Even people in traditional professions, where expert knowledge has been the key, are unlikelyto escape the effects of new technology. Instead of going to a solicitor, you might go to acomputer that is programmed with all the most up-to-date legal information. Doctors, too, willfind that an electronic competitor will be able to carry out a much quicker and more accuratediagnosis and recommend more efficient courses oftreatment. In education, teachers will belargely replaced by teaching machines far more knowledgeable than any human being. Mostlearning 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 revolutionizedcommunications 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　　D. the postmen will have been replaced by silicon chip.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將過去與現在作對比,指出現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 andsecretaries 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、醫生、教師將會受到的新技術的影響，第3句指出醫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展日新月異，許多職業的存在都將受到威脅，人們應該采取積極態度以應對這種變化。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。

　　In a moment of personal crisis, how much help can you expect from a New York taxi driver? Ibegan studyingthis question and found the answers interesting.

　　One morning I got into three different taxis and announced, "Well, it's my first day back inNew York in seven years. I've been in prison." Not a single driver replied, so I tried again. "Yeah,I shot a man in Reno." I explained, hoping the driver would ask me why, but nobody asked. Theonly response came from a Ghanaian driver, "Reno? That is in Nevada?"

　　Taxi drivers were uniformly sympathetic when I said I'd just been fired. "This is America," aHaitian driver said. "One door is closed. Another is open." He argued against my plan to burndown my boss's house. A Pakistani driver even turned down a chance to profit from my loss ofhope; he refused to take me to the middle of the George Washington Bridge--a $20 trip. "Whyyou want to go there? Go home and relax. Don't worry. Take a new job."

　　One very hot weekday in July, while wearing a red ski mask and holding a stuffed pillowcase withthe word"BANK" on it, I tried calling a taxi five times outside different banks. The driver pickedme up every tie. My ride with a Haitian driver was typical of the superb assistance I received.

　　"Let's go across the park." I said. "I just robbed the bank there. I got $25,000."

　　"$25,0007" he asked.

　　"Yeah, you think it was wrong to take it?"

　　"No, man. I work 8 hours and I don't make almost $70. If I can do that, I do it too."

　　As we approached 86th and Lexington, I pointed to the Chemical Bank.

　　"Hey, there's another bank," I said, "Could you wait here a minute while I go inside?"

　　"No, I can't wait. Pay me now." His reluctance may have had something to do with money--taxidrivers thinkthe rate for waiting time is too low--but I think he wanted me to learn that even abank robber can't expect unconditional support.

　　練習題：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1. From the Ghanaian driver's response, we can infer that_____

　　A .he was indifferent to the killing

　　B. he was afraid of the author

　　C. he looked clown upon the author

　　D. he thought the author was crazy

　　2. Why did the Pakistani driver refuse to take the author to the middle of the GeorgeWashington Bridge?

　　A. Because he was able to help the author to find a new job.

　　B. Because he wanted to go home and relax.

　　C. Because it was far away from his home.

　　D. Because he thought that the author would commit suicide.

　　3. What is the author's interpretation of the driver's reluctance "to wait outside theChemical Bank"?

　　A. The driver thought that the rate for waiting time was too low.

　　B. The driver thought it wrong to support a taxi rider unconditionally.

　　C. The driver was frightened and wanted to leave him as soon as possible.

　　D. The driver did not want to help a suspect to escape from a bank robbery.

　　4. Which of the following statements is true about New York taxi drivers?

　　A. They are ready to help you do whatever you want to.

　　B. They refuse to pick up those who would kill themselves.

　　C. They are sympathetic with those who are out of work.

　　D. They work only for money.

　　5. The passage mainly discusses _______.

　　A. how to please taxi riders

　　B. how to deal with taxi riders

　　C. the attitudes of taxi drivers towards riders in personal trouble

　　D. the attitudes of taxi drivers towards troublesome taxi riders

　　1.[A] 推理判斷題。從第2段最后一句的only response可以看出這個司機只問了一個與殺人這件事無關的問題，由此可見，司機對此事毫不關心，態度冷淡。

　　2.[D] 推理判斷題。本題的關鍵在于了解在美國，髙聳的大橋通常是人們自殺的場所。根據這個背景知識，以及第3段中司機說的relax和Don’t worry可推斷出司機以為作者要到華盛頓橋去自殺。

　　3.[B] 事實細節題。本題考查對復雜句的理解。答案可以在文章的最后一句話中找到，破折號后面but引出的轉折句才是作者對司機不愿等人的理解。A是一般出租車司機的想法，由may可知作者并不確定那個司機是否有此考慮,A不對;C和D都無原文依據。

　　4.[C] 推理判斷題。答案可從第3段第1句話中找到,C是該句的同義替換。A中的do whatever you want to過于絕對;B不符合邏輯，因為司機不可能先問乘客是否要自殺才決定要不要載這個乘客;巴基斯坦司機的例子表明司機不都是只為了錢，因此D不正確。

　　5.[C] 主旨大意題。文章開篇第1句話就是整篇文章的主題句，接下來的各段內容都是圍繞此主題展開的，C與之意思相符，故選C。本題最具干擾性的是D,事實上，該選項中的troublesome意為“煩人的”，而不是"陷人麻煩的”，因此不能用該詞形容文中的乘客，故排除D。