2017届高考英语一轮复习单元演练：选修6 Module 5《Cloning》（第2课时）（外研版含答案）_高考复习指南

2017届高考英语一轮复习单元演练：选修6 Module 5《Cloning》（第2课时）（外研版含答案）

　　Ⅲ.阅读理解

　　(2017·江西)

　　Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one's personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person's ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead to a better life and a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.

　　However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who miss the “good old days”， efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes more efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets,_such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effort to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the person's presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.

　　With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handicrafts (手工艺品) are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.