Technology in Our Modern Lives
Throughout the 20 century, from 1900 onwards, people have dreamt of the technological advances that the advent of the new millennium(千禧年) would bring. (46) The year 2000 has now come and gone and while flying cars are still left to the realm of the imagination, the infusion(注入) of technology into all areas of life has indeed become a reality.
Leading the technological change is the ever-present computer. In the United States, fully one-half of all households are connected to the Internet, and the pace is rapidly increasing, with 700 more households becoming connected every hour. The computer industry has produced over one million new jobs, spurring rapid and unprecedented(前所未有的)growth in economic output and prosperity. (47) In 1999, 27% of companies monitored(监视) their employees' email activities in some form, and by 2000 the number had grown to 38.2%, indicating the growing importance of electronic communication in business. The younger generations are becoming indoctrinated(被灌输) into the computer culture as well: In the United States alone, 424 million educational CD-ROMs were purchased, computers and other forms of high-technology integral elements in the education system.
(48) By 1988 the figure had grown to 40% of total business investment expenditures, and the figures is only expected to grow in the future. The technological revolution does not end with computers, however. (49) For better or for worse, technology takes part in every aspect of our lives, from the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed. Whether we like it or not, we have come to rely on its convenience, to the point of almost for getting that it's even there. (50) Every second, 2, 700 photos are taken with the latest cameras, and 80% of those snapshots(快照) are taken by people on vacation. No matter where one goes, no matter how far from centers, technology has become a basic element of everyday life. Flying cars or no flying cars, the future is here, and technology is the name of the .