新概念英語第四冊(含lrc文本)Lesson 22 Knowledge and progress

[ti:δ?] [by:https://www.lrc.com.cn] [00:03.20]Lesson 22 [00:04.74]Knowledge and progress [00:11.56]In what two areas have people made no 'progress' at all? [00:18.06]Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world? [00:23.72]Surely because progress of a particu- lar kind is actually taking place around us [00:28.75]and is becoming more and more manifest. [00:32.78]Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality, [00:38.41]it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge. [00:43.81]Knowledge began to increase as soon as the thoughts of one individual [00:47.97]could be communicated to another by means of speech. [00:52.18]With the invention of writing,a great advance was made, [00:56.08]for knowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored. [01:02.13]Libraries made education possible,and education in its turn added to libraries: [01:09.28]the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound interest law, [01:13.34]which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing. [01:18.05]All this was comparatively slow until,with the coming of science, [01:22.31]the tempo was suddenly raised. [01:25.73]Then knowledge began to be accumulated according to a systematic plan. [01:31.68]The trickle became a stream:the stream has now become a torrent. [01:37.04]Moreover,as soon as new knowledge is acquired,it is now turned to practical account. [01:43.86]What is called 'modern civilization' [01:46.60]is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature, [01:50.63]but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life. [01:55.90]The problem now facing humanity is: [01:58.48]What is going to be done with all this knowledge? [02:01.40]As is so often pointed out,knowledge is a two-edged weapon [02:06.53]which can be used equally for good or evil. [02:10.11]It is now being used indifferently for both. [02:13.81]Could any spectacle,for instance,be more grimly whimsical [02:17.53]than that of gunners using science to shatter men's bodies [02:21.18]while,close at hand,surgeons use it to restore them? [02:25.20]We have to askourselves very seriously [02:27.79]what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge, [02:30.94]with its ever-increasing power,continues.

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