Lesson6 Technological Advances
No one can deny that technology is transforming the way we live at a breathtaking rate. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago the great majority of people were still communicating by letter and traditional telephones. Now e-mail and cell phones are rapidly replacing the old forms of communication. Just around the corner are robot vacuum cleaners and cars which automatically keep a safe distance from the car ahead.
All these technological advances make our lives increasingly more comfortable and convenient. Just as the dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer and microwave oven made life easier and created more leisure time for our parents generation, the technological advances of the future will create an even more leisurely life for the future generation.What worries some people, however, is that the technological devices which are transforming our lives are at the same time leading to less human interaction. In the future people will have to be watchful to prevent technology from diminishing our personal contacts with our fellow human beings.

技術(shù)進(jìn)步
沒(méi)有人能夠否認(rèn)技術(shù)在以驚人的速度改變我們的生活方式。很難相信，僅在幾年前大多數(shù)人仍在使用信件和傳統(tǒng)電話(huà)進(jìn)行通訊。現(xiàn)在電子郵件和移動(dòng)電話(huà)正在迅速取代舊的通訊方式。遙控的真空吸塵器和能夠自動(dòng)與前面汽車(chē)保持安全距離的車(chē)很快就會(huì)出現(xiàn)。
所有這些技術(shù)進(jìn)步使我們的生活日益舒適和便利。正如洗碗機(jī)、洗衣機(jī)、烘干機(jī)和微波爐讓我們的父輩生活得更加輕松，創(chuàng)造了更多的空暇時(shí)光，未來(lái)技術(shù)上的進(jìn)步會(huì)為后代帶來(lái)比現(xiàn)在更安逸的生活。然而，令許多人擔(dān)心的是，技術(shù)裝置在改變我們生活的同時(shí)也減少了人與人之間的交往。在將來(lái)，人們必須警惕，防止技術(shù)減少我們與其他人的交往。