To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf’s declaration 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 out 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 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.
63. Why does the author give the examples of the Challenger and Chernobyl?
A. To show that technology could be used to destroy our world.
B. To stress the author's concern about the safety of complex technology.
C. To prove that technology usually goes wrong, if not controlled by man.
D. To demonstrate that being a human creation, technology is likely to make an error.
64. What does the phrase "went haywire" in paragraph 2 most probably mean?
A. were out of range B. went out of date
C. fell out of use D. got out of control
65. 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
66. In the passage, the author clearly shows his_____________.
A. keen insight into the nature of technology
B. sharp criticism of the role of the Industrial Revolution
C. thorough analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers
D. comprehensive description of the negative consequences of technology