Futurists have identified two changes that seem to be central to contemporary social life. First, the United States is being restructured from an industrial to an information society. Second, modem societies are increasingly shifting from a national to a global economy. Futurists have applied a good many metaphors to these changes, including Daniel Bell’s "postindustrial society," Alvin Toffler’s "the third wave" and John Naisbitt’s "megatrends". Common to these metaphors is the notion that American society is shifting from the production of goods to the production of services and from society based on the coordination of people and machines to a society organized around knowledge. These changes, it is contended, will afford a great variety of choices. The world will increasingly be one of many flavors, not just vanilla or chocolate.
Many observers of contemporary American life believe that we are witnessing a historical cha
A. The amount of knowledge to be learned.
B. Physical energy and materials.
C. Rapid change and its social effects.
D. Small size and high capacity.
Passage Two
Men have traveled ever since they first appeared on the earth.
In primitive times they did not travel for pleasure but to find new places where their herds could feed, or to escape from hostile neighbors, or to find more favorable climates. They traveled on foot. Their journeys were tong, tiring, and often dangerous. They protected themselves with simple weapons, such as wooden sticks or stone clubs, and by lighting fires at night and, above all, by keeping together.
Being intelligent and creative, they soon discovered easier ways of traveling. They rode on the backs of their domesticated animals; they hollowed Out tree trunks and,’ by using bits of wood as paddles, were able to travel across water.
Later they traveled, not from necessity, but for the joy and excitement of seeing and experiencing new things, This is still the main reason why we travel today.
Traveling, of course, has now become a highly organized bu
A. they could travel by wagons
B. they could ride on their tame animals and go across water in hollowed tree trunks
C. the roads were splendid
D. the climates were favorable
Passage Two
Some people think they have an answer to the troubles of automobile crowding and dirty air in large cities. Their answer is the bicycle, or "bike."
In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bicycles to work every day. In New York City, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They claim that if more people rode bicycles to work there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown section of the city and therefore less dirty air from car engines.
For several years this group has been trying to get the city government to help bicycle riders: For example, they want the city to draw bicycle lanes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars, there are accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes more people would use bikes.
But no bicycle lanes have been drawn. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea--they say it will slow t
A. are more convenient than cars
B. are safer traffic tools than cars
C. are ridden by most people in U.S.
D. are the solution to some city problems
我来回答:
