Amid all the job losses, there’s one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.
From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.
Automation isn’t just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed by highly-paid human lawyers.
“Robots continue to have an impact on blue-collar jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,” says economics professor Edward Learner. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing(外包)stealing far more jobs than automation.
Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U.S. Jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but that’s still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.
It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It’s that they’re better “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t.” Burnstein says.
Same goes for surgeons. who’re using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet.
Surgeons may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing of Ava, which could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once you’re home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there’s no need to send someone to your house. That “mobile telepresence” could be useful at the office. If you’re away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava’s screen.
Is any job safe? I was hoping to say “journalist”, but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who will read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.
1. What do we learn from the first few paragraphs?
2. What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America?
3. Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet?
4. What does the author imply about robotics?
问题1选项
A.The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy.
B.It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work.
C.Artificial intelligence is key to future technological innovations.
D.The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession.
问题2选项
A.Using microprocessors extensively.
B.Moving production to other countries.
C.The bankruptcy of many companies.
D.The invasion of migrant workers.
问题3选项
A.They save lots of money for the patients.
B.They beat humans in precision.
C.They take less time to perform a surgery.
D.They make operations less painful.
问题4选项
A.It will greatly enrich literary creation.
B.It will start a new technological revolution.
C.It will revolutionize scientific research.
D.It will be applied in any field imaginable.
第1题:
【选项释义】
What do we learn from the first few paragraphs? 我们从前几段中学到了什么?
A. The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy. A. 过度使用机器人已经对美国经济造成了损害。
B. It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work. B. 在高度专业化的世界里,机器人很难取代人类。
C. Artificial intelligence is key to future technological innovations. C. 人工智能是未来技术创新的关键。
D. The robotic industry has benefited from the economic recession. D. 机器人产业从经济衰退中获益。
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】第一段第一句话就指出“在所有的工作岗位流失中,有一类人是经济动荡(economic disruption)对其有利的:非人类(nonhumans)”,对应D选项,D选项中economic recession是第一句话中economic disruption的同义转换,因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项文中并未提到,属于无中生有;
文章整体举了很多机器人取代人类的例子,说明以现在的趋势机器人是有可能取代人类的,而B选项与原文观点不符,属于反向干扰;
C选项文中并未提到,属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America? 是什么导致了美国工作最严重的岗位流失?
A. Using microprocessors extensively. A. 广泛使用微处理器。
B. Moving production to other countries. B. 将生产转移到其他国家。
C. The bankruptcy of many companies. C. 许多公司破产。
D. The invasion of migrant workers. D. 移民工人的入侵。
【答案】B
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】题干问题定位到第四段,最后一句话指出“可以肯定的是,机器人技术并不是唯一的工作杀手,外包抢走的工作远远多于自动化”,说明美国岗位的流失很大一部分都来自于外包,即生产转移到其他国家,对应B选项,因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项关键词“微处理器”(microprocessors)出现在第四段第一句话,引出其对白领的不利影响,但文中并未指出是它导致了美国最严重的岗位流失,属于曲解原文;
C选项文中并未提到,属于无中生有;
D选项原文并未提到,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet? 根据Myriam Curet博士所述,为什么机器人系统会在越来越多的手术中取代外科医生?
A. They save lots of money for the patients. A. 他们为病人节省了很多钱。
B. They beat humans in precision. B. 他们在精确度上打败了人类。
C. They take less time to perform a surgery. C. 他们做手术花的时间更少。
D. They make operations less painful. D. 他们使手术不那么痛苦。
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到第七段,此段指出“外科医生也是如此。他们正在使用机器人系统进行越来越多的手术——不是因为机器省钱,而是因为由于机器人的更高精度,病人恢复的时间更短,并发症更少”,由此可知,机器人系统较外科医生而言精确度更高,对应B选项,符合题干要求,因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项文中指出不是因为机器人省钱,是对于医院来说的,而不是对于病人来说更加省钱,且原文已经否定了此原因,因此A选项属于曲解原文;
C选项指手术花的时间少,原文指提到病人恢复时间短,并未提到手术时间,C选项属于偷换概念;
D选项原文并未提到,属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What does the author imply about robotics? 关于机器人,作者暗示了什么?
A. It will greatly enrich literary creation. A. 它将极大地丰富文学创作。
B. It will start a new technological revolution. B. 它将引发一场新的技术革命。
C. It will revolutionize scientific research. C. 它将彻底改变科学研究。
D. It will be applied in any field imaginable. D. 它将被应用于任何可以想象到的领域。
【答案】D
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】文章整体描述了机器人取代各个领域的人类职位,如律师、蓝领、白领、外科医生等;最后一段第一句话引出疑问:“有什么工作是安全的吗?我本来想说‘记者’,但研究人员已经在开发能够收集事实并撰写新闻故事的软件了”。暗示所有领域的工作机器人都能够胜任,对应D选项,因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项文中并未提到与文学创作有关的信息,属于无中生有;
B选项文中并未提到与技术革命有关的信息,属于无中生有;
文章整体表述机器人取代许多领域的人类职位,并未着重描述其对科学领域的影响,C选项属于无中生有。