One evening in February 2007, a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales. She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path .That’s when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later, she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
Ceely’s near miss made the news because she blamed it on the GPS (导航仪). She had never driven the route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the crossing. “I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train,” she told the BBC.
Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceely’s story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points the finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And it’s not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it’s not clear why he only focuses on digital technology, while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor singalling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn’t say.
It’s a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it’s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors.
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology.
If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long.
4. What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?
A. She was not familiar with the road.
B. It was dark and raining heavily then.
C. The railway workers failed to give the signal.
D. Her GPS device didn’t tell her about the crossing.
5. The phrase “near miss” (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by______.
A. close hit B. heavy loss C. narrow escape D. big mistake
6. Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?
A. Modern technology is what we can’t live without.
B. Digital technology often falls short of our expectation.
C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.
D. GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely’s accident.
DCB
什么是历史文化类阅读:
本类题型常用的方式是夹叙夹议。叙述的目的是为了议,所以要把握其议才是主要方面。阅读这类文章,先弄清其引入的话题,再弄清里面人物对其不同的看法,然后理解作者本身对话题的观点看法或思考。
历史文化类阅读技巧:
【题型说明】历史文化类阅读理解文章属高考常选材料之一。这类文章常涉及历史、文化、法制、宗教等方面的文学艺术、发明创造、文化遗产保护、宗教与文化、风俗与习惯、道德与法制、中外文学名著节选、等等。这类材料的命题点往往落在主旨大意题、事实细节题上。
【答题方法】在做这类阅读理解题时,我们应注意以下几个方面:
1、采用先题后文:先读题目,再带着问题读文章。这类阅读理解文章相对来说事实细节题稍多一点,如果带着问题读文章,有利于我们抓细节。
2、先做细节题。因为做完了局部性的事实细节题后,自然会加深我们对文章的理解,这样更有利于做主旨大意题。
3、重点敲定主旨题。主旨大意题提问的形式主要有两大类:一类是Main idea型;一类是Topic或Title型。
在解答这类试题时应注意以下几点:
a.读首句抓大意。
文化教育类阅读理解文章多采用说明文、议论文体裁,而这类文章大都采用文章段落的中心,即主题句在文章开头。因此,要寻找这类文章的主旨大意就需要研究文章的首句。
b.读尾句抓大意。
有时这类文章的主题句安排在文章的结尾,作为对全篇的总结。
c.读首段抓大意。
有些文章或段落的开头和结尾部分都有主题句。这种结构是为了突出主题思想而使用两次点题的写作方法。这两个主题句在句子结构和用词上有所不同,而且在内容上前句和后句也不重复。
d.从段落中抓大意。
有些文章或段落的主题句在文章中,这种文章或段落往往以一句话或几句话引出要表达的主题,在主题句出现后,再举例子陈述细节或继续论证。
e.归纳要点抓大意。
有些文章或段落无明显的主题句,只是暗示性地体现主题。这就要求同学们在阅读过程中根据文中所叙述的事实或线索来概括总结主旨大意。
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