Agreatd ealofattentionisbeingpaidtodaytothesocalleddigitaldivide-thedivisionoftheworldintotheinfo(information)richandtheinfopoor.Andthatd ividedoesexisttoday.MywifeandIlecturedaboutthisloomingdangertwentyyearsago.Whatwaslessvisiblethen,however,werethenew,positiveforcesthatworkagainstthedigitaldivide.Therearereasonstobeoptimistic. Therearetechnologicalreasonstohopethedigitaldividewillnarrow.AstheInternetbecomesmoreandmorecommercialized,itisintheinterestofbusinesstouniversalizeaccess-afterall,themorepeopleonline,themorepotentialcustomersthereare.Moreandmoregovernments,afraidtheircountr ieswillbeleftbehind,wanttospread Internetaccess.Withinthenextd ecadeortwo,onetotwobillionpeopleontheplanetwillbenettedtogether.Asaresult,Inowbelievethedigitaldividewillnarrowratherthanwidenintheyearsahead.AndthatisverygoodnewsbecausetheInternetmaywellbethemostpowerfultoolforcombatingworldpovertythatwe’veeverhad. Ofcourse,theuseoftheInternetisn'ttheonlywaytodefeatpoverty.AndtheInternetisnottheonlytoolwehave.Butithasenormouspotential. Totakeadvantageofthistool,someimpoverishedcountr ieswillhavetogetovertheiroutd atedanti-colonialprejudiceswithrespecttoforeigninvestment.Countr iesthatstillthinkforeigninvestmentisaninvasionoftheirsovereigntymightwellstudythehistoryofinfrastr ucture(thebasicstr ucturalfoundationsofasociety)intheUnitedStates.WhentheUnitedStatesbuiltitsindustr ialinfrastr ucture,itd idn'thavethecapitaltodoso.AndthatiswhyAmerica'sSecondWaveinfrastr ucture-includingroads,harbors,highways,portsandsoon-werebuiltwithforeigninvestment.TheEnglish,theGermans,theDutchandtheFrenchwereinvestinginBritain'sformercolony.Theyfinancedthem.ImmigrantAmericansbuiltthem.Guesswhoownsthemnow?TheAmericans.Ibelievethesamethingwouldbetr ueinplaceslikeBraziloranywhereelseforthatmatter.ThemoreforeigncapitalyouhavehelpingyoubuildyourThirdWaveinfrastr ucture,whichtodayisanelectr onicinfrastr ucture,thebetteroffyou'regoingtobe. Thatd oesn'tmeanlyingdownandbecomingfooled,orlettingforeigncorporationsrununcontr olled.Butitd oesmeanrecognizinghowimportanttheycanbeinbuildingtheenergyandtelecominfrastr ucturesneededtotakefulladvantageoftheInternet. 1．Digitaldivideissomething_________. A．gettingworsebecauseoftheInternet B．therichcountr iesareresponsiblefor C．theworldmustguardagainst D．consideredpositivetoday 2．GovernmentsattachimportancetotheInternetbecauseit_________. A．offerseconomicpotentials B．canbringforeignfunds C．cansoonwipeoutworldpoverty D．connectspeopleallovertheworld 3．ThewritermentionedthecaseoftheUnitedStatestojustifythepolicyof_________. A．providingfinancialsupportoverseas B．preventingforeigncapital'scontr ol C．buildingindustr ialinfrastr ucture D．acceptingforeigninvestment 4．Itseemsthatnowacountr y'seconomydependsmuchon_________. A．howwelldevelopeditiselectr onically B．whetheritisprejudicedagainstimmigrants C．whetheritadoptsAmerica'sindustr ialpattern D．howmuchcontr olithasoverforeigncorporations
