english_for_today_4

1、LessonOneMachinesintheCityDickMallyisabookpublisher.HisofficeontheftiethfloofaskyscraperinthecenterofNewYkCityisthewldhewksin.Thewldhelivesinisawhilehouseonaquietstreetinasuburb30milesfromthecity.Whetherheisatwkinthehear

2、t1ofthebigcityathomeinthequietsuburbDick’slifeistied2tomachines.Inmanywaysherepresentsmodernmaninthebigcity—modernmaninthemachineage.InatypicalwkingdayDickhiswifeareawakenedbythebuzzingoftheelectricalarmclock.Ashepushesa

3、buttontosilencethealarmheturnsontheradiobesideshisbedtohearthemningnews.Thenhegoestothebathroomfaquickshavewithhiselectricshaver.AfterdressingDickgoestothekitchenwherehiswifehasbeguntopreparebreakfast.Eggsarecookingonthe

4、electricstovebreadisbeingtoastedinanelectrictoastercoffeeisbeingmadeinanelectriccoffeemaker.FromtheelectricrefrigeratDicktakesacartonofcreamanotheroffreshmilkacanoffrozenangejuice.Heopensthecanwithanelectriccanopenermixe

5、sthecontentswithseveralcansofcoldwater.ThentheangejuiceisreadyDickhiswifecanbeginbreakfast.Duringbreakfasttheysometimeswatchthemningnewsprogramontelevision.AfterbreakfastDickgetsthecaroutofthegaragehiswifedriveshimtother

6、ailroadstation.Thestationiscrowdedwithothercommuterslikehimselfpeoplewhomusttravel30even50milestothecitybackeveryday.Somearereadingthemningpaperothersaretalkingwithoneanotherwaitingnervouslyfthetrain.Ifthetrainislatethei

7、rroutinetimedtotheminutecouldeasilybeupset.Butexactlyonschedulethetrainarrivesatthestation.Ftyfiveminuteslateritarrivesinthecitystillonschedule.WiththeothercommutersDickhurriesfromthetrainintothestation.Ashenearsthedoiti

8、swhippedopenbyanelectriceyehepassthroughintothewaitingroom.Amomentlaterhestepsontoamovingstairwaythattakeshimrapidlyuptothestreetlevel.BusestaxisareeverywherebutbecauseDick’sofficeisonlyfourblocksawayhealwayswalks.Soonhe

9、isinsidethesixtystyskyscraperwherehiscompanyhasoffices.Atalongbankofelevatshewaitsuntilagreenlightflashesfanupcarthenstepsinside.Hepushesthebuttonftheftiethflothedoclosesthecarrisessmoothlynoiselessly.Whentheelevatreache

10、stheftiethflothedoagainslidesopenDickstepsintothefamiliarhallwithitsearlymningquiethurriestohisoffice.Heturnsonthelightsissoonatwk.Thereismuchtobedonebefetheclerkssecretariesbegintoarrive.Anhourlatertheday’sroutinebegins

11、withthearrivalofthemail.AshereadsitheusuallytakesnotesonthemeurgentpointspicksupthetelephonecallsotherdepartmentsinthebuildingotherbusinessesinNewYk.ItisamatterofroutinefDicktocallthecompany’sofficesinChicagoSanFrancisco

12、sometimeseventocallitsrepresentativesinLondonParis.Oncehehastheinfmationheneedshedictateslettersintoarecdingmachinefhissecretarytotypereturntohimlaterfhissignature.AttimesDickisawareofthewkersintheouterofficeansweringtel

13、ephonestypinglettersfillingpapers.Fromaroomnextdohehearstheevenclickingofamachinethatisduplicatingcopiesofschedulesinstructionsheets.Othermachinesaretakingpicturesofimptantlettersdocumentsproducingmanycopiesinafewminutes

14、.Fromaspecialofficenearbycomesthehumofanelectriccomputerwhichisrecdingdersbillingcustomersmakingoutthecompanypayroll.OftenDickisalsoawareofothersoundsthemelessmuffledtrafficnoisesthatcomefromthestreetdownbelow—thehonking

15、ofhnstheblowingofwhistlesthescreechingofbrakes.Thesearecuriouslymixedwiththeclangofhammersrivetingmachineswiththeshoutsofthewkmenputtingupanewskyscrapernextdo.ButDickisusedtonoise—fthebigcityacityofmachinesmustbeacityofn

16、oise.AlthoughheisusedtothenoiseDickusuallylooksfwardtotheendofthedaywhenhecanreturntohishouseinthequietsuburb.Frelaxationhemaymowthelawnwithhispowermowersometimesherepairsapieceoffurniturewithhiselectrictools.Hemayhelphi

17、syoungchildrenbuildapenftheirpetrabbit.hemayjustsitinacomftablechairwatchingtelevisionlisteningtohisfavitemusicontherecdplayer.IntheofficeathomemachinesareapartoftheMallys’life.Likemanyothercitypeopletheywouldfindithardt

18、olivewithoutmachines.LessonThreeTheUltimateMachine:TheElectronicComputerWithatremendousroarfromitsrocketenginethesatelliteissentupintothesky.Minuteslateratanaltitudeof300milesthistinyelectronicmoonbeginstobitabouttheeart

19、h.Itsradiobeginstotransmitastaggeringamountofinfmationaboutthesatellitesbitalpaththeamountofradiationitdetectsthepresenceofmeteites.Infmationofallkindsracesbacktotheearth.Nohumanbeingcouldpossiblycopydownallthesefactsmuc

20、hlessrememberganizethem.Butanelectroniccomputercan.Themarvelofthemachineagetheelectroniccomputerhasbeeninuseonlysince1946.Itcandosimplecomputations—addsubtractmultiplydivide—withlightningspeedperfectaccuracy.Itcanmultipl

21、ytwo10digitnumbersin11000secondaproblemthatwouldtakeanaveragepersonfiveminutestodowithpencilpaper.Somecomputerscanwk500000timesfasterthananypersoncan.Onceitisgivena“program”—thatisacarefullywkedoutsetofinstructionsdevise

22、dbyatechniciantrainedincomputerlanguage—acomputercangatherawiderangeofinfmationfmanypurposes.Fthescientistitcangetinfmationfromouterspacefromthedepthoftheocean.Inbusinessindustrythecomputerpreparesfactyinventieskeepstrac

23、kofsalestrendsproductionneedsmailsdividendchecksmakesoutcompanypayrolls.Itcankeepbankaccountsuptodatemakeoutelectricbills.Ifyouareplanningatripbyplanethecomputerwillfindoutwhatroutetotakewhatspaceisavailable.Notonlycanth

24、ecomputergatherfactsitcanalsostethemasfastastheyaregatheredcanpourthemoutwhenevertheyareneeded.Thecomputerisreallyahighpowered“memy”machinethat“hasalltheanswers”—almostall.Whatisthemostefficientspeedfdrivingacarthroughth

25、eNewYkNewJerseytunnelsWhatbrofcannedgoodsisthemostpopularinaparticularsupermarketWhatkindofweatherwillwehavetomrowThecomputerwillflashouttheanswerinafractionofasecond.Besidesgatheringstinginfmationthecomputercanalsosolve

26、complicatedproblemsthatoncetookmonthsfpeopletodo.FexamplewithinsixteenhoursanelectronicbrainnamesCHEOPS(whichstsfChemicalEngineeringOptimizationSystem)solvedadifficultdesignproblem.Firstitwasfedalltheinfmationnecessaryfd

27、esigningachemicalplant.Afterrunningthrough16000possibledesignsitpickedouttheplanftheplantthatwouldproducethemostchemicalatthelowestcost.Thenitissuedaprintedsetofexactspecifications.BefeCHEOPSsolvedthisproblemateamofengin

28、eershavingthesameinfmationhadwkedfayeartoproduceonlythreedesignsnoneofwhichwasasefficientasthecomputer’s.Attimescomputersseemalmosthuman.Theycan“read”hprintedlettersplaychesscomposemusicwriteplaysevendesignothercomputers

29、.Isitanywonderthattheyaresometimescalled“thinking”machinesNotevencomputerscanpredictthefuturebutthebenefitsofcomputersarebecomingmeobviouseveryday.a.Computersarebeingusedinspacetravel.Rocketssatellitesspaceshipsareguided

30、bycomputers.b.Computersarebeingusedinaviation.Theyareusedinthetrainingofairlinepilots.Computersalsodirecttheflightofplanesfromonecitytoanothercontroltheirairspeedsaltitudesevenlthem.c.Computersarebeingusedinmedicine.They

31、areusedinanalyzingbloodsamplesindiagnosingdiseasesinprescribingmedication.Theyalsokeeprecdsofthetissuetypeofpatientswaitingfgantransplant.Eventhoughtheyaretakingoversomeofthetasksthatwereonceaccomplishedbyourownbrainscom

32、putersarenotreplacingus—atleastnotyet.Ourbrainhasmethan10millioncells.Acomputerhasonlyafewhundredthousparts.Fsometimetocomethenwecansafelysaythatourbrainsareatleast10000timesmecomplexthanacomputer.Howweusethemisfusnotthe