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1、6时间是可怕的老人第六课OldFatherTimeBecomesaTerrorRichardTomkins1Onceuponatime,technology,wethought,wouldmakeourliveseasier.Machineswereexpectedtodoourworkforus,leavinguswithever-increasingquantitiesoftimetowasteawayonidlenessandpleasure.时间老人成了可怕的老人理查德?汤姆金斯从前,我们以为技术发展会使我
2、们的生活变得更安逸。那时我们觉得机器会替代我们工作,我们则有越来越多的时间休闲娱乐。2Butinsteadofliberatingus,technologyhasenslavedus.Innovationsareoccurringatabewilderingrate:asmanynowarriveinayearasoncearrivedinamillennium.Andaseachinventionarrives,iteatsfurtherintoourtime.但技术发展没有把我们解放出来,而是使我们成为奴隶。新
3、技术纷至沓来,令人目不暇接:一年涌现的技术创新相当于以前一千年。而每一项新发明问世,就进一步吞噬我们的光阴。3Themotorcar,forexample,promisedunimaginablelevelsofpersonalmobility.Butnow,trafficincitiesmovesmoreslowlythanitdidinthedaysofthehorse-drawncarriage,andwewasteourlivesstuckintrafficjams.比如,汽车曾使我们希望个人出行会方便得让
4、人难以想象。可如今,城市车辆运行得比马车时代还要慢,我们因交通堵塞而困在车内,徒然浪费生命。4Theaircraftpromisednewhorizons,too.Thetroubleis,itdeliveredthem.Itsveryexistencecreatedademandfortime-consumingjourneysthatwewouldneverpreviouslyhavedreamedofundertaking--thetransatlanticshoppingexpedition,forexam
5、ple,orthetriptoaconventionontheothersideoftheworld.飞机也曾有可能为我们拓展新天地。问题是,飞机提供了新的天地。其存在本身产生了对耗时的长途旅行的需求,这种旅行,如越洋购物,或远道前往地球的另一半参加会议,以前我们是根本无法想象的。5Inmostcases,technologyhasnotsavedtime,butenabledustodomorethings.Inthehome,washingmachinespromisedtofreewomenfromhavin
6、gtotoiloverthelaundry.Inreality,theyencouragedustochangeourclothesdailyinsteadofweekly,creatingseventimesasmuchwashingandironing.Similarly,theweeklybathhasbeenreplacedbythedailyshower,multiplyingthehoursspentonpersonalgrooming.在大多数情况下,技术发展并未节省时间,而是使我们得以做更多的事。在
7、家里,洗衣机可望使妇女摆脱繁重的洗衣劳作。但事实上,它们促使我们每天,而不是每星期换一次衣服,这就使熨洗衣物的工作量变成原来的7倍。同样地,每周一次的沐浴为每日一次的淋浴所代替,使得用于个人穿着打扮的时间大大增加。6Meanwhile,technologyhasnotonlyallowedworktospreadintoourleisuretime--thelaptop-on-the-beachsyndrome--butaddedthenewburdenofdealingwithfaxes,e-mailsandvo
8、icemails.IthasalsoprovideduswiththeopportunitytospendhoursfixingsoftwareglitchesonourpersonalcomputersorfillingourheadswithuselessinformationfromtheInternet.与此同时,技术发展不仅听任工作侵入我们的闲暇时