专八阅读：Importance of a Computer

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2011:03:18 19:53:54
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

　　As citizens of advanced but vulnerable economies, we must either relentlessly increase the quality of our skills or see our standard of living erode. For the future, competition between nations will be increasingly based on technological skill. Oil and natural resources will still be important, but they no longer will determine a nation’s economic strength. This will now be a matter of the way people organize them selves and the nature and quality of their work. Japan and the “new Japans “of East Asia are demonstrating this point in ways that are becoming painfully obvious to the older industrial countries.
　　There is simply no way to rest on our past achievements. Today’s competition renders obsolete huge chunks of what we know and what forces us to innovate. For each individual. Several careers will be customary, and continuing education and retraining will be inescapable. To attain this extraordinary level of education, government, business, schools, and even individuals will turn to technology for the answer.
　　In industry, processing the information and designing the changes necessary to keep up with the market has meant the growing use of computers. The schools are now following close behind. Already some colleges in the United States are requiting a computer for each student. It is estimated that 500,000 computers are already in use in American high schools and elementary schools. Although there is an abysmal lack of educational software, the number of computers in schools expands rapidly.
　　The computer is the Proteus of machines, as it takes on a thousand forms and serves a thousand functions. But its truly revolutionary character can be seen in its interactive potential. With advanced computers, learning can be individualized and self-paced. Teachers can become more productive and the entire learning environment enriched.