And its Effects on Society

1.	The increasing pace of technological change in the 20^th century makes it difficult to place recent developments into perspective. New materials, ranging from synthetic rubber through plastics and artificial fabrics, have
	affected ways of life and fashion. Following the establishment of the assembly line by Henry Ford in 1913, the automobile became inexpensive enough for many to afford and changed the landscape in industrialized nations. The aircraft industry grew within decades after the first powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903.
2.	Although early computing machines existed by World War II, it took the invention of the transistor in 1948 to make modern computers and office machines a reality. Nuclear power was introduced after the World War II, and the space age began with the first Soviet spacecraft in 1957. Many of these developments depended on the advances in science that were required before their adaptation by engineers.
3.	Medical technology, which started with better sanitary practices in the 19^th century, was expanded by the use of new medicines and new equipment. This nearly doubled the life span of a person living in an industrialized country compared to 100 years earlier. New technologies in biology led to genetic engineering, in which living cells can be altered.
4.	Technology keeps advancing at a rapid rate. It can only be guessed what the “information revolution” of the late 20^th century will bring about. Technology has made modern society possible. It has increased the human life span and allowed a healthier life. It has added to leisure time and reduced the long hours of work.
5.	Technology can allow the world to feed itself. It has reduced the effects of natural catastrophes such as famines and floods. The world is now a smaller place where people can readily communicate with each other and travel rapidly anywhere. Technology has raised the standard of living, at least in the developed nations, to a point unimaginable only a century ago.
6.	Yet a dark side of technology persists. The threat of nuclear war is foremost, though other dangers are also frightening. The effects of dumping poisonous waste and the continued pollution of the atmosphere are but two examples. Although 20^th-century technology has created more jobs than have been lost, it still has left many individuals unemployed. The world has become smaller, but social and political institutions have not kept pace.

Пояснения к тексту.

pace – скорость, темп

powered flight – полет с работающим двигателем

the Wright brothers – братья Райт (авиаконструкторы и летчики, пионеры авиастроения)

it took … – потребовалось

by – к (при указании времени)

advance – успех, прогресс

life span – продолжительность жизни

keep – продолжать (делать что-либо)

bring about – вызывать

but – лишь, только

keep pace – идти в ногу

I. Ответьте на следующие вопросы к тексту.

1. What important technological achievement effected the landscape in industrialized countries?

2. When did the space age begin?

II. Выпишите из текста предложения, подтверждающие следующие высказывания.

a. В своих разработках инженеры использовали сделанные ранее научные открытия.

b. Продолжительность жизни человека в экономически развитых странах увеличилась почти вдвое.

III. Переведите письменно заглавие текста и абзацы 1, 4, 5, 6.

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА № 7

Вариант B

Прочитайте текст, постарайтесь понять его, чтобы выполнить задания к тексту.

The Menace of the Micro

1.	Hardly a week goes by without some advance in technology that would have seemed incredible 50 years ago. Over the past 20 years computers have completely revolutionized our lives. Yet we can expect the rate of change to accelerate rather than slow down within our lifetimes. The next 25 years will see as many changes as have been witnessed in the past 150.
2.	These developments in technology are bound to have a dramatic effect on the future of work. By 2010, new technology will have revolutionized communications. People will be transmitting messages down telephone lines that previously would have been sent by post. Once these changes are introduced, not only postmen but also clerks and secretaries will vanish in a paper-free society. All the routine tasks they perform will be carried on a tiny silicon chip. As soon as this technology is available, these people will be as obsolete as the horse and cart after the invention of the motor car. One change will make thousands, if not millions, redundant.
3.	Even people in traditional professions are unlikely to escape the effects of new technology. Instead of going to a solicitor, you might go to a computer which is programmed with all the most up-to-date legal information. You might even come up before a computer judge who would judge your case more fairly than a human counterpart. 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 of treatment.
4.	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 through play.
5.	What can we do to avoid the threat of the dole queue? First of all we shouldn’t hide our heads in the sand. Unions will try to stop change but they will be fighting a losing battle. People should get computer literate as this just might save them from professional extinction. After all, there will be a few jobs left in law, education and medicine for those few individuals who are capable of writing and programming software of the future. Strangely enough, there will still be jobs like rubbish collection and cleaning as it is tough to program tasks which are largely unpredictable.