I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze

I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva's Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention. Near a 13th-century cathedral in this Swiss city on the shores of a lovely lake, I found what I was looking for: a Gutenberg printing press. "This was the Internet of its day — at least as influential as the iPhone," said Gabriel de Montmollin, the director of the Museum of the Reformation, toying with the replica of Johann Gutenberg's great invention.

[Before the invention of the printing press] it used to take four monks... up to a year to produce a single book. With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one press could crank out 3,000 pages a day. Before long, average people could travel to places that used to be unknown to them — with maps! Medical information passed more freely and quickly, diminishing the sway of quacks... The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea. Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly that clerics had on scripture. And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation.

So, a question in the summer of this 10th anniversary of the iPhone: has the device that is perhaps the most revolutionary of all time given us a single magnificent idea? Nearly every advancement of the written word through new technology has also advanced humankind. Sure, you can say the iPhone changed everything. By putting the world's recorded knowledge in the palm of a hand, it revolutionized work, dining, travel and socializing. It made us more narcissistic — here's more of me doing cool stuff! — and it unleashed an army of awful trolls. We no longer have the patience to sit through a baseball game without that reach to the pocket. And one more casualty of Apple selling more than a billion phones in a decade's time: daydreaming has become a lost art.

For all of that, I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy... the Geneva museum makes a strong case that the printing press opened more minds than anything else... it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print...

Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic. Not so fast. After a period of rapid growth in e-books, something closer to the medium for Chaucer's volumes has made a great comeback.

The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies. But the failure of the Arab Spring, and the continued suppression of ideas in North Korea, China and Iran, has not borne that out... The iPhone is still young. It has certainly been "one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history,“ as Apple CEO Tim Cook said. But I'm not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone — as it did with the printing press — or merely, changed.

1. The printing press has been likened to the Internet for which one of the following reasons?

  1. It enabled rapid access to new information and the sharing of new ideas
  2. It represented new and revolutionary technology compared to the past
  3. It encouraged reading among people by giving them access to thousands of books
  4. It gave people access to pamphlets and literature in several languages

2. According to the passage, the invention of the printing press did all of the following EXCEPT

  1. Promoted the spread of enlightened political views across countries
  2. Gave people direct access to authentic medical information and religious texts
  3. shortened the time taken to produce books and pamphlets.
  4. enabled people to perform various tasks simultaneously.

3. Steve Jobs predicted which one'of the following with the introduction of the iPhone?

  1. People would switch from reading on the Internet to reading on their iPhones.
  2. People would lose interest in historical and traditional classics.
  3. Reading printed books would become a thing of the past.
  4. The production of e-books would eventually fall.

4. "I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy." The author uses which one of the following to indicate his uncertainty?

  1. The rise of religious groups in many parts of the world.
  2. The expansion in trolling and narcissism among users of the Internet.
  3. The continued suppression of free speech in closed societies.
  4. The decline in reading habits among those who use the device.

5. The author attributes the French and American revolutions to the invention of the printing press because

  1. maps enabled large numbers of Europeans to travel and settle in the American continent.
  2. the rapid spread of information exposed people to new ideas on freedom and democracy.
  3. it encouraged religious freedom among the people by destroying the monopoly of religious leaders on the scriptures.
  4. it made available revolutionary strategies and opinions to the people.

6. The main conclusion of the passage is that the new technology has

  1. some advantages, but these are outweighed by its disadvantages.
  2. so far not proved as successful as the printing press in opening people's minds.
  3. been disappointing because it has changed society too rapidly.
  4. been more wasteful than the printing press because people spend more time daydreaming or surfing.

Answers

  1. A
  2. D
  3. C
  4. C
  5. B
  6. B

1. The first part of the second paragraph points to A being the apt choice. The other choices are far-fetched or off the mark.

2. Refer to the second paragraph. The sentence "The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea” means that A is true. The phrase "diminishing the sway of quacks" means that B is true. The first sentence and the last sentence of this paragraph show that books and pamphlets could now be printed much faster. This means that C is true.

3. The first sentence of the fifth paragraph "Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book (which means the printed book) was headed for history's attic. Clearly, he meant that reading these printed books would become a thing of the past.

4. Although this sentence is in the fourth paragraph, elaboration of this is in the last paragraph. The sentences in this paragraph "The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies. But the failure of the Arab Spring, and the continued suppression of ideas in North Korea, China and Iran, has not borne this out" means that the author means to say that the iPhone has not been able to do the good that was done to religion and democracy by the printing press.

5. The part of the fourth paragraph, "... the printing press opened more minds than anything else. It is hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print" makes B the clear choice.

6. Look at the sentences of the last paragraph, "The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies." and "But I am not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone - as it did with the printing press - or merely changed". These mean that the new technology, exemplified by iPhone and the Internet, have not been as successful as the printing press in opening the closed minds of people.