The Internet, E-commerce and globalizationare making a new economic era possible. In the future, capitalist markets willlargely be replaced by a new kind of economic system based on networkedrelationships, contractual arrangements and access rights.
Has the quality of our lives at work, athome and in our communities increased in direct proportion to all the newInternet and business-to-business Internet services being introduced into ourlives? I have asked this question of hundreds of CEOS and corporate executivesin Europe and the United States. Surprisingly, virtually everyone hassaid,No, quite contrary. The very people responsible for usheringin what some have called a technological renaissance say they areworking longer hours, feel more stressed, are more impatient, and are even lesscivil in their dealings with colleagues and friends--not to mention strangers.And whats more revealing, they place much of the blame on the very sametechnologies they are so aggressively championing.
The techno gurus promised us that access would make life more convenient and giveus more time. Instead, the very technological wonders that were supposed toliberate us have begun to enslave us in a web of connections from which thereseems to be no easy escape.
If an earlier generation was preoccupiedwith the quest to enclose a vast geographic frontier, the .com generation, itseems, is more caught up in the colonization of time. Every spare moment of ourtime is being filled with some form of commercial connection, making timeitself the most scarce of all resources. Our e-mail, voice mail and cellphones, our 24-hour Interact news and entertainment all seize for ourattention.
And while we have created every kind oflabor-and time-saving device to service our needs, we are beginning to feellike we have less time available to us than any other humans in history. Thatis because the great proliferation of labor-and-time-saving services onlyincreases the diversity, pace and flow of commodified activity around us. Forexample, e-mail is a great convenience. However, we now find ourselves spendingmuch of our day frantically responding to each others electronic messages. Thecell phone is a great time-saver,Except now we are always potentially in reachof someone else who wants our attention.
Social conservatives talk about the declinein civility and blame it on the loss of a moral compass and religious values.Has anyone bothered to ask whether the hyper speed culture is making all of usless patient and less willing to listen and defer, consider and reflect?
Maybe we need to ask what kinds ofconnections really count and what types of access really matter in thee-economy era. ff this new technology revolution is only about hyperefficiency, then we risk losing something even precious than time--our sense ofwhat it means to be a caring human being.
1. According to the passage, corporateexecutives think that
A. technologyrenaissance should be pushed forward.
B. technology has aprofound impact on their lives.
C. technologyactually results in a decline in their life quality.
D. technology shouldbe aggressively championed.
2. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Technology wassupposed to free people.
B. The .corngeneration became slaves of technology.
C. New technologiesoccupy much of our time.
D. It is difficult toavoid the influence of technology wonders.
3. What is the most valuable resource forthe .com generation?
A. Technological wonders.
B. Access toinformation.
C. Time.
D. Time savingdevices.
4. In the sixth paragraph, the authorimplied that
A. socialconservatives blamed the loss of morality on technology.
B. the .comgeneration was less civil than the earlier generations.
C. the hyper speedculture led to the decline in civility.
D. technology mightmake people less impatient.
5. An appropriate title for the passagemight be
A. The New InternetLife.
B. The Drawbacks oftoo Much Access.
C. The Failure ofTechnological Renaissance.
D. The DecliningQuality of Life.
Has the quality of our lives at work, athome and in our communities increased in direct proportion to all the newInternet and business-to-business Internet services being introduced into ourlives? I have asked this question of hundreds of CEOS and corporate executivesin Europe and the United States. Surprisingly, virtually everyone hassaid,No, quite contrary. The very people responsible for usheringin what some have called a technological renaissance say they areworking longer hours, feel more stressed, are more impatient, and are even lesscivil in their dealings with colleagues and friends--not to mention strangers.And whats more revealing, they place much of the blame on the very sametechnologies they are so aggressively championing.
The techno gurus promised us that access would make life more convenient and giveus more time. Instead, the very technological wonders that were supposed toliberate us have begun to enslave us in a web of connections from which thereseems to be no easy escape.
If an earlier generation was preoccupiedwith the quest to enclose a vast geographic frontier, the .com generation, itseems, is more caught up in the colonization of time. Every spare moment of ourtime is being filled with some form of commercial connection, making timeitself the most scarce of all resources. Our e-mail, voice mail and cellphones, our 24-hour Interact news and entertainment all seize for ourattention.
And while we have created every kind oflabor-and time-saving device to service our needs, we are beginning to feellike we have less time available to us than any other humans in history. Thatis because the great proliferation of labor-and-time-saving services onlyincreases the diversity, pace and flow of commodified activity around us. Forexample, e-mail is a great convenience. However, we now find ourselves spendingmuch of our day frantically responding to each others electronic messages. Thecell phone is a great time-saver,Except now we are always potentially in reachof someone else who wants our attention.
Social conservatives talk about the declinein civility and blame it on the loss of a moral compass and religious values.Has anyone bothered to ask whether the hyper speed culture is making all of usless patient and less willing to listen and defer, consider and reflect?
Maybe we need to ask what kinds ofconnections really count and what types of access really matter in thee-economy era. ff this new technology revolution is only about hyperefficiency, then we risk losing something even precious than time--our sense ofwhat it means to be a caring human being.
1. According to the passage, corporateexecutives think that
A. technologyrenaissance should be pushed forward.
B. technology has aprofound impact on their lives.
C. technologyactually results in a decline in their life quality.
D. technology shouldbe aggressively championed.
2. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Technology wassupposed to free people.
B. The .corngeneration became slaves of technology.
C. New technologiesoccupy much of our time.
D. It is difficult toavoid the influence of technology wonders.
3. What is the most valuable resource forthe .com generation?
A. Technological wonders.
B. Access toinformation.
C. Time.
D. Time savingdevices.
4. In the sixth paragraph, the authorimplied that
A. socialconservatives blamed the loss of morality on technology.
B. the .comgeneration was less civil than the earlier generations.
C. the hyper speedculture led to the decline in civility.
D. technology mightmake people less impatient.
5. An appropriate title for the passagemight be
A. The New InternetLife.
B. The Drawbacks oftoo Much Access.
C. The Failure ofTechnological Renaissance.
D. The DecliningQuality of Life.
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