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1、UnitTen:TheFantasticSpurtinTechnologyTextAlvinTofflerwritesaboutthefactthattechnologyisadvancingmuchfastertodaythaneverbeforeinhistory.Thesymbolsoftechnologyarenolongerfactorysmokestacksorassemblylines.Asweareheadedforthefuture,thepacewillquickenstillfurther.TheFantasticSpurtinTechnologyA.TofflerTom
2、ostpeoplethetermtechnologyconjuresupimagesofsmokysteelmillsornoisymachines.PerhapstheclassicrepresentationoftechnologyisstilltheassemblylinecreatedbyHenryFordhalfacenturyagoandmadeintoasocialsymbolbyCharlieChaplininModernTimes.Thissymbol,however,hasalwaysbeeninadequateandmisleading,fortechnologyhasa
3、lwaysbeenmorethanfactoriesandmachines.TheinventionofthehorsecollarinthemiddleagesledtomajorchangesinagriculturalmethodsandwasasmuchatechnologicaladvanceastheinventionoftheBessemerfurnacecenturieslater.Moreover,technologyincludestechniques,orwaystodothings,aswellasthemachinesthatmayormaynotbenecessar
4、ytoapplythem.Itincludeswaystomakechemicalreactionsoccur,waystobreedfish,plantforests,lighttheaters,countvotesorteachhistory.Theoldsymbolsoftechnologyareevenmoremisleadingtoday,whenthemostadvancedtechnologicalprocessesarecarriedoutfarfromassemblylinesorblastfurnaces.Indeed,inelectronics,inspacetechno
5、logy,inmostofthenewindustries,quietandcleansurroundingsarecharacteristic--evensometimesessential.Andtheassemblyline--theorganizationoflargenumbersofmentocarryoutsimplerepetitivefunctions--isoutdated.Itistimeforoursymbolsoftechnologytochange--tocatchupwiththequickeningchangeintechnologyitself.Thisacc
6、elerationisfrequentlydramatizedbyabriefaccountoftheprogressintransportation.Ithasbeenpointedout,forexample,thatin6000BCthefastesttransportationavailabletomanoverlongdistanceswasthecamelcaravan,averagingeightmilesperhour(mph).Itwasnotuntilabout1600BCwhenthechariotwasinventedthatthemaximumspeedwasrais
7、edtoroughlytwentymilesperhour.Soimpressivewasthisinvention,sodifficultwasittoexceedthisspeedlimit,thatnearly3,500yearslater,whenthefirstmailcoachbeganoperatinginEnglandin1784,itaveragedameretenmph.The
