E
The knowledge society will be a highly competitive one, for organizations and individuals alike, information technology, although only one of many new features of the next society, is already having one important effect: it is allowing knowledge to spread nearinstantly, and making it accessible to everyone. Given the ease and speed at which information travels, every institution in the knowledge society—not only businesses, but also schools, universities, hospitals and increasingly government agencies too—has to be globally competitive, even though most organizations will continue to be local in their activities and in their markets. This is because the Internet will keep customers everywhere informed of what is available anywhere in the world, and at what price.
This new knowledge economy will rely heavily on knowledge workers. At present, this term is widely used to describe people with considerable theoretical knowledge and learning, such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants and chemical engineers. But the most striking growth will be in “knowledge technologists”: computer technicians, software designers, analysts in clinical labs, manufacturing technologists. These people are as much manual(体力) workers as they are knowledge workers; in fact, they usually spend far more time working with their hands than with their brains, but their manual work is based on a large amount of theoretical knowledge which can be acquired only through formal education, not through an apprenticeship(学徒期). They are not, as a rule, much better paid than traditional skilled workers, but they see themselves as “professionals”, just as unskilled manual workers in manufacturing were the dominant social and political force in the 21st century, knowledge technologists are likely to become the dominant social—and perhaps also political—force over the next decades.
67.The quick spread of knowledge in the next society______
A.is based on information technology
B.results from a highly competitive society
C.is likely to increase information flow
D.will become the biggest problem to handle
68.“Knowledge workers” mentioned in the passage most likely______.
A.work with hands rather than brains
B.have received primary and secondary education
C.have acquired theoretical knowledge through apprenticeship
D.have received higher education and acquired theoretical knowledge
69.The underlined word “dominant” in this passage probably means______.
A.most influential B.most interesting C.most diligent D.most serious
70.The chief reason for fierce competition in the knowledge society is that______.
A.individuals are easily influenced by information
B.customers keep track of new products worldwide
C.anyone can have access to knowledge anytime and anywhere
D.local organizations such as universities and hospitals will be globalized
