10

READING PASSAGE 3
i动a re based on Reading Paasa
21北 ，叩 阳
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions
on pages 10 and 11.

The dark side of the tee hnolog

ical boom
al
technolog,c
f,n mo dern
What ore the effects on the individual o working ·
叩心laces?
ed come at us
n
缸ter a d faster.
Changes in the way 呤 work and how our offices are scructur ns let us reach
telecommunicatio
Waves of state-of-the-art information technolo'f;/ and ins口 nt to kee p pace with
sy stn1ggfing
anyone. anywhere. and speed is the key. Most of us are too 加 rity figures. Ace叩
electr onic autho
ongoing innovations to question the implications 0f our new ma tio n
flow and the
the infor
to a number of psycho! 哟汜however. the need to s口y on top of
consequent degree to which we remain in touch with our offic es
exac t a pr ofou nd toll on us as

individuals.

e too recently for

心ss exposure to technological innovations'" . the workplace has com
however, that oneof
psychologists to reach a consensus on i·socts ie口lim汕cations. Many agree.
n
the first signs of the stn.1ggle to adapt to the electronic office is ofte
'n
t ech os tress', a cogn面shift
n
如 results from an over-io如tiffffii丽而中 i formation�systems.
—
--Ps ycholog ist Craig Brod says
and yes/no
people比o咋 accustomed to the patterns set bY elec尔 ,nic tools -ace啦e ra盈time
logic - and internalize these patterns. •When they leave the office or go home.'IBrod says. 'they
忐
need C ple te isolation to recover from the effeas of the teehnol叨.'

ability to仲ink
Brod warns that over-reliance on electronic tools could also have serious repercussions o n our
n
creatively and develop new ideas. Because we don't create i a ,acuum, he points
out. we need to avoid the temptation to咱山ce informal gatherings for bouncing ideas off colleagues
with electr0nic necworking. It's also more difficult to spot errors or even evaluate the shapeof a
project displayed in a flat. two-dimensional way on a scr ee . n
n n n
Electron回1y netWOrked offices ca also make it i creasingly difficult to convi ce ourselves that
we're doing an adequate job and accumulating enough information to make informed decisions.
n
Philosopher Daniel Dennett points out that modern tech ology eliminates the possibilityof
n n n
unavoidable ignorance. As the opportu ity to amass i formatio grows larger, the obligation
to
make accurate predictions - the'right' decisions - becomes more onerous. Instead of consoli
ourselves that we're doing as good a job as we can�we are tormented by the knowledge
ng
that the
n
w吐of informatio is limitless.

for executives near the top of the office pyramid, the benefits of the electron
ic revolution - like
telecommuting and flexi如scheduling- may outWeigh the di
sadvantages of bei continuously on
call. But in Wo螂e 2000. authors Joseph Boyett and Henry Conn ng
descri be a future in which
而llions of people now charged with analyzing information and
making routine decisions will be
replaced by less skilled workers using'in li
tel gent'software to make decisio
ns for them. They precl江
that a cultof performance excellence will engulf most businesses.

The millions of people on the bouom levels of electronic

hierarchies are increasi咕likely
their days in an isolated no-man's land, subservient to intelli to spend
gent information systems
their pre吓ss to unseen supervisors far away. Because that report
computers measure
quality. such systemS tend to reward employees who work quantity beaer血n
faster more than those who work比已

匮
管

11
Service people on the tele
phone or at a cash
because their performance be' register curtly terminate attempts at idle conversation
is
communica te with customers •ng electronicallY monitored.Once judged on their ability to
number of transaction s the or trou bleshoo t unexpected situations, the'rey now evaluated by the
document. In these elect Y complete in a shift or the number of keystrokes required to draft a
ronic •sweatshops', the
way around. computers are running the people, not the other

·1 think people are going to f

eel an•increa sed
pieces toget her,' hum an resou fragmenta tion of self. They won't be able to hold the
rces consultant Philip Nicholson says.'Howdo you keep a coherent
space if you're going in and out of
spaces that don't exisd'He likens the psychic numbing of
electro nic information overload to
s mptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome (a m ental disorder
follow ing a horrific event). In office r
r5', people become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of
information available,·internalize the wa
d'iversity of the world outside, and fear losing control over their
own lives.

If we are to survive the challenges of in

. formation-driven, hardwired offices, says Nicholson, we need
to provide psychological support systems. As no one has yet measured the social cost of the
workplace revolution, some psychologists are mobilizing efforts to pool information as it is derived.
Nicholson started the T echnostress International Information Network in Massachusetts to foster
an exchange of data and ideas on the effects of computerization and information technology.
Meanwhile, Brod wants to examine the parallels between electronic work environments and'sealed­
cabin ecologies' like space capsules or submarines, both totally automated artificial worlds in which
people live in highly confined circumstances surrounded by technology that dictates the tenor of
American
their days as 严＂百如r 飞llrviva1.-He is petitioning o�psychologisu to convince the
Psychological Association to form a specialized study group.

and that we 叩ke greater

In additio n, Brod s�邸ests that we re-examine our value systems
against technology. We need to co­
allowances for privacy in order to circumvent potential revolts
erful tools, but if we exploit them without
evolve with technology.'he says.'T hese are wond and dangerous.
become alienating
imposing apptopri ate values on their use, they

Tum over►
r
12

Questions 27 - 29
below.
Complete eac h sentence with the co"ect en ding, A-E,
sheet.
Write the co斤ect letter, A-E, in boxes 27-29 on your answer
27 The speed of technologica l changes
28 A dependency on technology and computers
29 A deterioration in personal service

ists.
A requires more detailed study by psychologthe significance
B means people @ave no time to cha lleng e
of the new technology.
C may reduce inventiveness and innovation. kplace·
D suggests computers will take over the wor
E results from increased electronic supervision.

Questions 30 - 35
. . � - -- -
Look atr the following statements (Questio丽3<F3�「and th�list of peonle below.
Match leach statement with the co咋ct person or people, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 30-35 on your answer sheet.
NB 「You may use any letter more than once.

30 I Technology has placed greater expectations on workers not to make mistakes.

31 tPeople will need time away from technology to reduce the frustrations caused by it.

32 Interacting with others at work contributes to creative thinking.

33 The psychological effect of working with technology is similar to the anxiety felt after
surviving a major ordeal.

34 Technology will ultimately increase unemployment for more highly qualified

personnel.

35 More counselling is required to help people cope with the deman ds of the
modem
workplace.

List of People

A Craig Brod
B Daniel Dennett
C Joseph Boyett and Hen
D ry Conn
Philip Nicholson

隘
..
 13
Questions 36 - 40
Do the following statements 8
gree with the information given in Reading Passage 37
In boxes 36-40 on your
answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE
NOTGIVEN if the statement contradicts the information
if there is no information on this
36 Our knowledge of the effects of technology on workers is still limited.
thinki ng.
37 An early indicator of technological anxiety is a tendency to adopt machi ne-like

38 We have now started to doubt our ability to perform well at work.

ed by the
39 Top le vel managers may be more negatively affected by changes creat
electronic workplace than junior wor kers.
oted.
40 Employees who learn to use new technology quickly will get prom