20．One evening in February 2007，a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales．She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path．That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train．Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line．Seconds later，she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks．
Ceely's near miss made the news because she blamed it on the GPS （導航儀）．She had never driven the route before．It was dark and raining heavily．Ceely was relying on her GPS，but it made no mention of the crossing．"I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train，"she told the BBC．
Who is to blame here？Rick Stevenson，who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us，points the finger at the limitations of technology．We put our faith in digital devices，he says，but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job．They are filled with small problems．And it's not just GPS devices：Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards．
The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital technology，while there may be a number of other possible causes．A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map．Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention．Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor singalling system．Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment．But Stevenson doesn't say．
It's a problem that runs through the book．In a section on cars，Stevenson gives an account of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars．He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft； both show a small rise in some parts of the country．He says that once again not all new locks have proved reliable．Perhaps，but maybe it's also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets．Or changing social circumstances．Or some combination of these factors．
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex．It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in．Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology．
If there is such a way，it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines．After all，we have lived with them for thousands of years．They have probably been fooling us for just as long．
60．What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident？D
A．She was not familiar with the road．
B．It was dark and raining heavily then．
C．The railway workers failed to give the signal．
D．Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing．
61．The phrase"near miss"（Paragraph 2）can best be replaced byC．
A．close hit B．heavy loss
C．narrow escape D．big mistake
62．Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with？B
A．Modern technology is what we can't live without．
B．Digital technology often falls short of our expectation．
C．Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be．
D．GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely's accident．
分析 本文是一篇科教類閱讀，作者主要以自己的親身經歷講了自己對數碼科技的一些看法．
解答 60-62 DCB
60．答案D．根據文章第二段的Ceely was relying on her GPS，but it made no mention of the crossing．Ceely相信她的GPS，但是GPS沒有標注十字路口（才導致她開到了飛速運行的火車道上）．可知本題答案為D選項．
61．答案C．GPS把她帶到了飛速運行的火車線路上，這是一次非常危險的經歷，但是她并沒有發(fā)生意外，算是死里逃生，near miss，narrow escape表達的就是這層含義．故本題答案為C選項．
62．答案B．根據文章中的"We put our faith in digital device，he says，but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job．"我們把信仰關注在數碼設備上，但是往往，他們卻不合我們的心意．所以數碼技術常常沒有達到我們的期望，因此本題答案為B選項．
點評 本文是一篇科教類閱讀，題目涉及多道細節(jié)理解題，做題時結合原文和題目有針對 性找出相關語句進行仔細分析，結合選項選出正確答案．推理判斷也是要在抓住關鍵句子的基礎上合理的分析才能得出正確的答案．
