填空题 Usually, there are two reasons to pursue scientific knowledge: for
the sake of the knowledge itself, and for the practical use of that knowledge.
Because this second aspect of science effects the lives of most people, 31
it is much more familiar than the first. Knowledge must be gained,
however, after it can be applied, and often the most important technological 32
advances arise from research pursued for its own sake.
Traditionally, new technology has concerned with the construction 33
of machines, structures, and tools in a relatively large scale. The 34
development of materials for building bridges, skyscrapers or highways
is an example of this, as it is the development of the internal-combustion 35
engine and the nuclear reactor. While such activities involve all sections
of the sciences, the overriding goal has been the same, that is, improve 36
the human condition by finding good ways to deal with the macroscopic world. 37
Since World War Ⅱ, the focus of technological activity underwent
a major change. While the old activities are still pursued, they have been
largely superseded by applications of technology at the microscopic level.
Instead of building large-scale structures and machines, modern-day
technology tends to concentrate on finding improving ways to transfer 38
information and to develop new materials by studying the way atoms come
together. The silicon chip and microelectronics typify this new technological
trend, as did the blossoming of genetic engineering. The trend can be 39
expected to continue for the foreseeable decades. 40