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The discoveries and inventions made by scientists also help shape our view
about ourselves and our place in the universe.
Technology means the use of people’s inventions and discoveries to satisfy
their needs. Since people appeared on the earth, they had to get food, clothes,
and shelter. Through the ages, people invented tools, machines, and materials
to make work easier. Nowadays, when people speak of technology, they gener-
ally mean industrial technology. Industrial technology began to develop about
200 years ago with the invention of the steam engine, the growth of factories,
and the mass production of goods. It influenced different aspects of people’s
lives. The development of the car influenced the way people lived and worked.
Radio and television changed their leisure time. The telephone revolutionized
communication.
Science has contributed much to modern technology. Science attempts
to explain how and why things happen. Technology makes things happen. But
not all technology is based on science. For example, people had made differ-
ent objects from iron for centuries before they learnt the structure of the metal.
But some modern technologies, such as nuclear power production and space
travel, depend heavily on science.
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