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Unit Ten
　

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Alvin Toffler writes about the fact that technolo-
gy is advancing much faster today than ever before in
history. The symbols of technology are no longer facto-
ry smokestacks or assembly lines. As we are headed for
the future, the pace will quicken still further.
　
　
THE FANTASTIC SPURT IN TECHNOLOGY
　

A. Toffler
　
To most people the term technology conjures up images of smoky steel
mills or noisy machines. Perhaps the classic representation of technology is
still the assembly line created by Henry Ford half a century ago and made
into a social symbol by Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times . This symbol,
however, has always been inadequate and misleading, for technology has al-
ways been more than factories and machines. The invention of the horse
collar in the middle ages led to major changes in agricultural methods and
was as much a technological advance as the invention of the Bessemer fur-
nace centuries later. Moreover, technology includes techniques, or ways to
do things, as well as the machines that may or may not be necessary to ap-
ply them. It includes ways to make chemical reactions occur, ways to breed
fish, plant forests, light theaters, count votes or teach history.

The old symbols of technology are even more misleading today, when
the most advanced technological processes are carried out far from assembly
lines or blast furnaces. Indeed, in electronics, in space technology, in most
of the new industries, quiet and clean surroundings are characteristic-- even
sometimes essential. And the assembly line - the organization of large numbers
of men to carry out simple repetitive functions - is outdated. It is time for
our symbols of technology to change - to catch up with the quickening
in technology itself .

This acceleration is frequently dramatized by a brief account of the progress
in transportation. It has been pointed out, for example, that in 6000 BC
the fastest transportation available to man over long distances was the camel
caravan, averaging eight miles per hour (mph) . It was not until about 1600
when the chariot was invented that the maximum speed was raised to
roughly twenty miles per hour.

So impressive was this invention, so difficult was it to exceed this speed
limit, that nearly 3,500 years later, when the first mail coach began operating
in England in 1784, it averaged a mere ten mph. The first steam locomotive，
introduced in 1825, could have a top speed of only thirteen mph and
the great sailing ships of the time labored along at less than half that speed.
It was probably not until the 1880's that man, with the help of a more
advanced steam locomotive, managed to reach a speed of one hundred
mph. It took the human race millions of years to attain that record.

It took only fifty-eight years， however, to go four times that fast, so
that by 1938 men in airplanes were traveling at better than 400 mph. It
took a mere twenty-year flick of time to double the limit again. Arid by the
1960's rocket planes approached speeds of 4,000 mph. and-men in space
capsules were circling the earth at 18,000 mph.

Whether we examine distances traveled, altitudes reached, or minerals
mined, the same accelerative trend is obvious. The pattern, here and in a
thousand other statistical series, is absolutely clear and unmistakable.
Thousands of years go by, and then, in our own times, a sudden bursting
of the limits, a fantastic spurt forward.

The reason for this is that technology feeds on itself. Technology makes
more technology possible, as we can see if we look for a moment at the
process of innovation. Technological innovation consists of three stages, linked
together into a self-reinforcing cycle. First, there is the creative, feasible idea.
Second, its practical application. Third, its diffusion through society.
The process is completed, the loop closed, when the diffusion of tech-
nology embodying the new idea, in turn, helps generate new creative ideas.
Today there is evidence that the time between each of the steps in this cycle
has been shortened.

Thus it is not merely true, as frequently noted , that 90 percent of al the
scientists who ever lived are now alive, and that new scientific discoveries
are being made every day. These new ideas are put to work much more
quickly than ever before. The time between the first and second stages of
cycle - between idea and application-- has been radically reduced. the This
is a striking difference between ourselves and our ancestors. It is not that we
are more eager or less lazy than our ancestors, but we have, with the
passage of time, invented all sorts of social devices to hasten the process.

But if it takes less time to bring a new idea to the marketplace, it also takes
less time for it to sweep through the society. For example, the refrigerator
was introduced in the United States before 1920, yet its peak production
did not come until more than thirty years later. However, by 1950- in only a
few years - television had grown from a laboratory novelty to the biggest
part of show business. So the interval between the second and third stages
of the cycle - between application and diffusion - has likewise been cut, and
the pace of diffusion is rising with astonishing speed.

The stepped-up pace of invention, application and diffusion, in turn,
accelerates the whole cycle still further. For new machines or techniques are not
merely a product, but a source, of fresh creative ideas.


Click the button to listen to the pronunciations of new words

　

　

New Words

　

fantastic a.
unbelievably large or great 极大的;难以置信的

spurt n.
a short sudden increase of activity, effort or

　
speed; burst 猛增;突然加速;迸发

conjure vt
cause (sth. ) to appear in the mind 唤起,使想起

smoky a.
giving out much smoke

mill n.
factory or workshop

classic a.
typical 经典的,典型的

representation n.
sth. that represents 代表

represent vt.

symbol n.
sign, mark, or object which represents a person,

　
idea, value, etc. 象征

inadequate a.
not adequate; insufficient

misleading a.
causing wrong conclusions; causing mistakes

mislead vt.

invention n.
the act of inventing; sth. invented

horse collar
马轭,炉子

agricultural a.
of agriculture

furnace n.
熔炉,炉子

apply vt.
put into use or operation 应用,运用

occur vi.
take place; happen

breed (bredbred) vt.
raise (esp. animals)饲养

vote n.
选票;选举(权)

advanced a.
far on in development; modern

blast n.
鼓风;送风

blast furnace
鼓风炉;高炉

electronics n.
电子技术;电子学

surroundings n.
(used with a pl. v. ) everything around and

　
about a place; conditions of life 环境

characteristic a.
showing the individual character 表示特性的

essential a.
necessary; most important

organization n.
the act organizing ; an organized bady or

　
system

repetitive a.
of or characterized by the act of repeating

repetition n.

function n.
special duty ( of a person ) or purpose ( of a

　
thing)职责,功能,作用

outdated a.
no longer in general use; old-fashioned

quicken v.
make or become quick(er)

acceleration n.
加速

dramatize vt.
put into dramatic form; express or represent

　
( sth: ) in a dramatic or exaggerated way

account n.
report or description

transportation n.
the business of carrying people or goods from

　
one , place to another 运输

transport vt.

BC abbr.
Before (the birth of) Christ 公元前

available a.
capable of being got, obtained, used, etc. 可获

　
得的;可利用的

camel
骆驼

caravan n.
(往返于沙漠地带的)商队

average vt.
have as an average 平均为

per prep.
for each 每

mph abbr.
miles per hour

chariot n.
two-wheeled carriage pulled by horses(古时)双

　
轮马拉战车

maximum n. & a.
(being) the largest number, amount, etc.

roughly ad.
about; more or less but not exactly

impressive a.
making a deep impression on the mind and feel-

　
ings 给人深刻印象的

exceed vt.
go or be beyond a limit, measure, or degree

　
超过

coach n.
large, old-fashioned, closed carriage pulled by

　
horses 四轮大马车

operate v.
(cause to) work, be in action

mere a.
nothing more than

locomotive n.
railway engine 四轮大马车

race n.
main division of any living things; nation or

　
tribe属;人种

airplane n.
飞机

flick n.
sudden, light blow or stroke; sudden short

　
movement 轻弹;突然的轻快动作

rocket n.
火箭

capsule n.
the part of a spaceship in which the pilots live and work

　
and from which the engine is separated when the

　
take off is completed 宇宙密封舱

altitude n.
高,(尤指海拔)高度

mineral n.
矿物,矿石

accelerative a.
加速的

trend n.
general direction; tendency 趋向;倾向

pattern n.
the way in which sth. happens or develops 模式

statistical a.
统计的; 统计学的

unmistakable a
clearly recognizable

innovation n.
the introduction of sth. new; new idea, method,

　
or invention

stage n.
point, period or step in development 阶段;时期

cycle n.
series of events taking place in a regularly repeated

　
order 循环;周期

feasible a.
capable of being carried out or done; possible

　
可行的

diffusion n.
the act of spreading out (knowledge, etc. ) widely

　
扩散;传播

embody vt.
give form to, express 体现

generate vt.
cause to exist or occur; produce 发生;产生

shorten v.
make or become shorter

scientific a.
of science; guided by the rules of science

radically ad.
fundamentally; essentially; extremely

radical a.

reduce vt.
make less; make smaller in size, number, degree

　
减少;降底

striking a.
very noticeable; attracting attention 显著的

ancestor n.

marketplace n.
square or open place in a town where a market is

　
held

refrigerator n.
冰箱

fridge n.
refrigerator

peak n.
the highest point or level; the pointed top of a

　
mountain or hill 顶峰;山峰

novelty n.
sth. new and unusual; innovation 新奇的事物

novel a.
新颖的,新奇的

likewise ad.
in the same way

astonishing a.
very surprising; amazing

astonish vt.

stepped-up a.
increased in size, speed, or extent

accelerate v.
(cause to) move faster 加速


　

　

Phrases & Expressions

　

conjure up
cause to appear as a picture in the mind

　
使联想起

labo(u)r along
move slowly and with difficulty

go by
pass (in place or time)

feed on
(of animals) live on (food); draw strength,

　
support or satisfaction from

in turn
in proper sequence or succession 依次,轮流.转而

put to work
apply



　

Proper Names

　

Henry Ford
亨利·福特

Charlie Chaplin
查利·卓别麟

Bessemer
贝西默(姓氏)


　

　

　

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