Section outline

  • General

    Collapse all Expand all

  • 技术与社会

    A Mars Rover exploring the Martian surface with advanced technology and wheels for movement.

    The Mars Rover pictured here is a wheeled robot developed by NASA. Its job is to explore the surface of Mars. The rover contains a lot of complex modern technology . But how it moves by rolling on wheels is a very old invention. The wheel was probably invented many times in different cultures, beginning at least 10,000 years ago. In addition to wheeled carts and chariots, early wheels were used for water wheels, grinding wheels, and wheels for spinning pottery. Wheels really changed human life. They revolutionized transportation and made it much easier to do many different kinds of work.  
    ::这里拍摄的火星漫游者照片是美国航天局开发的轮式机器人。它的任务是探索火星表面。游轮包含许多复杂的现代技术。但它如何在轮上滚动是一个非常古老的发明。轮子可能是在不同文化中多次发明的,至少始于一万年前。除了轮子车和轮子车外,早期轮子还用于水轮、碾磨轮和旋转陶器的轮子。轮子确实改变了人类的生活。它们革命了交通,使得许多不同的工作更容易进行。

    How Technology Affects Society
    ::技术对社会的影响

    Important new technologies such as the wheel have had a big impact on human society. Major advances in technology have influenced every aspect of life, including transportation, food production, manufacturing, communication, medicine, and the arts. That’s because technology has the goal of solving human problems, so new technologies usually make life better. They may make work easier, for example, or make people healthier. Sometimes, however, new technologies affect people in negative ways. For example, using a new product or process might cause human health problems or pollute the environment.
    ::轮子等重要新技术对人类社会产生了巨大影响。 技术的重大进步影响到了生活的各个方面,包括交通、食品生产、制造业、通信、医药和艺术。 这是因为技术的目标是解决人类问题,因此新技术通常能改善生活。 它们可以让工作更加轻松,比如说,或者使人们更加健康。 然而,有时新技术会以负面的方式影响人们。 比如,使用新产品或工艺可能会造成人类健康问题或者污染环境。

    Q: Can you think of a modern technology that has both positive and negative effects on people?
    ::问:你能想到一个既对人产生积极影响,又对人产生消极影响的现代技术吗?

    A: Modern methods of transportation have both positive and negative effects on people. They help people and goods move quickly all over the world. However, most of them pollute the environment. For example, gasoline-powered cars and trucks add many pollutants to the atmosphere. The pollutants harm people’s health and contribute to global climate change.
    ::A:现代交通方式对人产生了积极和消极的影响,有助于人员和货物在全世界迅速流动,但大部分污染环境。例如,汽油驱动汽车和卡车在大气中增加了许多污染物。 污染物危害了人们的健康,也助长了全球气候变化。

    Industrial Revolution
    ::工业革命

    Few technologies have impacted society as greatly as the powerful steam engine developed by Scottish inventor James Watt in 1775 (see Figure ). Watt’s steam engine was soon being used to power all kinds of machines. It started a revolution in industry. For the first time in history, people did not have to rely on human or animal muscle, wind, or water for power. With the steam engine to power machines, new factories sprang up all over Britain.
    ::苏格兰发明家詹姆斯·瓦特(James Watt)在1775年开发了强大的蒸汽引擎(见图 ) 。 瓦特的蒸汽引擎很快被用来为各种机器提供动力。 它在工业中开始了一场革命。 在历史上,人们第一次不必依靠人或动物的肌肉、风或水来获取电力。 随着蒸汽引擎成为动力机器,新的工厂遍布英国各地。

    A model of a steam engine demonstrating its industrial purpose in a workshop setting.

    This is a museum model similar to the steam engine invented by James Watt.
    ::这是一个博物馆模型,类似于詹姆斯·瓦特发明的蒸汽引擎。

    The Industrial Revolution began in Britain the late 1700s. It eventually spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and many other countries. It marked a major turning point in human history. Almost every aspect of daily life was influenced by it in some way. Average income and population both began to grow faster than ever before. People flocked to the new factories for jobs, and densely populated towns and cities grew up around the factories. The new towns and cities were crowded, and soot from the factories polluted the air. You can see an example of this in the Figure . This made living conditions very poor. Working conditions in the factories were also bad, with long hours and the pace set by machines. Even young children worked in the factories, damaging their health and giving them little opportunity for education or play.
    ::工业革命始于17世纪末的英国,最终蔓延到西欧、北美、日本和其他许多国家。它标志着人类历史上的一个主要转折点。几乎日常生活的每个方面都受到它某种程度的影响。平均收入和人口开始比以往更快增长。人们聚集到新工厂找工作,人口稠密的城镇和城市在工厂周围成长。新的城镇和城市拥挤,工厂烟灰污染空气。图中可以看到这个例子。这导致生活条件非常差。工厂的工作条件也很差,工时长,机器也设定了速度。甚至幼儿也在工厂工作,损害他们的健康,给他们很少机会接受教育或玩耍。

    A historical engraving showing a landscape with factory smokestacks in Manchester during the 1800s.

    Dozens of factory smokestacks polluted the air in the English city of Manchester in the 1800s.
    ::1800年代英国曼彻斯特市 数十个工厂烟囱污染空气

    Q: In addition to factory machines, the steam engine was used to power farm machinery, trains, and ships. What effects might this have had on people’s lives?
    ::问题:除了工厂机器之外,蒸汽机还被用来为农业机械、火车和船舶提供动力。 这会对人民的生活产生什么影响?

    A: Farm machinery replaced human labor and allowed fewer people to produce more food. This is why many rural people migrated to the new towns and cities to look for work in factories. Steam-powered trains and ships made it easier for people to migrate. Food and factory goods could also be transported on steam-powered trains and ships, making them available to far more people.
    ::A:农业机械取代了人类劳动,并允许更少人生产更多的粮食。 这就是为什么许多农村人迁移到新的城镇和城市寻找工厂的工作。 蒸汽动力的火车和船只使得人们更容易迁移。 食品和工厂货物也可以用蒸汽动力的火车和船只运输,让更多的人获得。

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Major advances in technology have influenced every aspect of human society, usually in good ways but sometimes in bad ways as well.
      ::技术的重大进步对人类社会的方方面面都产生了影响,通常都是好的方式,但有时也是坏的方式。
    • Almost every aspect of people’s lives was influenced by the Industrial Revolution that followed James Watt’s invention of a powerful steam engine in 1775.
      ::1775年詹姆斯·瓦特发明了强大的蒸汽机后,工业革命影响了人们生活的几乎每个方面。

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. In general, how do major advances in technology usually affect society?
      ::一般来说,技术的重大进步通常会对社会产生何种影响?
    2. What was the Industrial Revolution?
      ::什么是工业革命?
    3. What are some ways the Industrial Revolution changed people’s lives?
      ::工业革命改变人民生活的方式是什么?

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

    Over the past several decades, computer technology has revolutionized human society. Watch this video interview about ways computers have changed people’s lives. Then answer the questions below.
    ::在过去几十年里,计算机技术已经使人类社会发生了革命性的变化。 观看这段关于计算机如何改变人们生活的视频采访。 然后回答下面的问题。

    1. According to Professor Foster, what are some ways that computer technology has influenced human society?
      ::Foster教授认为,计算机技术对人类社会有什么影响?
    2. Can you imagine a world without computers? How might your life be different if computers didn’t exist?
      ::想象一个没有电脑的世界吗? 如果电脑不存在,你的生活会如何改变?