1.

Read the following passage carefully.As civilization proceeds in the direction of technology, it passes the point of supplying all the basic essentials of life i.e. food, shelter, clothes and warmth. Then we are faced with a choice between using technology to provide and fulfil needs which have hitherto been regarded as unnecessary or, on the other hand, using technology to reduce the number of hours of work which a man must do in order to earn a given standard of living. In other words, we either raise our standard of living above that necessary for comfort and happiness or we leave it at this level and work shorter hours. I shall take it as an axiomatic that mankind has, by that time, chosen the latter alternative. Men will be working shorter and shorter hours in their paid employment. It follows that the housewife will also accept to be able to have more leisure in her life, without lowering her standard of living. It also follows that human domestic servants will have completely ceased to exist. Yet the great majority of the housewives will wish to be relieved completely from the routine operations of the home such as scrubbing the floors or the bathe or the cooker, or washing the clothes or washing up, or dusting or sweeping, or making beds. By far the most logical step to relieve the housewife of routine is to provide a robot slave which can be trained to the requirements of a particular home and can be programmed to carry out half a dozen or more standard operations (for example, scrubbing, sweeping and dusting, washing up, laying tables, making beds), when so switched by the housewife. It will be a machine having no more emotions than a car, but having a memory for instructions and a limited degree of instructed or built in adaptability according to the positions in which it finds various types of objects. It will operate other than more specialized machines, for example, the vacuum cleaner or washing machine.On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following questions briefly : (a) What is the first basic use of technology? (b) How will women benefit from technology? (c) When will domestic servants disappear? (d) What are the advantages of using robots? (e) How do robots work? (f) What is the added function of a robot? (g) Who would you choose between a domestic servant and robot slave? (h) What are your views regarding technology and leisure in our life?

Answer»

(a) To provide comfort and ease by fulfilling basic needs. 

(b) Improved/better standard of living and they will have more leisure. 

(c) When basic needs are satisfied/ taken care of, then there will be no need for domestic servants. 

(d) Relieves us completely from (daily) household work thus, leaving enough time for leisure-happiness. 

(e) Programmed as per one’s requirement with set instructions into it. 

(f) It can operate other than the more specialized machines like vacuum cleaner and washing machine. 

(g) It is an individual choice. 

(h) Technology is a boon providing happiness which is a must in our life and leisure is freedom to choose a past time or enjoyable activity.



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