This is not the world we know.This world is controlled by computers.Men and women can be seen,but they are following orders given to them by machines.The machines were designed by mad scientists,but at some point even the mad scientists were taken over by their super-inventions.
Does this sound familiar?You have probably read something like it in magazines or books,or seen it in a film.Why is it popular?One of the reasons is that it reflects the fears of many people; fear of the unknown,fear of what is not understood or,at least,fear of something that is not completely understood.
The fact is that every day it seems that computers take control of another area of our lives.Some factory jobs are now done by robots(机器人)and the robots are controlled by computers.Our bank accounts are managed by computers.At the airport,our tickets are sold by a computer.Certainly many of these operations are made more efficient by computers,but our admiration is sometimes mixed with unsafe feelings.And this lack of safety is caused by the fact that we do not know how computers do these things,and we really don’t know what they might do next.
But we can find out how computers work,and once we understand them,we can use computers instead of worrying about being used by them.Today,there is a new generation of computer wizards(奇才) who know exactly how computers get things done.These young men and women,usually university students,are happy to sit for hours,sometimes for days,designing programs,not eating,not sleeping,.But discovering what can be done by these wonderful slaves which they have learned to control.These computer wizards have learned to use the computer and search for new tasks for their machine.
1.We can know that the scientists who designed the machines _______.
a.are careless in their daily life
b.are unkind and cruel
c.are out of their mind
d.have great abilities
2.The reason why many people are afraid of computers is that _______.
a.they don’t know anything about computers
b.they haven’t really understood computers
c.there are so many computer games
d.computers are often down
3.The author mentions computer wizards in order to point to that _______.
a.computers can be controlled by man
b.there should be more people devoted to computers
c.only young people are interested in computers
d.more time and energy is required to control computers