惊叹网络的抄袭，那么多个雷同的错误页面

本文修正了一些明显的错误之处，如

1.网页的词汇错误pees(撒尿)----pose构成（困难）；

2.网页的解释错误，有人居然把...drive home the human quality of technology理解为“把技术带回家”，很无语.

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 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. 
阅读指导 

appreciation 理解the bank's lack of appreciation of their problems.

drive home使…明白; 讲清楚

haywire = out of control失去控制的（go ~）

flourish迅速发展；兴旺

assert断言，坚称

supplement 补充物

in a … fashion以…方式

pose形成，构成（问题，危险，困难） 

 

课文串讲

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. 

1. 这样的文章似不太容易

2. 本段出现观点：social change exists everywhere; Technology, is a major source of social change. 

3. 但作者是借别人的口说出的, 作者自己的态度是_________ (到这里为止还没出现) 

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.

1. 这里用的yet, 语气不完全相同于but, 即不完全是转折，而是递进，是一种补充。但很多情况，都可能等于but的含义

2. 作者说：technology is a human creation; 鸟没这种能力(这后半句是推断，并非是废话，写出来把话说明了，容易理解) 

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. 

1. 作者进行例证，用了Challenger和 Chernobyl事件

2. 该例证的目的是_________. 这个作者紧接着进行了解释: 人们对出现的错误，有无法解决的时候. 但既然技术是人创造的，人对技术的施用是应该负责的. (你人类难道还要鸟来负责？呵呵)

3. 技术的两种观点：j悲观的；k有保留的乐观（作者的态度） 

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. 

1. 继续用computer例证;

对于人类的生活，几乎没有什么技术成就能比电脑的问世造成的影响更大了。科学家和工程师们已经设计出特殊机器，可以完成那些以前只能由人来完成的工作

2. 别人观点：进入到现代基于信息的经济，与以往进行到历史里程碑性的进程(如工业革命)相比同类

3. 注意因果句。 因：it (工业革命) led to great social change; 果：the industrial Revolution was a revolution. 不要因果倒置

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. 注意起首的类比句

2. 计算机的作用；工业革命的作用；两者关系

3. 强调句, 最后一个that可以不用 

 

习题讲解

31. 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

【解】

31.只有当矛和机器人_________时，才具有技术特性。

A)被当作一种文化的和物质的物体使用
B)用作不同用途时效果相同
C)被人类使用
D)能够被人和动物使用
1. A这个干扰项超强烈，主要是干扰句与原句看上太像了，而意思又难以搞清：

A spear or a robot has the quality of technology only when it is used both as a cultural and a physical object第一句是说，矛 = 文化+实体同时使用，才有技术特性

A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. 注意谓语单复数，第二句是说 ，矛 = 文化与实体有同样重的份量；机器人在两种情况下，与矛也是同样

可见A选项与原文的句子，虽然“长相”很类似，但意思并不同

2. B 这个选项，是截取的只言片语，容易排除；

3. D是明显的错误项，还没有这么高智能的动物，严重违法生活常识；

4. C 是下面这句话的翻板，正确

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.

除非人类用矛去狩猎或用机器人去生产机器零件，否则它们就只不过是一堆固体物质。对一只寻找一根可以休息的树枝的鸟来说，矛和机器人的功能无异。

the purpose = looking for an object on which to rest 即鸟分不清两者的技术区别，它不懂长矛（初等技术）与机器人（高等技术）有什么不同，仅就它栖息而言，两者没有区别

32. 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

1. A容易排除

2. B与原文Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it.一致

3. CD两个纠结选项的共同点都是出错，针对题干，C错误比D明显. 因为无任航天飞机还是核电站，都是有人控制的，故就这两个例子而言，不存在if not controlled by man之说；D是太符合生活逻辑的选项

4. 平行选项，两者都不会是答案。

33. 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

1. A违背严重生活；

2. 原文对应的是specialized machines，而不是the computer，故错误

3. the switch to an information-based economy是指人类发展的阶段，且并没说是因为采用计算机才发展到此阶段

4. 正确，见倒数第2段的第一句
34. 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

原文是讲两个爆炸(技术失败)的例子让人明白了the human quality of technology (技术的人类性征)，那么所明白的是______________

1. A来自原文倒数第2段，是用于讲计算机的；

2. B技术怎么有人类特性的一些特点？明显错误

3. C可笑的选项

4. D与第2段的it does not exist naturally 相一致. 技术不是自然的产物，是人的创造，（有个不断完善的过程）.

** 所明白的是：让我们理解了人类技术的脆弱面，当详细计划了的系统突然出错时，却没有现成的解决办法。

35. 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) cautious analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computers
D) exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technology

1. A本文是作者的见地，A靠谱；

2. BC明显错误；

3. 本文的语调是力争客观的，与exaggerated无关

（答案CBDDA）