二、阅读理解(11-30)

In what now seems like the prehistoric times of computer history, the early post-war era(战后时期), there was a quite widespread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. Already today, less than forty years later, as computers are relieving us of more and more of the routine tasks in business and in our personal lives, we are facing with a less dramatic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting(过分信任) of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they behave as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction (失灵).

Obviously, there would be no point in investing(投入) in a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and cheek the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong. Questioning and routine double checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were in pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the following warning: for all the help this computer may pro-vide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.

11. What is the main purpose of this passage? D

A. To look back to the early days of computers.

B. To explain what technical problems may occur with computers.

C. To discourage unnecessary investment in computers.

D. To warn against the blindness to the probable shortcomings of computers.

警告人们不要对计算机可能存在的缺陷视而不见。

12. The passage recommends those dealing with computers to______A____.

A. be reasonably doubtful about them对他们有合理的怀疑

B. check all their answers

C. substitute them for basic thinking

D. use them for business purpose only

13. An "internal computer" ( Para. 2 ) is ______B____.

A. a computer used exclusively by one company for its own problems

B. a person' s store of knowledge and the ability to process it一个人的知识储备和处理能力

C.the most up to date in home computer a company can buy

D. a computer from the post-war era which is very reliable

14. The passage suggests that the present day problem with regard to computers is___D_______.

A. challenging

B. psychological

C. dramatic

D. over-trusting过度信任

15. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disapprove of____D______.

A. computer science courses in high schools

B. businessmen and women who use pocket calculators

C. maintenance(持续不断) checks on computers

D. companies which depend entirely on computers完全依赖计算机的公司

        在现在看来像是电脑史上的史前时代，也就是战后早期(战后时期), 人们普遍担心有一天计算机会从人类手中接管世界。在不到40年后的今天，随着计算机正在减轻我们在商业和个人生活中越来越多的日常任务，我们正面临着一个不那么引人注目但也不那么可预见的问题。人们往往过于信任他人(过分信任) 他们不愿意挑战自己的权威。事实上，他们的行为就好像他们几乎没有意识到可能按下了错误的按钮，或者计算机可能只是出了故障(失灵).
       显然，投资没有意义(投入) 在计算机中，如果你必须检查它的所有答案，但人们也应该依靠自己的内部计算机，当他们感觉出问题时，对机器进行检查。提问和例行的双重检查必须继续成为良好业务的一部分，就像在计算机时代之前一样。也许每台计算机都应该附带以下警告：尽管这台计算机可能提供了各种帮助，但它不应该被视为基本思维和推理技能的替代品。