Teste Ingês

You will read a letter to the editor about technology.
Answer the questions based on

what you have read.
I take exception to your article last week on smartphones, in which people who don’t use them
were branded as “Luddites.” The writer went on to disparage such people as pensioners, set in
their ways and intimidated by new technology that looks complicated. It was implied that a lack of
a smartphone signified only partial participation in modern life.
Since when did the ownership of a smartphone become a requirement for being a fully functioning
modern citizen? I don’t use one, not because the concept of a phone connected to the internet is
overwhelming, but because I don’t want to be continuously distracted. Nor do I wish to become
one of those people who can’t sit still for 15 seconds without looking at a screen, hoping for a
message. Even worse in my view, are those who can’t sustain a five minute conversation without
constantly checking their phones.
I believe that rather than blindly embracing each new thing that comes along, our society needs
to have an informed conversation about where this technology is leading us. To this end, an
understanding of the terms Luddite and Neo-Luddite will be useful.
The Luddites were not some crazy fundamentalist sect who lived in caves, but rather a group of
19th century English textile artisans opposed to some new technologies of the Industrial
Revolution such as spinning frames and power looms, which were destroying their livelihoods
and producing inferior work in the name of profit. They were active between 1811 and 1817 and
their protests took the form of sabotage of machines and burning down factories. In 1812 the
Frame Breaking Act made the destruction of factory machinery punishable by death. They were
not anxious and apprehensive old fogies as your writer implies, but a passionate and driven group
of professionals who drilled and practiced at night in order to fight the English army, which they
did on two occasions. After a mass show-trial of 60 Luddites in 1813 in which most were
sentenced to death or penal transport, Luddite resistance became sporadic.
Serious questions about the value of technology have been raised ever since. The German
philosopher Martin Heidegger did not view technology as wholly negative, but he suggested that
the modern technological "mode of Being" was one which viewed the natural world — plants,
animals, and even human beings — as resources to be exploited. For him, technology was not
just the collection of tools, but a way of being in the world. Technological processes, he believed,
create an abandonment of the natural world and the loss of any sense of awe and wonder, as
well as an indifference to that loss. The French philosopher Jacques Ellul said that the rationality
of technology drowns out human concerns in order to meet the demands of yield and production.
Contemporary Neo-Luddites are a widely diverse group which includes writers, academics,
families and young idealists seeking a technology-free environment. While they are apprehensive
about the ability of any new technology to solve current problems without creating more,
potentially dangerous problems, and would like to see the slowing and eventual end of new
technologies, they are most critical of the wide-ranging and devastating consequences of our
technological civilization, such as climate change, environmental degradation, psychological
disorders, social alienation, loss of community, unemployment, economic and political inequality,
nuclear warfare and biological weapons. They believe that technology is the greatest threat to
humanity and to the natural world in general.
Neo-Luddites are not against all technology, only against certain technologies which are
destructive to communities and nature. Rather than looking at how technology improves the life
of an individual, they would like people to look at the wider social, economic and ecological
implications of technological systems.
They are also critical of the link between technology, with its values of short-term efficiency, ease
of production, marketing and profit, and the rigid social institutions created around those values.
They suggest that the key change required will not take place through conventional politics but
by focusing on technology and economics. They favor a return to simple agrarian communities.
The lack of a smartphone or desire for any other new or existing technology should not be
automatically viewed as a personal failing, but a choice. And in most cases a sensible one.
Which ONE of the following best describes the main purpose of this passage?
a) To criticize the effects of smartphones on traditional personal interaction
b) To defend the activism of the Luddites
c) To argue that technology is responsible for major problems in the modern world
d) To state that smartphone ownership is not a legal or social requirement
e) To differentiate between the beliefs of the Luddites and Neo-Luddites
The writer of this letter to the editor says that the newspaper’s writer implied which TWO
of the following about Luddites?
a) Old age
b) A desire to return to agrarian societies
c) Fear of complex new technology
d) Belief in stopping and slowing new technologies
e) A sense of being isolated in their communities
f) Opposition to technology on ethical grounds
The writer of the letter wants to avoid which TWO of the following by not using a
smartphone?
a) Developing a brain tumor
b) Being constantly available for work
c) Interrupting conversation
d) Creating a virtual society
e) Being distracted
f) Polluting the environment
According to the writer, what are TWO differences between Luddites and Neo-Luddites?
a) The Luddites were opposed to one kind of technology in particular.
b) The Luddites proposed a return to pre-Industrial revolution agrarian living.
c) The Luddites were comprised of a diverse group of workers.
d) Neo-Luddites are contemporary artisans.
e) Neo-Luddites believe technology creates harsh social institutions.
f) Neo-Luddites renounce all forms of violence.
According to the writer, which TWO beliefs were held by Martin Heidegger?
a) All technology leads to a diminishment of humanity.
b) Technology leads to indifference to human accomplishments.
c) Technology is driven by concerns of yield and production.
d) The use of technology can heighten feelings of loss.
e) A technological focus reduces people and nature to resources.
f) Technological processes lead people to abandon the natural world.
According to the writer, Neo-Luddites hold which TWO of the following beliefs about new
technology?
a) It should improve the life of the individual.
b) It is more likely to create problems than solve them.
c) It is a key cause of threats to civilization.
d) It is unlikely to have an effect on existing social institutions.
e) It will invariably put people out of work.
f) It is needlessly complicated.
According to the writer, in which TWO ways do Neo-Luddites believe technology shapes
society?
a) It allows people too much leisure time.
b) It removes a sense of generational stability.
c) It promotes a focus on short-term values.
d) It encourages communication of a trivial nature.
e) It leads to obesity and low standards.
f) It divides communities and isolates people.
According to the writer, which of the following TWO would be likely in a Neo-Luddite
society?
a) Small communities
b) Veganism
c) Wooden ploughs
d) Numerous committees
e) A rural setting
f) Hunter gathering

Teste Ingês

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Teste Ingês

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You will read a letter to the editor about technology.

Answer the questions based on

You might also like