There is no denying that students should learn something about how computers work, just
as we expect them at least to understand that the internal-combustion engine (内燃机) has
something to do with burning fuel, expanding gases and pistons (活塞) being driven. For
people should have some basic idea of how the things that they use do what they do. Further,
students might be helped by a course that considers the computer's impact on society. But
that is not what is meant by computer literacy. For computer literacy is not a form of literacy
(读写能力); it is a trade skill that should not be taught as a liberal art.
Learning how to use a computer and learning how to program one are two distinct
activities. A case might be made that the competent citizens of tomorrow should free
themselves from their fear of computers. But this is quite different from saying that all ought
to know how to program one. Leave that to people who have chosen programming as a
career. While programming can be lots of fun, and while our society needs some people
who are experts at it, the same is true of auto repair and violin-making.
Learning how to use a computer is not that difficu1t, and it gets easier all the time as
programs become more "user-friendly". Let us assume that in the future everyone is
going to have to know how to use a computer to be a competent citizen. What does the
phrase "learning to use a computer" mean? It sounds like "learning to drive a car", that is,
it sounds as if there is some set of definite skills that, once acquired, enable one to use a
computer.
In fact, "learning to use a computer" is much more like "learning to play a game", but
learning the rules of one game may not he1p you play a second game, whose rules may
not be the same. There is no such a thing as teaching someone how to use a computer.
One can only teach people to use this or that program and generally that is easily accomplished.
1. To be the competent citizens of tomorrow, people should.
A. try to lay a solid foundation in computer science
B. be aware of how the things that they use do what they do
C. learn to use a computer by acquiring a certain set of skills
D. understand that programming a computer is more essential than repairing a car.
2. In the second paragraph "violin-making" is mentioned to show that .
A. programming a computer is as interesting as making a violin
B. our society needs experts in different fields
C. violin-making requires as much skill as computer programming
D. people who can use a computer don't necessarily have to know computer programming
3. Learning to use a computer is getting easier all the time because .
A. programs are becoming 1ess complicated
B. programs are designed to be convenient to users
C. programming is becoming easier and easier
D. programs are becoming readily available to computer users
4. According to the author, the phrase "learning to use a computer" in Para. 3means learning.
A. a set of rules
B. the fundamentals of computer science
C. specific programs
D. general principles of programming
5. The author's purpose in writing this passage is .
A. to stress the impact of the computer on society
B. to explain the concept of computer literacy
C. to illustrate the requirements for being competent citizens of tomorrow
D. to emphasize that computer programming is an interesting and challenging job.
