Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.

It may turn out that the "digital divide" -- one of the most fashionable of recent slogans -- is largely fiction.

As you will recall, the argument went well beyond the unsurprising notion that the rich would own more computers than the poor. The disturbing part of the theory was that society was dividing itself into groups of technology "haves" and "have nots" and that this segregation (分隔)would, in turn, worsen already large economic inequalities, It's this argument that's either untrue or widely exaggerated.

We always should have been suspicious. After all, computers have spread quickly, precisely be- cause they've become cheaper to buy and easier to use. Falling prices and skill requirements suggest that the digital divide would spontaneously (自发地) shrink -- and so it has.

As a slogan, the "digital divide" brilliantly united a concern for the poor with a faith in technology. It also suggested an agenda: put computers in schools and connect classrooms to the Internet.

Well, the agenda has been largely realized. By 2000, public schools in the U.S. had roughly one computer for every four students. Some students get computer skills that they might miss otherwise. Among 10- to 17-year-old students from homes with less than $15 000 of income, about half use computers only at school.

But whether education and students life prospects have improved is a harder question. As yet, computers haven't produced broad gains in test scores. As for today's computer skills, they may not be terribly important, in part because technology constantly changes.

Often, new computer skills can be taught in a few weeks. But basic reading and reasoning skills remain critical. People have to be able to read manuals and follow instructions.

The "digital divide" suggested a solution for a complex problem. But what people do for themselves matters more than what technology can do for them.

According to some people, the division of society in accessing to technology would ______.