首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Computers are permeating almost every aspect of our lives, including many areas previously untouched by technology. 【T1】But unli
Computers are permeating almost every aspect of our lives, including many areas previously untouched by technology. 【T1】But unli
admin
2016-09-24
140
问题
Computers are permeating almost every aspect of our lives, including many areas previously untouched by technology. 【T1】
But unlike such other pervasive technologies as electricity, television and the motorcar, computers are on the whole less reliable and less predictable in their behavior. This is because they are discrete state digital electronic devices that are prone to total and catastrophic failure. Computer systems, when they are "down, " are completely down, unlike electromechanical devices, which may be only partially down and are thus partially usable.
Computers enable enormous quantities of information to be stored, retrieved, and transmitted at great speed on a scale not possible before. 【T2】
This is all very well, but it has serious implications for data security and personal privacy because computers are inherently insecure. The recent activities of hackers and data thieves in the United States, Germany, and Britain have shown how all-too-easy it still is to break into even the most sophisticated financial and military systems. The list of scams perpetrated by the new breed of high-tech criminals, ranging from fraud in airline-ticket reservations to the reprogramming of the chips inside mobile phones, is growing daily.
Computer systems are often incredibly complex—so complex, in fact, that they are not always understood even by their creators(although few are willing to admit it). This often makes them completely unmanageable. Unmanageable complexity, can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " For example, Jeffrey Rothfeder in Business Week reports that Bank of America in 1988 had to abandon a $ 20-million computer system after spending five years and a further $ 60 million trying to make it work. Allstate Insurance saw the cost of its new system rise from $ 8 million to a staggering $ 100 million and estimated completion was delayed from 1987 to 1993. Moreover, the problem seems to be getting worse: in 1988 the American Arbitration Association took on 190 computer disputes, most of which involved defective systems. The claims totaled $ 200 million—up from only $ 31 million in 1984.
【T3】
Complexity can also result in disaster: no computer is 100 percent guaranteed because it is virtually impossible to anticipate all sorts of critical applications, such as saving lives, flying aircrafts, running nuclear power stations, transferring vast sums of money, and controlling missile systems—sometimes with tragic consequences. For example, between 1982 and 1987, some twenty-two servicemen died in five separate crashes of the United States Air Force’s sophisticated Blackhawk helicopter before the problem was traced to its computer-based " fly-by-wire" system.
At least two people died after receiving overdoses of radiation emitted by the computerized Therac 25 X-ray machines, and there are many other examples of fatal computer-based foul-ups.
Popular areas for less life-threatening computer malfunctions include telephone billing and telephone switching software, and bank-teller machines, electronic funds-transfer systems, and motor-vehicle license data bases. Although computers have often taken the "blame" on these occasions, the ultimate cause of failure in most cases is, in fact, human error.
Every new technology creates new problems—as well as new benefits—for society, and computers are no exception. 【T4】
But digital computers have rendered society especially vulnerable to hardware and software malfunctions. Sometimes industrial robots go crazy, while heart pacemakers and automatic garage door openers are rendered useless by electromagnetic radiation or "electronic smog" emitted from point-of-sale terminals, personal computers, and video games.
Automated teller machines(ATMs)and pumps at gas stations are closed down because of unforeseen software snafus.
The cost of all this downtime is huge. 【T5】
For example, it has been reported that British businesses suffer around thirty major mishaps a year, involving losses running into millions of pounds. These are caused by machine or human errors and do not include human misuse in the form of fraud and sabotage. The cost of failures in domestically produced software in the United Kingdom alone is conservatively estimated at $ 900 million per year.
In 1989, a British Computer Society committee reported that much software was now so complex that current skills in safety assessment were inadequate and that therefore the safety of people could not be guaranteed.
【T4】
选项
答案
但数字化电脑已使社会特别容易受硬件和软件故障的影响。有时工业机器人会发狂,同时,心脏起搏器和自动车库门开启器会被销售终端机、个人电脑和电视游戏机释放出的电磁射线或“电子烟雾”所损坏。
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/sInD777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
设变量均已正确定义,若要通过scanf("%d%c%d%c",&a1,&c1,&a2,&c2);语句为变量a1和a2赋数值10和20,为变量c1和c2赋字符X和Y。下列所示的输入形式中正确的是(注:口代表空格字符)()。
结构化程序设计的基本原则不包括()。
请编写函数fun,函数的功能是:统计一行字符串中单词的个数,作为函数值返回。一行字符串在主函数中输入,规定所有单词由小写字母组成,单词之间由若干个空格隔开,一行的开始没有空格。注意:部分源程序在文件PROG1.C中。请勿改动主函数mai
以下能正确表述算式sin(2πr+30°)的C语言表达式是()。
使用VC6打开考生文件夹下的工程test10_3,此工程包含一个源程序文件test10_3.cpp,其中定义了用于表示雇员信息的CEmployee类与表示公司信息的Company类,但这两个类的定义并不完整。请按要求完成下列操作。(1)定义Cemp
ThatcoldJanuarynight,IwasgrowingsickofmylifeinSanFrancisco.ThereIwaswalkinghomeatoneinthemorningaftera
Travellingcanbeawonderfuladventure.Travellingbyairplane,however,canbeverytiring.Thefollowing【K1】________(be)s
Thetaxidriverwasamaninhislatethirties.Hepickedmeupand【C1】________metomyplace.Iusuallyliketohavebrief【C2】_
Whenevertwoormoreunusualtraitsorsituationsarefoundinthesameplace,itistemptingtolookformorethanacoincident
A、Notknowinganythingaboutgardening.B、Noopportunitiesingardening.C、Nothavingastableincome.D、Nothavingmanycustome
随机试题
财政部门制定的会计制度,其特点是
Americaputmorepeopleinprisoninthe1990sthaninanydecadeinitshistory.Thatstartedadebateoverthewisdomofspend
下列哪项慢性盘状红斑狼疮实验室检查结果不正确
氨基糖苷类抗生素的不良反应是
男性,35岁。因高热急诊入院。主诉头痛、恶心、呕吐和嗜睡,颈项强直。诊断为流行性乙型脑炎。应采取的隔离方式是()。
王某有一子,在蓝天幼儿园就读。在校期间因与同学李某发生口角,追打李某,因值班老师制止不力,致使李某摔伤,共花费医疗费3000元。这一费用应由谁承担?
甲乙丙三人实施信用证诈骗。侦查过程中,某地级市公安机关向该市检察院提请批准逮捕甲、乙、丙三人。其中,甲系省、市两级人民代表大会代表;乙系自由职业者;丙系无国籍人士。在审查批捕过程中,检察院查明:乙属于共同犯罪中的胁从犯,且涉嫌的罪行较轻。请回答以下问题:
下列与建设用地有关的费用中,归农村集体经济组织所有的是()。
倡导“成本推进型”通货膨胀的是()。
Thegovernmentistobanpaymentstowitnessesbynewspapersseekingtobuyuppeopleinvolvedinprominenteases【C1】______the
最新回复
(
0
)