Direction: Read a passage and answer the items based on it. You are required to select your answers based on the contents of the passage and the opinion of the author only. The third great defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science has given us powers fit for the gods, yet we use them as small children. For example, we do not know how to manage our machines. Machines were made to be humanity's servants, yet man has grown so dependent on them that they are in a fair way to become his masters. Already most people spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work or burst with rage and blow up and spread ruin and destruction all around. So we have to wait upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it difficult either to work or play without the machines, and a time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the animals. And this brings me to the point at which I asked, "What do we do with all the time which the machines have saved for us, and the new energy they have given us?" On the whole, it must be admitted, we do very little. For the most part, we use our time and energy to make more and better machines which will give us still more time and still more energy, and what are we to do with them? The answer, I think, is that we should try to become more civilized. For the machines themselves, and the power which the machines have given us, are not civilization but aids to civilization. But you will remember that we agreed at the beginning that being civilized meant making and linking beautiful things, thinking freely and living rightly and maintaining justice equally among people. A person has a better chance today to do these things than he/she ever had before; he/she has more time, more energy, less to fear and less to fight against. If he/she will give his/her time and energy which his/her machines have won for him/her to make more beautiful things, to find out more and more about the universe, to remove the cause of quarrels between nations, to discover how to prevent poverty, then I think our civilization would undoubtedly be the greater as it would be more lasting than it has ever been.
The use of machines has failed to bring us
Analyzing the Passage and the Role of Machines
The passage discusses a significant issue with modern civilization: its inability to effectively utilize the knowledge and power gained through science and technology, particularly machines. The author argues that while machines were intended to serve humanity, they are becoming masters, leading to dependence and the expenditure of much time and energy simply maintaining them.
A key point raised is about the time and energy saved by machines. The author questions what is done with this saved time and energy, concluding that mostly it is used to create even more machines. The author contrasts this use with the true meaning of being civilized, which involves creating beauty, thinking freely, living rightly, and maintaining justice. Machines are described as "aids to civilization," but explicitly "not civilization" themselves.
Evaluating the Options Based on the Passage
Let's examine each option in the context of the author's views presented in the passage.
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Option 1: spiritual freedom
The passage does not directly discuss "spiritual freedom." It focuses on dependence on machines, which might implicitly limit freedom, but the term spiritual freedom is not used or defined by the author as something machines have failed to bring.
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Option 2: more leisure and more energy
The passage explicitly states that the author asked, "What do we do with all the time which the machines have saved for us, and the new energy they have given us?" This indicates that machines *have* provided more time (leisure) and energy. Therefore, machines have succeeded in bringing these, not failed.
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Option 3: slavery and destruction
The author warns that machines are in a "fair way to become his masters" (implying slavery) and can "burst with rage and blow up and spread ruin and destruction." These are potential negative consequences or outcomes that the author suggests machines *might* bring or contribute to, not something they have failed to bring.
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Option 4: culture and civilization
The author clearly distinguishes between machines and civilization, stating machines are "aids to civilization" but "are not civilization." The author laments that the time and energy saved by machines are not primarily used to "become more civilized" in the sense of creating beauty, thinking freely, and establishing justice. The overall tone suggests that despite technological advancements, humanity has failed to become truly more civilized through the use of machines, using them instead for other purposes. Thus, machines, as currently utilized, have failed to bring about genuine culture and civilization as defined by the author.
Conclusion on What Machines Failed to Bring
Based on the author's argument that machines are merely aids and not civilization itself, and the critique that the time and energy provided by machines are not effectively used to enhance civilization in the author's defined terms (making beautiful things, thinking freely, living rightly, maintaining justice), it is clear that machines have failed to bring about true culture and civilization.
Revision Table: Key Concepts from the Passage
| Concept | Author's View |
|---|---|
| Knowledge/Science | Given great power, but used poorly. |
| Machines | Meant to be servants, becoming masters; aids to civilization, not civilization itself. |
| Time/Energy Saved | Provided by machines, but largely used to make more machines. |
| Being Civilized | Making beautiful things, thinking freely, living rightly, maintaining justice. |
| Defect of Civilization | Not knowing what to do with knowledge/power from science/machines. |
Additional Information: Understanding Passage Analysis
Analyzing a passage requires identifying the author's main argument, supporting points, and overall tone. In this passage, the author uses contrasting ideas (servant vs. master, aid vs. civilization, saved time used poorly) to build their argument about the misuse of technology and its failure to advance true civilization. Paying close attention to explicit statements, like "are not civilization," is crucial for answering questions based solely on the passage's content and the author's opinion.
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