希望英语(第二版)综合教程3--U2.pptVIP

W: Mike! M: What’s up? W: Look! My computer keeps scrolling down though I’m not touching any key! What’s going on? M: Let me see… I think your computer is being attacked by some kind of virus. W: Oh, my God! That’s too bad. M: Have you backed up your files? W: Backed them up? No. What shall I do now? M: Disconnect from the Internet, update your anti-virus software and run it. W: Will my system crash? M: I’m not sure, but you are likely to lose some data. Do remember to make backups all the time. W: I will. Thanks a lot, Mike. M: My pleasure. Work in pairs. Take turns asking your partner the following questions and make notes. Then organize your notes and report to the class. Do you have a computer of your own? How many hours a day do you spend on the computer? What do you do with the computer? The Impact of the Information Revolution 1 What has been the impact of the information revolution, and how should we respond? Let’s begin by considering how fast our world shifted to a computer-based society. At the end of World War II, the first electronic digital computer ENIAC weighed thirty tons, had 18,000 vacuum tubes, and occupied a space as large as a boxcar. Less than forty years later, many hand-held calculators had comparable computing power for a few dollars. Today most people have a computer on their desk with more computing power than engineers could imagine just a few years ago. 2 The impact of computers on our society was probably best seen when in 1982 Time magazine picked the computer as its “Man of the Year”, actually listing it as “Machine of the Year”. It is hard to imagine a picture of the Spirit of St. Louis or an Apollo lander on the magazine cover under a banner “Machine of the Year”. This perhaps shows how important the computer has become in our society. 3 The computer has become helpful in managing knowledge at a time when the amount of information is expanding rapidly. The information