The fear that technology would eliminate（消除） jobs is not peculiar to our century. It goes back at least to the first part of the last century. It was then that groups of English workers tried to prevent the industrialization of Britain by wrecking（破坏）factories and machinery. They thought the machines were going to take away their jobs. In fact, the machines increased the number of jobs well beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
One of the few things on which economists of all different schools（流派） agree is that the idea that technology reduces jobs is a fallacy（谬论）. It is a fallacy because it assumes that the total amount of work to be done in any economic system is fixed.
It is really not fixed at all. It is changing constantly. And for many reasons, new consumer demands, population increases, technology, they all work to increase employment.
In the last 30 years, for instance, America has added 30 million people to the ranks of the employed. Many of them work in industries that only came into being because of new technology.
The microelectronics industry is an obvious example. This industry did not even exist 30 years ago. Today it is the world’s ninth largest industry. And it is growing. It is expected to be the fourth largest by the end of this decade. Certainly any industry with this kind of record has positive impact on jobs. In fact, in the past decade the rate of job growth in microelectronics has been twice as fast as the national average. And the industry is giving rise to entirely new kinds of service jobs that rely on microelectronic products. They are all part of our growing information society.
The greatest threat to the labor force today is lack of technology. Business faces international competition. And technology is international. Preventing or delaying its introduction in one country would mean its even more successful introduction in other countries. Companies need to invest aggressively in technological innovation if they are to remain competitive and create new jobs.

1.English workers tried to wreck factories and machinery because they wanted to _________.

A. eliminate jobs created by industrialization

B. keep their jobs

C. increase the number of jobs

D. pave the way for new technology to develop in their country.

2.According to this passage, all the economists_________.

A. hold the opinion that technology reduces jobs

B. think that the total amount of work to be done in an economic system is fixed

C. have different opinions as to whether technology reduces jobs

D. think that it is wrong to say technology reduces jobs

3.Which of the following ideas is NOT mentioned in this passage?

A. Lack of technology is the greatest threat to the labor force

B. Technology can create jobs rather that reduce jobs

C. No industry can develop without new technology

D. The idea that technology reduces jobs is a fallacy.

4.The author cites the microelectronics industry as an obvious example in the passage to illustrate at_____________.

A. it is a fast-growing industry

B. business faces international competition

C. technology can increase employment

D. it plays an important role in the development of new technology

5.Preventing or delaying its introduction in one country would mean its even more successful introduction in other countries. This sentence is used to illustrate_____________.

A. international competition in technology

B. the importance of developing new technology

C. the necessity of creating new jobs

D. the aggressiveness of technological innovation

It was not until fairly recently that the secret of bats’ flight was solved, at least partially. The discovery of radar, the sending out of sound-waves and judging the obstacles ahead by the returning echo(回声), made some investigators wonder if this was not the system employed by bats. A series of experiments was conducted, and some fascinating things were discovered. First of all, some bats were blindfolded with tiny pieces of wax over their eyes, and as usual they had no difficulty in flying to and fro without hitting anything. Then it was found that if they were blindfolded and their ears were covered they were no longer able to avoid collisions（碰撞） and, in fact, did not seem at all keen on flying in the first place. If only one ear was covered they could fly with only moderate success and would frequently hit objects. This showed that bats could get information about the obstacles ahead by means of sound-waves reflected from them. Then the investigators covered the noses and mouths of their bats, but left the ears uncovered, and again the bats were unable to fly without collision. This proved that the nose, ears and mouth all played some part in the bat’s radar system. Eventually, by the use of extremely delicate（精密的） instruments, the facts were discovered. As the bat flies along, it emits a continuous succession of supersonic squeaks（吱吱声）, far too high for the human ear to pick up. They give out, in fact, about thirty squeaks a second. The echoes from these squeaks, bouncing off the obstacles ahead, return to the bat’s ear, and the bat can thus tell what lies ahead and how far away it is. It is, in fact, in every detail the principle of radar.

1.Which of the following does NOT play any role in the bat’s radar system?

A. Ears B. NoseC. Eyes D. Mouth

2.When their eyes and ears were covered, bats__________

A. still managed to fly fairly well

B. could fly with only moderate success

C. could not fly at all

D. were unable to fly without collision

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. There is still something about bats’ flight which scientists do not know.

B. Bats have their inborn radar systems.

C. Bats can fly successfully even in the dark.

D. It is the supersonic squeaks we hear that guide bats in flight.

4.The secret of bats’ flexible flight lies in the fact that bats____________.

A. have the ability to receive the echoes of supersonic sound sent out by themselves.

B. have the ability to receive the sound-waves emitted by the objects ahead.

C. are born with excellent flying skills

D. have good eyes which can see objects even in the dark.

5.The radar was invented__________.

A. on the basic of the experiments with bats.

B. According to bats’ flight principle.

C. before the discovery of the secret of bats’ flight.

D. after the discovery of the secret of bats’ flight.

Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time. Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were, but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail because such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun see a great movie, perhaps and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With e-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, an （责任编辑：城市网）