complexity keeps accelerating away from
us?
Constant technological revolution makes planning
difficult, and a society that stops planning for the future is likely
to become a fragile society. It could experience violent
economic unrest. It could slip into wars fought with cruel new
weapons. Its widespread new technologies could fail in massive
or horrible ways. All these constant, worrying small failures
could weaken the whole social progress.
With so many powerful forces in play, technology could
hyper-accelerate to the stars with astonishing rapidity, or it could
stop completely. My expectation is that it will do both, with
various technologies proceeding at various rates. The new
technologies may be self-accelerating, but they are not
self-determining. They are the result of ever renegotiated
agreement with society. Because they are so powerful, their
paths may undergo wild swings, but I think the trend will be
toward the dynamic middle: much slower than the optimists
expect, much faster than the pessimists think humanity can bear.
67. Supporters of technology self-acceleration hold the
view that ________.
A. the society is free to make the technology go more
slowly
B. the high rate of computer tech is of great benefit to
human
C. robotics has developed less rapidly than computer
technology
D. self-accelerating technologies promote international
cooperation
68. According to the passage, what may slow down the
accelerating technology?
A. A carefully planned society. B. The simple youthful
stupidity.
C. People’s stress and exhaustion. D. The rapid change
of the market.
69. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To guide the new technologies for a safe acceleration.
B. To confirm the public concern about new technologies.
C. To explain the threats in technological
self-acceleration.
D. To relieve the public fear for technology acceleration.
70. Which of the following shows the development of
ideas in this passage?
A B D
CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C:
Conclusion
67. B 68. C 69. D 70. D
2024年4月27日发(作者：信晓枫)
Is Technology Moving Too Fast?阅读理解答
案
Is Technology Moving Too Fast?
Differing fundamentally from the prior technologies such
as telephone, television and automobile, which are better known
as lock-in, the new technologies—computers, biotechnology and
nanotech (纳米技术)—are self-accelerating. This means that the
products of their own processes enable them to develop even
more rapidly. Since they drive almost whole sectors of society,
creating unstable, unpredictable and unreliable conditions, there
is a growing public concern that perhaps what civilization needs
is a NOT-SO-FAST button.
Supporters of technological determinism make a strong
case for letting self-accelerating technologies follow their own
life cycle. Rapid development in computer technology, they
point out, has separated robotics and the Internet—to the great
benefit of industry and human communications. Besides, it isn’
t so easy for a free society to put the brakes on technology. Even
if one country decided to abandon the next technological
revolution, another country would gladly take it up.
However, there are comforting situations in which
technology may brake itself.
In the aging population of the developed world, many
people are already tired of trying to keep up with the latest cool
new tech. Youth-driven tech acceleration could be interpreted as
simple youthful stupidity—short-sighted and short-lived. The
market for change could dry up, and lock-in might again
become the norm. Stress and great tiredness make powerful
decelerators.
Change that is too rapid can be deeply divisive. If only
elite (精英) can keep up, the rest of us will grow increasingly
puzzled about how the world works. We can understand natural
biology, complex as it is, because it holds still. But how will we
ever be able to understand quantum computing (量子计算) or
nanotechnology if its complexity keeps accelerating away from
us?
Constant technological revolution makes planning
difficult, and a society that stops planning for the future is likely
to become a fragile society. It could experience violent
economic unrest. It could slip into wars fought with cruel new
weapons. Its widespread new technologies could fail in massive
or horrible ways. All these constant, worrying small failures
could weaken the whole social progress.
With so many powerful forces in play, technology could
hyper-accelerate to the stars with astonishing rapidity, or it could
stop completely. My expectation is that it will do both, with
various technologies proceeding at various rates. The new
technologies may be self-accelerating, but they are not
self-determining. They are the result of ever renegotiated
agreement with society. Because they are so powerful, their
paths may undergo wild swings, but I think the trend will be
toward the dynamic middle: much slower than the optimists
expect, much faster than the pessimists think humanity can bear.
67. Supporters of technology self-acceleration hold the
view that ________.
A. the society is free to make the technology go more
slowly
B. the high rate of computer tech is of great benefit to
human
C. robotics has developed less rapidly than computer
technology
D. self-accelerating technologies promote international
cooperation
68. According to the passage, what may slow down the
accelerating technology?
A. A carefully planned society. B. The simple youthful
stupidity.
C. People’s stress and exhaustion. D. The rapid change
of the market.
69. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To guide the new technologies for a safe acceleration.
B. To confirm the public concern about new technologies.
C. To explain the threats in technological
self-acceleration.
D. To relieve the public fear for technology acceleration.
70. Which of the following shows the development of
ideas in this passage?
A B D
CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C:
Conclusion
67. B 68. C 69. D 70. D