Passage Thirty-three (Importance of a Computer)

   As citizens of advanced but vulnerable economies, we must either relentlessly¹ increase the quality of our skills or see our standard of living erode². For the future, competition between nations will be increasingly based on technological³ skill. Oil and natural resources will still be important, but they no longer will determine a nation’s 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. Today’s competition renders obsolete⁴ huge chunks⁵ of what we know and what forces us to innovate⁶. For each individual. Several careers will be customary, and continuing education and retraining will be inescapable. To attain⁷ 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 requiting⁸ 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 abysmal⁹ 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 interactive¹⁰ 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 computer’s 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 rapidly—without 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 today’s citizens for unprecedented¹¹ 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.

 

1.        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]. flexibility¹².        [B]. diversity.        [C]. variety.         [D]. multiplicity.

 

Vocabulary

1.       relentlessly                       始终不懈的

2.       obsolete                         过时的，大量的，绝大部分的

3.       chunk                           大块，大量的，绝大部分

4.       abysmal                         无底的，极端的

5.       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

 

难句译注

1.       With the computer’s capacity for simulation and diverse kinds of feedback, all sorts of new possibilities open up for the redesign of curriculums.

[参考译文] 由于计算机能进行模拟和提供各种反馈，它就为从新设计学校的课程开辟了各种新的可能性。

2.       In terms of drill and practice, self-paced computer-assisted instruction enables the student to advance rapidly—without being limited by the conflicting needs of the entire class.

[结构简析] 句子结构为主谓宾补，前后各用一个介词（短语），前in term of , 后without

[参考译文] 就练习和实践来讲，借助自行规定速度的计算机辅助的指令使学生突飞猛进而不受全班互相矛盾的需要所限制。

3.       Without romanticizing the machine, it is clear that computers uniquely change the potential for equipping today’s citizens for unprecedented tasks of the future.

[结构简析] 逻辑主语句。句前有一状语成分，without +分词+名词的句型。

[参考译文] 不必用浪漫主义的手法来形容计算机，我们可清楚看到，它是独一无二的改变今天公民的潜力，使他们能承担未来的史无前例的任务。

 

写作方法与文章大意

文章论述了“计算机的重要性”，采用一般到具体写作手法。一开始就提出：‘作为经济上先进而又脆弱的公民，必须始终不懈地提高技术素质，否则生活水平就会下降。因为未来国际竞争取决于技术，一切部门必须迎合这一要求。具体到工业和学校必须使用计算机。重点在学校，因为它是培训新人才的基地。所以三，四，五，七段涉及计算机在学校的种种功能。最后的结论：人才和计算机是决定性因素。

 

答案祥解

1.        B. 工艺技术。这在第一段就讲到“在未来，国与国之间的竞争越来越以工艺技术为基础。尽管石油和其他自然资源仍很重要，但它们不会再对一个国家的经济实力起决定性的作用。”

A. 石油。        C. 自然资源，这两项不是决定性因素。        D. 教育。文内教育作为改革的一个方面，其重点是在学校内应用计算机，来改变教学质量，达到革新人才的目的。并不是直接参与竞争。可参看第2题的答案及译注。

2.        B. 计算机的重要性。整篇文章都显示了这一点。第三段“工业上，信息处理和制定必要的改革计划以适应市场需要意味着越来越多使用计算机。学校紧跟工业之后……”第四段“计算机是一种变化多端，神通广大的机器，因为它显示千种图象，发挥千种功能。而它的真正的革命性可在其相互作用的潜能中看出。有了先进的计算机，学习可以个别进行，速度自行规定。教师变得更有成效……。”第五段“……由于利用计算机，在学校低年级就能教授物理学和高等数学概念……。”最后一段画龙点睛地指出：“计算机独一无二地改变着那种今天公民能担当未来空前任务的潜能……新的竞争对手正在崛起，自由的经济布局提出挑战。我们如何才能顺利的应战，取决于我们对人的投资的多寡，取决于我们怎么聪慧地应用新技术的学习工具。”所以

A. 计算机知识。         C. 知识的功能。         D. 技术功能，这三项只是计算机重要性中涉及到的一个方面，不能作为中心思想。

3.        D. 因为我们知道的一切变得陈旧。第二段头几句话“我们决不能吃老本，当今的竞争使我们的大部分知识变得陈旧，非加以革新不可。对每个人来说，他们将惯常从事某几种职业，并且非继续学习进修和从新接受训练不可……。”都说明进修学习的原因。

A. 人们要做更多工作。文内没有提到。         B. 人们要到达非同一般的教育水平。这是目的，不是原因。         C. 人们不能吃老本。这话并没有完全讲清楚全部原因。

4.        A. 灵活多变。 Proteus 一词，原义是指希腊神话中变幻无常的海神，普罗狄斯，他可以随心所欲边成各种形状。这里指灵活多变。

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