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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.
- Word Pretest
For each italicized word or phrase , choose the best meaning below.
1. The mechanic tuned up the racecar engine in order to optimize its performance.
A. make a bet on
B. be optimistic about
C. make as perfect as possible
2. The Foreign Office was regarded as the repository of all relevant information.
A. government agency
B. storehouse
C. distribution channel
3. Higher public spending is not a panacea for all our social problems.
A. cause
B. policy
C. cure-all
4. Mr. Healey has been capitalizing on the anxiety expressed throughout the House.
A. taking advantage of
B. building up
C. allaying
5、The present conflict might provide fresh impetus for peace talks.
A. obstacles
B. hope
C. stimulus
6. The government is implementing an incremental reform policy.
A. increasing in a regular way
B. drastic
C. incredible
7. Local newspapers tend to be very parochial.
A. interesting
B. limited
C. popular
8. The gangster considered this an invasion of his turf.
A. sod
B. racetrack
C. territory
2 Text
2.1Cultural Background
Andre Carnegie：卡内基(1835--1918)，美国钢铁企业家。生于苏格兰邓弗姆林。1848年随家庭迁居匹兹堡。先后做过多种职业，后来投资钢铁业，成为美国最大的钢铁企业。1901年退休时家产逾亿万，在萨瑟兰郡的斯基博堡隐居。卡内基常对英、美等国公共福利事业捐助巨款，有许多建筑以他的姓氏命名。
Henry Ford：福特(1863—1947)。美国汽车工程师和制造商。1893年生产出他的第一部汽油发动机汽车。1899年在底特律建立公司，设计出本公司的汽车，1903年开办福特汽车公司，为生产著名的T型汽车而率先发展现代“装配线”生产技术(1908—1909)．截止1928年已生产1500万辆汽车。福特还从事飞机和拖拉机制造业。
Technological advances and their impact
The laser-guided smart bombs that television images showed performing so well in the Gulf War are old technology .The U.S. hardly has begun to put technologies such as artificial intelligence and image processing to work in the commercial sector. These, along with other major advances in areas such as biotechnology and optoelectronics, will have great impact as they displace existing technologies and methods.
Information systems will play an expanding role in the future, using networked computers linked by wideband transmission systems that extend globally via satellites and undersea cables .High -bandwidth fiber optics, now being used primarily for long-distance trunks or within multi-story buildings or complexes, will extend to office and industrial parks, regional centers, and ,finally, individual homes. A variety of wireless transmission methods will join today’s growing cellular radio cacophony. Multimedia computer-based systems already beginning to enter the marketplace will combine text with graphics, animated diagrams, voice messages, facsimile, and even video.
The following are an assortment of technology advances, some already in limited use, that have great potential for driving future change.
Application-specific integrated circuits alter the economics of microchip production so that system design does not have to be constrained to standard mass-produced circuits. This offers the potential for much more powerful systems with designs optimized for particular uses, even though limited numbers will be produced.
Fuzzy logic provides much smoother control systems for such applications as heating/air conditioning, elevators, electric trains and subways, and even more complex tasks such as running nuclear plants. A big advantage is these systems are scalable, whereas those based on conventional logic must be redesigned as parameters change.(As in so many other areas of technology, Japanese companies have taken the lead in applying fuzzy logic techniques, which first were proposed in the U.S. )
Molecular modeling computer graphics systems will speed the synthesis of useful new drugs as well as aid in devising more powerful chemical processes, especially utilizing catalysis. Similar visualization systems will enable developers to model new structures much more rapidly and effectively, perhaps to analyze the stresses on fiber composite machine parts or the aerodynamics of entire new airframes.
Mass-producible, multi-layer photovoltaics will make solar energy more efficient and widely affordable, along with chemical reactors to add energy storage capabilities. This will provide localized energy for recharging highly efficient, battery-driven electric engines using superconducting magnets for industry as well as transportation.
Magnetically levitated trains, with highly efficient superconducting magnets both driving and buoying them so they can ride smoothly on a cushion of air, will provide long-range ground transportation at speeds greater than 300 miles per hour.
Semi-autonomous and autonomous robots, some of them using neural network computers that emulate the learning properties of the brain, at first will do simple tasks, then eventually more complex ones with steadily improving skill in factories, offices, and elsewhere.
Hypertext methods will allow knowledge workers easily to link related information from reports, notes, materials abstracted from technical papers or books, or other sources. For large projects, or within special-interest communities, collaborators anywhere in gawk world will be able to exchange such inter-linked material with co-workers through open hyper documents. Even voice comments, animated diagrams, and other pertinent data will be incorporated in hypermedia files. Each individual will be able to reshape hypermedia files-combining original, selected, and abstracted material –for his or her own needs. Software “knowbots” trained to look for items of interest to their “masters” will scan lathe repositories of up -to -date data to seek out useful items and then prioritize and organize them.
Even with thousands of such promising developments coming out of the laboratories, it may take decades to find successful ways to make use of them in the everyday world. Technology itself is no panacea .It must be integrated effectively into operations that involve people and organizational structures as well as machines and methods. Early failures often discourage further attempts. Troubled projects –such as General Motors’s highly robotized plant in Hamtramck, Mich. , or General Electric’s automated robotics plant in Charlottesville , Va.- virtually killed the American robotics industry.
Capitalizing on new technologies
Why is it so difficult to make effective use of such technology in the commercial world, and what needs to be done to speed the process? In the past, business success often was achieved by following plans devised by a pioneering visionary-an Andre Carnegie of Henry Ford. Once this approach was institutionalized, it frequently led to decades of marketplace dominance. In the future, it still will be feasible to get a new venture rolling based on such sparks of creative insight, the initial impetus likely will be short-lived.
In considering new advances, the emphasis in the U.S. generally has been on saving money and eliminating labor, rather than improving operations and better serving customers. This tends to result in isolated pockets of automation that do not it well within over- all systems.
One problem is a lack of clear understanding of technological advances by American executives. Every day, top managers keep tabs on all kinds of numbers and ratios to indicate the financial strength of their organizations. This by-the-numbers management approach is partially responsible for the slow adoption of new technology, because outmoded accounting systems emphasize the wrong areas and leave out data critical to intelligent decision-making. Even more important, while concentrating on monetary and marketing data, few executives keep well-posted on the technological health of their firms –not just in product design and R&D, but manufacturing processes, communications, and service delivery.
The intricacies of new technologies are so important as is gaining a sense of whether these developments offer opportunities or have the potential to outmode existing methods. Decision-makers need to know what new technologies are in the pipeline and envision how they might be useful for specific purposes. They also have to measure the level of technology of their products and operations against those being applied by the best competitors anywhere in the world. Most important, the organization needs to ensure that an effective process is in place for continuously introducing new technologies and revising operations to take best advantage of them.
What changes in corporate culture will enable organizations to adapt to technology-driven evolution more readily?
First, a philosophy of continuous improvement must be fostered withi8n a highly committed, motivated, idea-contributing workforce. Giant steps still will be important if a world-class organization is to remain competitive. Nevertheless, periods of steady incremental improvements can lay the groundwork for major realignments and molding technologies to meet operational requirements.
Progress also must be based on the needs and perceptions of customers, not just the parochial interests of specialists and departmental groups that may be more concerned with protecting turf and secret agendas. Links must be forged between those who deal with customers and those responsible for introducing new technology, either through research and development or by adopting ideas from elsewhere.
No one individual sitting atop a skyscraper somewhere can figure out the best way to fit new technology into operations. It will take cooperative adaptation at every level, integrating people, methods, and organizational changes along with hardware and software to gain the maximum benefits. This will require multi-functional project teams committed to innovations. Along with some technological expertise, they will need a firm grounding in the intricacies of the business, its customers, and the competitive scene. They must remain alert to technological advances that offer opportunities for innovative applications. When they find promising developments, they must be able to set up pilot programs to test the potential.
Total Words: 1 276
Total Reading Time: ___
______
The text is based on “Can the U.S. Cope with the Techno-Future?” by Robert
Haavind in USA Today, March 1993
Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the answer.
1. The first paragraph says: “The laser-guided smart bombs…in the Gulf War are old technology.” The italicized word “old” suggests that____ .
A. the laser-guided smart bombs are really old technology
B. although quite new ,the laser-guided smart bombs have lagged behind other new technologies
C. old technologies are more effective than the new ones
2. High-bandwidth fiber optics are now being used primarily for______.
A. the main line of long-distance telephone communication
B. individual homes
C. office and industrial parks
3. Control systems using fuzzy logic _____as parameters change.
A. Must be redesigned
B. Can change according to scale
C. Become less smooth
4. Magnetically levitated trains _____.
A. ride on a cushion of air
B. will be used for short distance ground transportation
C. will not be able to run at speeds greater than 300 miles per hour
5. The term “knowbots” in paragraph 10 probably means____.
A. new types of computer
B. large repositories of up-to-date data
C. “knowledge-robot” software programs
6. In considering new technologies, the emphasis in the U.S. generally has been on _____.
A. saving money and improving operations
B. eliminating labor and better serving customers
C. saving money and eliminating labor
7. The most important thing an organization needs to ensure is to _____.
A. Know the intricacies of new technologies
B. To keep up an effective process for continuously introducing new technologies and revising operations
C. To know what new technologies are in the process of being prepared
8. The following changes in corporate culture will enable organizations to adapt to technology-driven evolution except that _____.
A. a philosophy of continuous improvement must be cultivated within the workforce .
B. links must be forged between those who deal with customers and those responsible for introducing new technologies
C. the interests of specialists and departmental groups must be protected
9. Which of the following statements about the project teams is not true?
A. They must remain alert to technological advances that offer opportunities for innovative applications.
B. They must have a good knowledge of the intricacies of the business, its customers and the competitive scene.
C. They must be able to set up programs to train pilots.
Key
vocabulary Building
Definition
Define the following terms in your own words.
Technology
Artificial intelligence
Executive
R&D
Pilot program
Idiom
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiomatic expressions which are related to the idea of EXPERUENCE. Make sure it fits the blanks.
be an old hand at know …like the back of one’s hand
be green know the ropes
live-and-learn not be born yesterday
- Ann has been repairing bicycles for years. She _____ it.
- Barb has driven to New York so many times that she _____ the way ____.
- Harry has been working here for a long time. He will show you around. He ____.
- You do not have to worry about Frank getting lost. He can take care of himself. Frank ____.
- Yesterday was only Jenny’s second time horseback riding. That is why she fell off. She _____ still ____.
- Barry, a TV repairman, takes a ____ approach in his work. That is why he is good. Every day he knows more about repairing televisions.
General Vocabulary Exercise
Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence.
1. Making private calls on the office phone is severely ____ on in our department.
A. frowned B. regarded
C. criticized D. objected
2. Tom is very set in his ways, but Jack has a more ____attitude to life.
A. fluid B. flexible
C. changeable D. moveable
3. A system of strict discipline has a ____ effect on conduct.
A. beneficial B. customary
C. automatic D .deliberate
4. Jean would much ____it if you could do her that favour.
A. anticipate B. award
C. ascribe D. appreciate
5. Big businesses enjoy certain ______ that smaller ones do not have.
A. sequences B. privileges
C. regulations D. fragments
6. Students learning about how life began on Earth may be presented with the ___question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”
A. pressing B. penetrating
C. patronizing D. perplexing
7. Once it was thought that nighttime dreams ___ our needed rest.
A. oppose B. oppress
C. hinder D. temper
8. Difficulties, when they are faced up to, don’t seem half so ____.
A. irritable B. frightful
C. feasible D. desperate
9. When you ate about __through the story, try to make a guess how the plot will develop.
A. half B. midway
C. halfway D. one-half
10. When he was questioned about the missing ring, he firmly __ that he had even seen it.
A. defied B. accused
C. refused D. denied
Key
Analogies
Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.
1. ALLAY; PAIN:
A. furor: mollify B. cancel: order
C. arbitrates: dispute D. mitigate: offense
2. SINGER:CHORUS:
A. architect: blueprint B. teacher: student
C. author: publisher D. actor: cast
3. CHAPTER:NOVEL:
A. Piano: orchestra B. diamond: gem
C. scene: drama D. poetry: cream
4. ERASER: CHALK:
A. sponge: water B. cloth: air
C. filter: air D. separator: cream
5. DISEASE; IMMUNITY:
A. obligation: debt B. change: cream
C. transgression: client D. tax: exemption
6. ARBITRATOR: DISPUTANTS:
A. salesperson: client B. waiter: chefs
C. commander: Adjutant’s D. judge: litigants
7. WEALTH: LUXURIES:
A. enemies: friends B. sandwich: bread
C. ticket: admission D. crying: sympathy
8. LIQUID: VALVE:
A. fence: gate B. electric current: switch
C. railroad track: route D. temperature: thermometer
Key
♦ Cloze
Read through the following passage and then decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks.
How and why did technology become such a powerful 1 in human life?
Before there were human beings there was technology. Fossil remains of our predecessors 2 from more than a million years ago show that our remote ancestors made tools out of pebbles and animal bones. And that’s 3 technology is: tool making. The 4 animal doesn’t have the speed of a horse, the fighting teeth of a chimpanzee, the wings of an eagle, the claws of a tiger, or the 5 fleece of a sheep. But we have discovered (or invented) technology. We make tools, where other 6 make physiciological adaptations. We have fire and all the energy- 7 engines stemming from it. We travel faster than the horse, fly higher than the eagle, fight much more devastatingly than any predator, and 8 our bodies with not only sheep’s wool but artificial fabrics as well.
One man alone can’t kill a mammoth. But a handful of men, armed with 9 more sophisticated than stone-tipped spears and fire, apparently drove the mammoths into 10 .By the time the last glaciation dwindled, humankind was the supreme ruler of every land mass on Earth. And we rules with fire, spear, awl, scrapers: technology.
1. A. tool B. point C. weapon D. force
2. A. dates B. dated C. dating D. that dates
3. A. that B. it C. where D. what
4. A. intelligent B. human C. wild D. rational
5. A. defensive B. protective C. attractive D. destructive
6. A. specifics B. specialties C. species D. specimens
7. A. producing B. produce C. production D. produced
8. A. arm B. protect C. guard D. harm
9. A. anything B. something C. nothing D. everything
10. A. extinct B. extinctive C. extinction D. extinguish
key
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