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Unit 4
Science and Technology
In-Class Reading
Too Fast?
1 People who were born just before World War I remember waving at automobiles as they passed. Seeing a car was like watching a parade-exciting and out of the ordinary. The airplane-it was spelled "aeroplane" then-was another new invention. Refrigerators were "iceboxes," and a man delivered the ice for the box in the summer and the coal for the stove in the winter. Now, the iceman, like the blacksmith, survives only in literature.
2 Today, change comes so fast that working people can become obsolete because their occupations vanish in the middle of their lives. Knowledge, and thus the rate of change, increases geometrically. Every idea gives birth to a dozen new ones, and each of them has a dozen children. The people of the pre-World War I generation had hardly assimilated the inventions of that era before they were attacked by a new batch of even more sophisticated inventions. The Atomic Age dawned in 1945, August 6 to be exact, and then, before we could catch our breath, the Space Age arrived.
3 Change was not always this rapid. Certain important inventions, like the telephone, the airplane, the automobile, and the radio, had been invented by 1914, but the effects of these inventions upon the lives of ordinary citizens were not felt until many years later. We now have the technology to develop machines before people are ready to use them. For example, we have the technology to enable people to pay their bills by phone-but even people with phones resist. The change is too much too fast. People don't want to talk to machines, especially if the machines talk back to them.
4 It is certain that technology, especially computer technology, will rule our lives to a greater and greater degree. This situation will not necessarily prove positive or negative in effect. Many people would be more comfortable if change came more slowly, but on the other hand, there are many for whom every innovation is like a new toy. They can't wait for the next invention to be available. When scientists talk about the remarkably adaptable nature of people, they probably have these people in mind.
5 But there is a limit to everyone's ability to adapt. What will happen to us when change comes so rapidly that we can no longer adjust to it? These same scientists who talk about our adaptable nature also tell us that change is to some degree emotionally painful to everyone. What then, will happen to us when change comes so rapidly that we can no longer stand the pain, and we refuse to change?
6 We have read a lot about scientific and technological change, but that is only part of the picture of modern life. There is often a great lag between scientific discovery and cultural acceptance. For example, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, proposed over one hundred years ago and accepted by all serious scholars for generations, is still rejected by large segments of society. These segments see science as contradicting a higher religious authority. They see science as questioning and destroying their beliefs and culture.
7 The problem is not easily solved because it is in the nature of science to question, and it is in the nature of human beings not to want to question the things they believe in. Science is not merely a field of study like chemistry or physics or biology. Science is a method of looking at the world, a method that requires an open mind, objectivity, and proof based upon observation or experimentation. It is a method that ignores religion, race, nationality, economics, morality, and ethics. It pays attention only to the results of research. The scientific method has shown us endless marvels and wonders, but methods can't provide all the answers. Science cannot tell us whether or not to drop a bomb: That is a moral or political question. Science only tells us how to make one.
8 As we have already said, technological innovations are being made at faster and faster rates. The future will be even more revolutionary than the past. Will we, as a species, survive the revolutions that we have begun? There is plenty of evidence to think that we will. Our species has enormous potential that we have just begun to use. For example, we have only begun to control the environment. One day technology will make every desert bloom. It's simple, really. To do so, all we need to do is lower the cost of converting sea water into fresh water. Then, when the deserts bloom, will they provide enough food for our growing numbers? Most likely, they will. We have only just begun to discover the possibilities of highly intensive desert agriculture. We already have the technology to increase production ten times and to use one-twentieth of the water we needed before.
9 We know how to make agricultural miracles. What we need are the time and money to make the technology available to everyone.
10 In the nineteenth century, people believed in progress. They believed that science would lead them to a new era of endless prosperity and happiness. Well, it didn't work out that way. Two disastrous world wars convinced people of that. Yet, in our disappointment and in our fears that science was a monster that would one day destroy us, we forgot that science was not the monster; we were the monster. Science was merely a servant, and like fire, a good servant when treated properly.
11 Despite all the problems of the modern world, however, most people would not choose to live in any of the less scientific ages that have preceded ours. If-and this is a big if-we don't destroy ourselves in war, the future can only be better. Each year will bring a more bewildering array of scientific advances: diseases cured, space conquered, transportation and communication revolutionized, agriculture and industry completely transformed, etc. To some, the future sounds exciting; to others, frightening. But one thing is sure-it won't be boring. (1006 words)
Time taken: _______ minutes
Proper Name
Charles Darwin
(男子名)查尔斯.达尔文
New Words
adaptable
adj. able to change in order to be suitable or successful in new or different situations 适应性强的
e.g. The rural areas are losing their brightest, most educated and adaptable members to the cities.
agricultural
adj. relating to crops or farming 农业的
e.g. the agricultural problems of Third World countries
airplane
n. a flying vehicle with wings and one or more engines 飞机
array
n. a group, or collection of things 一系列；大量
e.g. There was a splendid array of food on the table.
atomic
adj. related to the energy produced by splitting atoms or the weapons that use this energy 原子的
e.g. Plutonium (钚) is used almost exclusively in atomic weapons.
batch
n. a group of people or things that arrive or are dealt with together 一批
e.g. The travel agent gave us a batch of holiday leaflets and brochures（小册子）.
bewildering
adj. confusing, especially because there are too many choices or things happening at the same time 使人困惑的
e.g. There was a bewildering array of books to choose from.
blacksmith
n. someone who makes and repairs things made of iron 铁匠
bloom
v. produce flowers 开花
e.g. This plant blooms during May and June.
n. a flower or flowers 花
e.g. The green leaves with red blooms are very pleasant to look at.
contradict
v. be contrary to 同……矛盾；同……抵触
e.g. I ) His story contradicts the facts.
II ) Perfectly reputable（声誉好的） books may contradict each other.
convert
v. change from one form or use to another 使转化
e.g. Coal can be converted to gas by burning.
disastrous
adj. causing damage, destruction, suffering or deaths 灾难性的
e.g. A few disastrous investments ruined the company.
ethic
n. moral rules or principles of behavior for deciding what is right or wrong 道德标准；行为准则
evolution
n. the scientific theory that plants and animals develop gradually from simpler to more complicated forms 进化
e.g. Many scientists do not accept the traditional ideas of evolution.
experimentation
n. the process of testing various ideas, methods, etc. 实验，试验
geometrically
adv. in a geometric progression 成几何级数地
icebox
n. a box where food is kept cool with blocks of ice, 冰箱; (AmE old) a refrigerator电冰箱
innovation
n. a new idea, method, or invention 新方法，新办法，革新
e.g. For people who hate washing dishes, the dish washer was a welcome innovation.
lag
n. a delay or period of waiting between one event and a second event 滞后，延缓
e.g. There was a short lag while the astronaut's voice was transmitted from the spaceship back to the earth.
v. move or develop more slowly than others 落后
e.g. The second-place runner lagged far behind the winner.
literature
n. books, plays, poems etc. that people think have value文学，文学作品
e.g. I envy you having a friend with whom you can discuss art and literature.
morality
n. beliefs or ideas about what is right and wrong and about how people should behave 道德
e.g. The minister believed that America's morality was in decline.
negative
adj. bad or harmful 负面的，不良的
e.g. All this had an extremely negative effect on the criminal justice system.
objectivity
n. the state of not being influenced by one's own feelings or opinions 客观性
obsolete
adj. no longer useful because something newer and better has been invented 淘汰的，过时的
propose
v.
1) state that a theory is probably true 提出
e.g. Newton proposed that heavenly and terrestrial (地球的) motion could be unified with the idea of gravity.
2) put forward for consideration 建议，提议
e.g. I ) He proposed that we (should) go there by air.
II) A new method has been proposed to solve the problem.
prosperity
n. the state of being (economically) successful 繁荣；成功
e.g. Because of the nation's prosperity, there was need for taxes.
revolutionary
adj. completely new and different, especially in a way that leads to great improvement 突破性的，完全创新的
e.g. A revolutionary improvement in the design mad the product cheaper to produce.
scholar
n. someone who knows a lot about a particular subject 学者
e.g. Dr Miles was a distinguished scholar of Russian history and government.
segment
n. a part of something that is in some way different from or affected differently from the whole 部分，部门
e.g. John divided the line into one-inch segments.
technological*
adj. related to technology 技术的
e.g. The development of the steam engine was the greatest technological advance of the 19th century.
Phrases and Expressions
catch one's breath
rest for a short while after hard work so as to be able to continue later 喘一口气
e.g. We sat down over coffee to catch our breath.
give birth to
1) lead to 引起，产生
e.g. The discovery of gold in the West gave birth to the settlement of California.
2) produce 生（孩子），产（仔）
e.g. They were delighted when she gave birth to a healthy child.
have something/somebody in mind
be thinking about or considering a particular person, plan, etc. for a particular purpose 心中想着（某人或某事）
e.g. I) I don't know whom he has in mind for the job.
II) I could see she was not telling me all he had in mind.
on the other (hand)
often used together with "on the one hand" when comparing different or opposite facts or ideas 另一方面
e.g. On the one hand her temper was likely to cause trouble; on the other we needed her expertise.
out of the ordinary
unusual or unexpected 不寻常的
e.g. Suddenly they became aware that something out of the ordinary was happening.
to be exact (spoken)
used when giving an exact answer, statement, etc. 确切地说
e.g. It's about two o'clock —three minutes and thirty-five seconds past, to be exact.
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