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1、大家网[www.TopSage.com]考研英语历年真题来源报刊阅读100篇Text5Behindthebleedingedge MANKIND’Sprogressindevelopingnewgizmosisoftenreferredtoasthe"marchoftechnology".Thatconjuresupimagesofconstantandrelentlessforwardmovementorchestratedwithmilitaryprecision.Inreality,technologicalp
2、rogressisratherlessorderly.SometechnologiesdoindeedimproveatsuchapredictablepacethattheyobeysimpleformulaesuchasMoore’slaw,whichactsasabattleplanforthesemiconductorindustry.Othertechnologiesproceedbypainfullurches-thinkofthirdgenerationmobilephones,ornewversion
3、sofMicrosoftWindows.Andtherearesomecases,particularlyinthedevelopingworld,whentechnologicalprogresstakestheformofaleapfrog. Suchleapfrogginginvolvesadoptinganewtechnologydirectly,andskippingovertheearlier,inferiorversionsofitthatcamebefore.Byfarthebestknownexa
4、mpleisthatofmobilephonesinthedevelopingworld.Fixedlinenetworksarepoorornonexistentinmanydevelopingcountries,sopeoplehaveleapfroggedstraighttomobilephonesinstead.ThenumberofmobilephonesnowfaroutstripsthenumberoffixedlinetelephonesinChina,IndiaandsubSaharanAfr
5、ica. Thereareotherexamples.Incandescentlightbulbs,introducedinthelate1870s,areslowlybeingdisplacedinthedevelopedworldbymoreenergyefficientlightemittingdiodes(LEDs),inapplicationsfromtrafficlightstodomesticlighting.LEDscould,however,haveanevengreaterimpactinpa
6、rtsofthedevelopingworldthatlackmainspowerandelectriclightingaltogether.LEDs’greaterenergyefficiencymakesitpossibletorunthemfrombatterieschargedbysolarpanelsduringtheday. Beingbehindthe"bleedingedge"oftechnologicaldevelopmentcansometimesbeagoodthing,inshort.Itme
7、ansthatearlyversionsofatechnology,whichmaybebuggy,unreliableorotherwiseinferior,canbeavoided.America,forexample,wasthefirstcountrytoadoptcolourtelevision,whichexplainswhyAmericantelevisionstilllookssobadtoday:othercountriescametothetechnologylaterandadoptedtechn
8、icallysuperiorstandards. Thelessontobedrawnfromallofthisisthatitiswrongtoassumethatdevelopingcountrieswillfollowthesametechnologicalcourseasdevelopednations.Havingsk