Even people in traditional professions, where expert knowledge has been the key, are unlikely to escape the effects of new technology. Instead of going to a solicitor, you might go to a computer that is programmed with all the most up-to-date legal information. Doctors, too, will find that an electronic competitor will be able to carry out a much quicker and more accurate diagnosis and recommend more efficient courses oftreatment. In education, teachers will be largely replaced by teaching machines far more knowledgeable than any human being. Most learning will take place in the home via video conferencing. Children will still go to school though, until another place is created where they can make friends and develop social skills.
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.According to the writer, the rate of change in technology______.
A.will remain the same
B.will slow down
C.will speed up
D.can not be predicted
2.The writer expects that by 2020 new technology will have revolutionized communications and ____
A.people needn’t telephone each other
B.the present postal system will have disappeared
C.people will no longer send letters
D. the postmen will have been replaced by silicon chip.
3.The word “they” (Line 6，Para. 1) refers to _____.
A. the tiny silicon chips
B.the letter written on paper
C. the postmen, clerks and secretaries
D.the routine tasks performed by the postmen
4.From the second paragraph, we can infer that _____
A. professionals won’t be affected by new technology
B.doctor won’t be as efficient by the postmen
C. computers cannot replace lawyers
D.experts will lose job in the future
5.In the writer’s view, _______.
A.people should get prepared for the future
B.there exists no real threat of unemployment
C.the advance of technology is not desirable
D.machines will have control over men
1.[C] 事實細節(jié)題。只要知道第1段第2句中的關鍵詞accelerate意為speed up“加速,加快”，就可以排除其他選項。
2.[B] 事實細節(jié)題。本題考査對比處。作者在第1段第5句中通過previously將過去與現(xiàn)在作對比,指出現(xiàn)在傳遞消息的途徑與過去不一樣了，由此可判斷B為正確選項。本題最具干擾性的是選項C，第1段倒數第3句提到以 后郵遞員將會消失，但這并不意味著人們不再寫信和寄信，以后可能會有新的送信方式，因此選項C是不對的。
3.[C] 詞義推斷題。they所在的句子是第1段倒數第2句，本句中兩個they的指代是一樣的，因此，只要找到第一個they的指代就能找到答案了。根據本段倒數第3句中“Not only postmen but also clerks and secretaries will vanish”及倒數第2句中的“All the routine tasks they perform...”可推斷，they是指上一句中的postmen，clerks 和secretaries 。
4.[B] 推理判斷題。本題考査列舉處。在第2段,作者列舉了律師、醫(yī)生、教師將會受到的新技術的影響，第3句指出醫(yī)生的電子競爭者會做出更快更準的診斷,從而確定選項B說法正確，而選項A和C與原文不符，選項D言過其實，且缺乏合理的原文依據。
5.[A] 觀點態(tài)度題。作者舉出了大量實例暗示和告誡人們：正因為人類技術的發(fā)展日新月異，許多職業(yè)的存在都將受到威脅，人們應該采取積極態(tài)度以應對這種變化。選項B顯然與第1段最后一句相悖;選項C無合理的推 斷依據;文中雖提到新技術會在多方面影響人類,但并不能由此推斷機器會控制人類,所以選項D不對。
