That robots, automation, and software can replace people might seem obvious to anyone who’s worked in automotive manufacturing. But MIT business scholars Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee’s claim is more troubling and controversial. They believe that rapid technological change has been destroying jobs faster than it is creating them.
They believe that technology increases productivity and makes societies wealthier, but it became clear to them that the same technologies making many jobs safer, easier, and more productive were also reducing the demand for many types of human workers. Technologies like the Web, artificial intelligence, and big data are automating many routine tasks. Countless traditional white-collar jobs, such as many in the post office and in customer service, have disappeared.
As evidence, Brynjolfsson and McAfee point to a chart on which separate lines represent productivity and total employment in the United States. For years after World War II, the two lines closely tracked each other, with increases in jobs corresponding to increases in productivity. Then, beginning in 2000, the lines diverge; productivity continues to rise steadily, but employment suddenly shrinks. By 2011, a significant gap appears between the two lines, showing economic growth with no parallel increase in job creation.
United States Productivity and Employment
But are these new technologies really responsible for a decade of lackluster (无生气) job growth? David Autor, an economist at MIT who has studied the connections between jobs and technology, doubts that technology could account for such a sudden change in total employment. Moreover, he also doubts that productivity has, in fact, risen steadily in the United States in the past decade. If he’s right, it raises the possibility that poor job growth could be simply a result of a depressed economy. The sudden slowdown in job creation “is a big puzzle,” he says, “but there’s not a lot of evidence that it’s linked to computers.” “To be sure, computer technologies are changing the types of jobs available, but that is very different from saying technology is affecting the total number of jobs,” he adds. “Jobs can change a lot without there being huge changes in employment rates.”
Lawrence Katz, a Harvard economist, says that while technological changes can be painful for workers whose skills no longer match the needs of employers, no historical pattern shows these shifts leading to a net decrease in jobs over an extended period. Still, Katz doesn’t dismiss the notion that there is something different about today’s digital technologies. Though he expects the historical pattern to hold, it is “genuinely a question,” he says. “If technology disrupts enough, who knows what will happen?”
1.Which period on the chart strongly supports McAfee’s claim?
A. 1947—1967. B. 1985—1987.
C. 1997—2000. D. 2011—2013.
2.According to David Autor, the change in job growth ________.
A. is not necessarily caused by technology
B. results from a weakening economy
C. has no connection with productivity
D. affects the current types of jobs
3.What is Lawrence Katz’s attitude towards the topic?
A. Optimistic. B. Defensive.
C. Objective. D. Disapproving.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A. show the relation between productivity and job creation
B. discuss the effect of technological advances on employment
C. argue against the wide use of artificial intelligence
D. explain the impact of technologies on productivity
Over Half of Young Chinese Block Parents on WeChat Moments
We all know the feeling—you want to check what someone you care about has been up to on social media, and suddenly you find you are denied access to their feeds. It’s an instant start of mixed emotions and speculations—when did this happen? Did I do anything wrong? What are they attempting to hide from me?
And that’s what half of Chinese parents have to deal with when they try to browse their children’s WeChat Moments, also known as “Friends’ Circle”, as suggested by a recent survey released by Tencent, the Chinese Internet giant. According to the report, entitled Annual White Paper on Family Affection on WeChat Moments, about 52 percent of WeChat users aged 18 to 29 block their parents on Moments, a major feature on the platform that allows users to share everything they like with their WeChat contacts.
About 62 percent of the young interviewees said that parents “are neurotic about everything,” along with reasons such as fear of parents’ disapproval, rejection to parents’ nagging(唠叨), and seeking privacy. “My parents don’t know Moments very well, so I just told them I don’t use it anymore,” said Qin Jianping, a 28-year-old. He added that his parents had been leaving comments requesting updates on his dating status on every post he made on Moments since he broke up with his girlfriend two years ago. Xie Yun, a 26-year-old, said that while she didn’t block her parents entirely, they were in a specific group to which she only shares positive posts. “I don’t want my parents to see minor setbacks in my life,” she said, adding that once her parents saw a Moments picture of her hand getting slightly burned while cooking, and they traveled all the way to her city to make sure she was all right.
The report also found that more than 49 percent of Chinese parents use WeChat as a main channel to communicate with their children. Roughly 36 percent of the parents who took the survey said they checked every post made by their children. When asked how they would react to being blocked, some parents said they would initiate a conversation with their children to find out the reason, while others said they wouldn’t care. And some parents just outsmart their kids in this hide-and-seek game online. “I didn’t realize I was blocked until I compared what I could see on my phone to what my son’s aunt could see,” said Chen, a mother of a 27-year-old son. “I chose to remain silent on this and now I’m following my son’s posts through his aunt.”
1.Parents would like to read their children's WeChat Moments because they ________.
A.are too emotional and speculative
B.want to keep up with the trend of time
C.leave a lot of comments on their feeds
D.are concerned about their children’s lives
2.The children block their parents to ________.
A.protect their privacy B.learn from parents’ nagging
C.challenge parental authority D.maintain a positive state
3.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A.Parents exchange ideas with their kids on the hide-and-seek game.
B.Parents are clever enough to win the “hide-and-seek game”.
C.Parents learn more knowledge from their kids in the hide-and-seek game.
D.Parents have a better understanding of their children.
4.The author looks into parents' being blocked is to ________.
A.criticize parents B.support students
C.analyse a phenomenon D.demand readers
She Walked Through Fire
On Thanksgiving weekend, the Heffelmire family gathered for a meal at their home. After dinner, the family went down to the finished basement to relax except Charlotte’s father, Eric, who was in the garage to fix his truck.
Around 8 pm, Charlotte decided to check on her dad. She walked through the kitchen. When she opened the side door to the garage, black smoke rose up into the kitchen. She could barely make out her father lying on his back, trapped under the truck. He’d removed the front passenger-side tyre and raised the truck on a jack(千斤顶). The truck had slipped off the jack, and now the whole weight of the wheel was on his chest and shoulders.
Charlotte ran to the front of the truck and struggled to lift it. Eric was still conscious, and he yelled, “You got it! One more try!?” She tried again and was able to tip the truck backward just enough for her to pull her dad by the shirt with both hands from under the truck.
She dragged him across the garage and 20 feet down the driveway. Then she ran back to the garage, which had burst into flames. “I was afraid the car was going to explode,” says Charlotte, so she climbed into the truck, which faced forward, turned the key, and pressed the gas pedal(油门). The car slowly rolled out, the metal wheel scratching loudly against the concrete.
Safely on the driveway, Charlotte stopped the truck and ran back to the basement. “There’s a fire! Everybody get out!” she yelled as she picked up her three-month-old niece and ran out. Outside, she handed the baby to her mom, and then ran around to the burning garage. She picked up a garden hose(水管) and sprayed the fire while calling 911.
A few minutes later, firefighters and an ambulance arrived. Charlotte was treated for second-degree burns on both her feet and face. Her dad had injuries on his chest and shoulders, as well as minor burns on his face. The garage and the house were damaged but the family survived.
The Heffelmires are staying in an apartment while their house is rebuilt. “Charlotte is a remarkable kid,” says her dad. Charlotte, however, simply says, “I was saving my family and my house. I wasn’t going to let my dad die.”
1.Eric got trapped because ________.
A.the kitchen was on fire B.the wheel fell off the truck
C.the front tyre was removed D.the truck slipped off the jack
2.As a result of the fire, ________.
A.the truck exploded
B.the house was not fit to live in
C.the three-month-old baby was injured
D.Charlotte was burned on her chest and shoulders
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Charlotte is ________.
A.proud and clear-headed B.modest and easy-going
C.calm and quick-minded D.independent and self-centered
Climbing Without Ropes
The popular image of the mountain climber is of a person carefully climbing a steep cliff with a network of safety ropes, but it is not the only kind. Many climbers now enjoy bouldering. It’s more accessible and better for the environment.
What is bouldering? Bouldering is a sport that involves climbing on, over, and around boulders up to approximately twenty feet above the ground. Participants employ no safety ropes. | ||
Why boulder? • improve your climbing skills by focusing on basics • places to climb, such as climbing walls at gyms and parks, easy to find • less time commitment to bouldering than to mountain climbing • intellectual and physical enjoyment as one solves problems |
| Bouldering Terms crimp: a very small handhold foothold: a place where one may place a foot to aid in climbing boulder jug: a very large handhold that is easy to use problem: The path up a boulder is referred to as the “problem” that one must solve. The “solution” is the sequence of moves one makes up and over a boulder. |
Here is an example of a climber addressing a bouldering problem.
Figure 1: The climber has two routes she could take, one to the left and one to the right. The left one appears easier because it has a jug within easy reach, but look what happens if she chooses that direction. She gets stuck on the rock and has to go back down. Sometimes that is even more difficult than going up.
Figure 2: The climber takes the one to the right this time. Using a foothold and placing her right hand in a crimp, she is able to lift herself up and locate other handholds. After only a few moves, she is able to throw her leg over the top of the boulder and pull herself up.
1.According to the passage, bouldering ________.
A.is an indoor sport B.has no safety protection
C.needs maps and equipment D.is a steep cliff climbing
2.Bouldering becomes popular because ________.
A.it challenges the limits B.it costs less
C.it builds minds and bodies D.it is a team game
3.According to the example, the right route is ________.
A.a shortcut B.a dead end
C.tough but to the top D.lined with jugs
4.The passage is likely to appear in ________.
A.a book review B.a science report
C.a newspaper advertisement D.a sports magazine
From Disappointment to Purpose
I’m known for my determination. If I want something, I _______ for it; I refuse to give up ___________ I succeed. Over the years this attitude has worked well for me and helped me achieve my goals. For example, when I wanted to be on the dance team at school, I learned all the dances and practiced until I could hardly _________. And when I wanted money for a new computer, I washed cars, babysat, and walked dogs for all my neighbors.
_______ this year everything changed. I had set my sights on a summer _______that I was determined to get at the Water Zone, because the employees there could go on the water rides after their work and get free food at the snack bar. It was the _________ job to have on hot summer vacations. So just as I had achieved every goal in the past, I set out to _________ the job. I completed the application in my neatest handwriting, carefully prepared for my interview, and gathered a pack of _______ letters. I was certain that nothing could keep me from my dream job.
But after my ___________, the manager of the Water Zone told me that he could hire only those with experience in water safety. I was ____________. I felt like a failure.
On the last weekend before school ended, my teacher, Mrs. Keller, asked me __________ I would be interested in the kids’ summer day camp. I decided that I had nothing to __________, so I called the manager and ____________ an interview. She was ____________ by my babysitting experience and employed me. In less than a week, I had completely __________ about wanting to work at the water park. Each time I comforted a little boy who missed his mother or a little girl who needed to help tying her shoes, I felt I was doing something __________. I realized that I had discovered my life’s __________: to work with children. I now have a new goal. I’m going to study to become an elementary school teacher.
Sometimes in life we don’t get __________ what we want. Our dream guy or girl may not be interested in us. The coach may not select us for the team. A certain employer may not choose to hire us. It’s natural to feel __________; I sure did. But I also learned an important lesson. Occasionally, when we don’t get what we want, something even ____________ is waiting for us around the corner!
1.A.go B.apply C.cheer D.wait
2.A.when B.until C.since D.once
3.A.smile B.speak C.think D.move
4.A.Otherwise B.So C.But D.Therefore
5.A.day B.course C.job D.camp
6.A.perfect B.tough C.regular D.potential
7.A.land B.quit C.change D.keep
8.A.instruction B.application C.recommendation D.invitation
9.A.practice B.interview C.expectation D.experiment
10.A.promoted B.punished C.selected D.refused
11.A.how B.whether C.what D.why
12.A.save B.learn C.lose D.regret
13.A.scheduled B.cancelled C.mentioned D.gave
14.A.inspired B.impressed C.touched D.puzzled
15.A.doubted B.complained C.forgotten D.known
16.A.challenging B.reasonable C.traditional D.significant
17.A.track B.motto C.belief D.purpose
18.A.only B.exactly C.properly D.immediately
19.A.curious B.nervous C.disappointed D.interested
20.A.better B.easier C.higher D.crazier
Fred entered without knocking and, very out of breath, sank _______ a chair.
A.on B.off C.into D.to
