22 · 知识和进步
Knowledge and Progress
区分观点、依据、例子与限制，用自己的话准确重建论述。
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Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world? Surely because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around us and is becoming more and more manifest. Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge.
Knowledge began to increase as soon as the thoughts of one individual could be communicated to another by means of speech. With the invention of writing, a great advance was made, for knowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored. Libraries made education possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound-interest law, which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the coming of science, the tempo was suddenly raised. Then knowledge began to be accumulated according to a systematic plan. The trickle became a stream; the stream has now become a torrent. Moreover, as soon as new knowledge is acquired, it is now turned to practical account. What is called "modern civilization" is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature, but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life.
The problem now facing humanity is: What is going to be done with all this knowledge? As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for good or evil. It is now being used indifferently for both. Could any spectacle, for instance, be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using science to shatter men's bodies while, close at hand, surgeons use it to restore them? We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge, with its ever-increasing power, continues.
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整篇课文
Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world? Surely because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around us and is becoming more and more manifest. Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge.
Knowledge began to increase as soon as the thoughts of one individual could be communicated to another by means of speech. With the invention of writing, a great advance was made, for knowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored. Libraries made education possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound-interest law, which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the coming of science, the tempo was suddenly raised. Then knowledge began to be accumulated according to a systematic plan. The trickle became a stream; the stream has now become a torrent. Moreover, as soon as new knowledge is acquired, it is now turned to practical account. What is called "modern civilization" is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature, but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life.
The problem now facing humanity is: What is going to be done with all this knowledge? As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for good or evil. It is now being used indifferently for both. Could any spectacle, for instance, be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using science to shatter men's bodies while, close at hand, surgeons use it to restore them? We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge, with its ever-increasing power, continues.
为什么“进步”这个观念在现代世界如此突出？无疑是因为，某一种进步确实正在我们周围发生，而且越来越明显。尽管人类在智力和道德上并未普遍改善，知识的积累却取得了惊人的进展。
自从一个人能通过语言把思想传给另一个人，知识就开始增长。文字的发明带来了一大进步，因为知识从此不仅能够传播，还能够保存。图书馆使教育成为可能，教育又反过来充实图书馆：知识的增长仿佛遵循复利规律，印刷术的发明更大大加强了这种作用。在科学兴起之前，这一切还相对缓慢；科学出现后，步伐突然加快，知识开始按照系统的计划积累。涓涓细流汇成溪流，溪流如今又化作洪流。而且，新知识一经获得，很快就会付诸实际应用。所谓“现代文明”，并不是人性各方面均衡发展的结果，而是积累起来的知识运用于实际生活的产物。
人类现在面临的问题是：这些知识究竟要拿来做什么？正如人们常说，知识是一把双刃剑，既可行善，也可作恶。如今，它不加区别地被用于这两方面。例如，炮兵用科学把人的身体炸得支离破碎，近旁的外科医生却又用科学修复这些身体；还有什么景象比这更残酷而荒诞呢？我们必须严肃地问自己：如果知识的力量不断增强，却仍同时被这样用于善与恶，结果将会怎样？
学完这一课
区分一个领域进步与另一个领域尚未改善。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第88—91页，2022年2月第2版。