A comparision of two things using like or as?

Why are reading and writing necessary in today’s world

"alice wondered a little at this,but she was too much in awe of the queen to disbelieve it".what is the effect of the author's word choice in this sentence?

On sarah’s first day at work she is provided with a range of information technology tools that she can use to write, edit or create documents and accounting sheets, store information, make presentations, and so on. match there software their definitions.