The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet, it would be a mistake to think we are right now simply experiencing the painful side of a boom and bust cycle. Certain jobs have gone away for good, outmoded by machines. Since technology has such an insatiable appetite for eating up human jobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can’t immediately foresee.
When there is rapid improvement in the price and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automation suddenly become threatened. This argument has attracted a lot of attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who both hail from MIT’s Center for Digital Business.
This is a powerful argument, and a scary one. And yet, John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull and other books，says Brynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable to technology in the first place.
Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U. S. that tend to be “tightly scripted” and “highly standardized” ones that leave no room for individual initiative or creativity. "In short, these are the types of jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is how we have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers," Hagel says.
It’s time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, since we are still relying on a very 20th century notion of work, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination “to respond to unexpected events. That’s not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities.
As Hagel notes, Brynjolfsson and McAfee indeed touched on this point in their book. We need to reframe race against the machine as race with the machine. In other works, we need to look at the ways in which machines can augment human labor rather than replace it. So then the problem is not really about technology, but rather, “how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?”
1.According to the first paragraph, economic downturns would（ ）.
2.The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that （ ）.
3.Hagel argues that jobs in the U. S. are often （ ）.
4.According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed （ ）.
5.Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text?
问题1选项
A.ease the competition of man vs. machine
B.highlight machines’ threat to human jobs
C.provoke a painful technological revolution
D.outmode our current economic structure
问题2选项
A.technology is diminishing man’s job opportunities
B.automation is accelerating technological development
C.certain jobs will remain intact after automation
D.man will finally win the race against machine
问题3选项
A.performed by innovative minds
B.scripted with an individual style
C.standardized without a clear target
D.designed against human creativity
问题4选项
A.the predictability of machine behavior in practice
B.the fonnuja for how work is conducted efficiently
C.the ways machines replace human labor in modem times
D.the necessity of human involvement in the workplace
问题5选项
A.How to Innovate Our Work Practices
B.Machines will Replace Human Labor
C.Can We Win the Race Against Machines?
D.Economic Downturns Stimulate Innovations
第1题:B
第2题:A
第3题:D
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to the first paragraph, economic downturns would _____. 根据第一段可知，经济下滑会_____。
A. ease the competition of man vs. machine A. 消解人与机器之间的竞争
B. highlight machines’ threat to human jobs B. 凸显机器对人类工作的威胁
C. provoke a painful technological revolution C. 激起一场痛苦的技术革命
D. outmode our current economic structure D. 使现在的经济结构变得过时
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第一段首句“‘人机矛盾’（man versus machine）这一现象在经济下滑（economic downturns）且复苏乏力的情形下给人的感受最为强烈（most acutely felt）”，由此可知，选项B符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项与原文首句表述的内容相反，属于反向干扰；
C、D选项原文并没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The authors of Race Against the Machine argue that _____. 《与机器赛跑》一书作者认为_____。
A. technology is diminishing man’s job opportunities A. 技术正减少人们的工作机会
B. automation is accelerating technological development B. 自动化正加速科技发展
C. certain jobs will remain intact after automation C. 某些工作将不受自动化影响
D. man will finally win the race against machine D. 人最终会赢得与机器的竞赛
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】题干关键词“Race Against the Machine”出现在第二段第二句，提到“这一观点得益于《与机器赛跑》一书的热卖，已获得广泛关注”，这一观点也就是上文提到的“当技术（technology）在价格、性能方面大为改善时，那些曾经被认为对自动化免疫的工作（immune from automation）也就会突然受到威胁（threatened）”，也就是说，技术使越来越多的工作被机器取代，选项A推断正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“自动化正加速科技发展”，原文表述的是“科技发展使对自动化免疫的工作受威胁”，也就是说科技化加速自动化，该选项因果倒置，属于曲解原文；
C选项“某些工作将不受自动化影响”，与原文提到的“曾经被认为对自动化免疫的工作也就会突然受到威胁”不符，属于曲解原文；
D选项“人最终会赢得与机器的竞赛”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Hagel argues that jobs in the U. S. are often _____. 哈格尔认为，美国的工作通常_____。
A. performed by innovative minds A. 由具有创新思想的人完成
B. scripted with an individual style B. 具有个性风采
C. standardized without a clear target C. 标准化，没有清晰目标
D. designed against human creativity D. 被设计成不利于人们发挥创造力
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第四段首句“哈格尔说，在美国，我们往往把工作设计成‘高度模式化’（tightly scripted）、‘高度标准化’（highly standardized），以至于没给人们留下‘发挥个人主动性和创造力’（individual initiative or creativity）的空间”（no room），由此可知，选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项与原文提到的“没有创造力空间”以及“高度标准化”不符，属于反向干扰；
C选项“标准化，没有清晰目标”，原文只提到了“标准化”，没有提及“目标”，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed _____. 根据最后一段可知，布伦乔尔森和迈克菲讨论了_____。
A. the predictability of machine behavior in practice A. 机器在操作中的可预测性
B. the formula for how work is conducted efficiently B. 有效开展工作的方法
C. the ways machines replace human labor in modern times
C. 现代社会机器代替人力的方式
D. the necessity of human involvement in the workplace D. 工作中有人类参与的必要性
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到最后一段，该段指出哈格尔及布伦乔尔森和迈克菲都赞同的观点：我们应该将“与机器赛跑”重新定义（reframe）为“与机器同跑”，即：机器是用于加强（augment）人类劳动力而不是用于取代（replace）人类劳动力。最后作者指出：问题不在于技术本身（technology），而在于我们该如何革新制度（innovate our institutions），由此可见，布伦乔尔森和迈克菲都肯定了人类参与工作的必要性，选项D符合。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“机器在操作中的可预测性”，属于哈格尔提出的观点，该选项属于张冠李戴；
B选项相对于文章的“人机关系”范围太广，属于过度推断；
C选项“现代社会机器代替人力的方式”，与原文“机器增强人类劳动”不符，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the text? 下列哪一项最适合做本文题目？
A. How to Innovate Our Work Practices A. 如何革新我们的工作方式
B. Machines will Replace Human Labor B. 机器将会取代人力
C. Can We Win the Race Against Machines? C. 我们能赢得与机器的竞赛吗？
D. Economic Downturns Stimulate Innovations D. 经济下滑刺激创新
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】通读全文，第一段提出“人机矛盾加剧”问题；第二段至第四段剖析问题，指出人机矛盾的根源并非在于“技术的进步”，而是在于“现有工作模式的滞后”，最后提出解决方式：改变现有工作模式，变“高度标准化，欠缺创造性”为“强调主动性和创造性”；转变当前观念，变“与机器赛跑”为“与机器同跑”，选项C正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“如何革新我们的工作方式”属于文章三、四段内容，以偏概全；
B选项“机器将会取代人力”，与文章主旨不符，属于曲解原文；
D选项“经济下滑刺激创新”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
