VOA标准英语2014--Technology's Impact on People's Lives Mixed 科技对人们的生活的影响喜忧参半

 

Technology's Impact on People's Lives Mixed 科技对人们的生活的影响喜忧参半

Technology is permeating¹ everyday life like never before.  Computers, smartphones, 3D printers, new medical devices, sophisticated software, electric cars are now accessible, not only to residents of industrialized nations but to almost everybody else. Will these rapid changes make people’s lives overall better or worse?  

Internet giant Google says it is in the final stages of the development of autonomous² vehicles.

Technology giant IBM is developing a computer called Watson, capable not only of processing raw data but of learning.

Retail³ firm Amazon has already automated⁴ several of its giant warehouses⁵ and is making plans to deliver packages with flying drones.

As the machines get better in what they can do and how they think, what effect will it have on the lives of us humans?  

Andrew McAfee, co-author of ‘The Second Machine Age’, says this technological⁶ progress will have two main economic consequences.

First, new possibilities:

“More options, higher quality, more variety, lower prices, not just for consumer goods but for health care, for entertainment, for communication, for food, for leisure, for everything that we want to do with our lives," said McAfee.

McAfee admits that the other major consequence will be much less positive.  In the not-too-distant-future, intelligent machines may start replacing people in more types of jobs, displacing many less-skilled workers.

“Technology tends to favor some kinds of winners and they are pulling ahead and leaving a lot of people behind. So we see inequality in income, inequality in wealth, inequality in opportunity, in mobility⁷, and these are very serious challenges that we have to confront," he said.

McAfee says people who feel threatened by these challenges should take advantage of new opportunities technology provides, such as connectivity and accessibility to quality education.

“The educational resources available via the Internet, via technology, these days are absolutely fantastic. We have some of the best teachers in the world giving their courses away for free for anybody who wants to take them. This is a very positive development," he said.

 

Besides individual initiative, McAfee says governments could help the transition by creating not just new training programs, but an environment receptive to entrepreneurship, innovation and the creation of new opportunities.

1 permeating   

弥漫( permeate的现在分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• His grace was more permeating because it found a readier medium. 他的风度因为有人赏识显得更加迷人。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Thoughts are a strangely permeating factor. 思想真是一种会蔓延的奇怪东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

5 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。