Britain faces social problems as lots of people are set to lose their jobs in technological revolution, Bank of England’s chief economist warned.
Andy Haldane said the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will make the machine replace humans to do thinking things. The dark side of the change could be a much bigger breakdown of employment than in Victorian times, with professions such as accountancy (会计) among those at risk.
A report by the accountancy firm PwC last month warned that more than 7 million jobs in Britain had been lost over the next 20 years as technological change sweeps though workplaces.
The majority of these are in jobs in the retail, transport and manufacturing industries. However, other traditional professional sectors could also be at serious risk.
Economists treat the arrival of increasingly intelligent computers and robots as the fourth industrial revolution. The first was the shift from agricultural to urban societies, the second saw the widespread use of electricity and steel, and the third was the digital revolution when computers, the Internet and mobile phones were developed.
Mr Haldane said the hollowing-out (空洞化) experienced in the past years could be on a greater scale in the future so it is important to learn the lessons of history and ensure that people are given training to take advantage of new opportunities.
“Jobs were effectively taken by machines of various types, there was a hollowing-out of the jobs market, which left many people for a long period out of work and struggling to make a living,” Haldane added, “That heightened social and financial tensions, and led to a rise in inequality. This is the dark side of technological revolution.”
“That hollowing-out is going to be potentially on a much greater scale in the future, when we have machines thinking and doing the cognitive and technical skills of humans.” Mr Haldane said professions like accountancy could be among those hardest hit by the rise of AI. But he suggested economists could escape.
1.What is the dark side mentioned in the text?
A. The hollowing-out has become a major social problem.
B. Less and less people have the desire to learn accountancy
C. Intelligent computers and robots decrease good workers.
D. The technological revolution causes people to lose jobs.
2.Why are economists the lucky dog in the new technological revolution?
A. The study about economy is at a low level.
B. Economists work on a traditional professional job.
C. There is no machine that can work as an economist.
D. Economists have the chance to avoid technological revolution.
3.What should be done to deal with the serious situation?
A. To call for people to devote more to studying history.
B. To teach people to grasp the chances technological revolution brings about.
C. To warn people not to work on transport and manufacturing industries.
D. To ask workers to develop and think as the intelligent computers and robots do.
4.What attitude did Haldane have towards the future employment?
A. Positive. B. Aggressive.
C. Critical. D. Worried.
It’s common knowledge that some countries have higher life expectancies than others, but the city you live in can also affect your health.
Some cities are hard on their residents. In places with poor city planning, for example Lagos, which was called out recently by the Economist Intelligence Unit, public spaces are few, making outdoor activities hard. Lack of infrastructure (基础建设) blocks the streets with cars and the air with pollutants, and residents work long hours for little money.
These are just some of the factors added up by Spotahome, a rental agency. They’ve analyzed data from a range of sources, including the World Health Organization, TripAdvisor and the CIA World Factbook to score each city on health, gym availability and quality, life expectancy, obesity, green space and other elements to make a list to work out which are the world’s healthiest cities.
The list is certainly Euro-centric and sunshine is seen as a positive factor. It does go some way towards suggesting which cities are getting it right in providing a good life for their residents. It may not be surprising to learn that most of the healthiest cities are in northern Europe, known for its people-first approach to city planning. The cities of Australia and Canada also do well. However, the first American city is only in 34th place. The UK doesn’t fare too well either-its only city in the top 50 list is London, in 40th.
Whether you’re planning a wholesome holiday, or simply wondering what your city can do better in its quest for happy citizens, the list of the 50 healthiest cities will give you pause for thought about the future of city planning. Here are the slender, healthy-eating, clean-aired cities that are getting it right.
1.What plays the key role in building a healthy city according to the text?
A. Local culture. B. City planning.
C. Economic condition. D. Geographical position.
2.What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?
A. How the list of healthiest cities came into being.
B. What Spotahome discovered in the recent study.
C. The reasons why Spotahome carried out the study.
D. The places where the data of the study came from.
3.What can we learn from the text?
A. Cities in America lack enough sunshine.
B. The UK ranked higher than America in the list.
C. Australia and Canada have the best city planning.
D. Some people in Lagos may live a poor life.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. The best places to have a rich life
B. The happiest lifestyle in the world
C. The city factors affecting your health
D. The nice countries to keep healthy
When Kevin Durant gave his tearful MVP speech in 2014, the NBA star made sure to thank one person who had been there with him from the very beginning: his mother. His heartfelt words about the sacrifices she made for Durant and his brother led to a lifetime movie about her journey as a single parent, The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story.
Today, the NBA superstar’s mom travels the country as a motivational speaker and philanthropist (慈善家). On Monday, she spoke at Thomson Reuters’ in New York about her personal struggles to achieve financial stability and shared the financial advice she gave her son when he entered the league with CNBC.
“I wanted him to realize he has worked hard,” she says, “And it is OK for him to enjoy himself because of his hard work. But it is also imperative that he prepares for his future.” While she advised him to enjoy the rewards of his labor, she also wanted to make sure that her son knew the importance of financial planning.
She told the audience that when she found herself a single parent to two children at 21, she couldn’t follow the financial principles. Rather than planning for the future, she focused only on how her money could make ends meet for that moment.
Recently, Durant has teamed up with Laurene Powell Jobs for a new philanthropic program called College Track which is aimed at helping disadvantaged kids attend college. As part of the program, Durant has committed to donating $10 million to his hometown’s public school system.
Durant’s mom says that in addition to his financial decisions, she is proud of his philanthropic work and his desire to help the community. “I thought giving back was always very important, and so we talked about that and he had seen that from us as a family and it’s one of the things that I taught him,” she says.
1.What is The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story mainly about?
A. Durant’s career path.
B. Durant’s hard childhood.
C. Durant’s mother’s devotion to the family.
D. Durant’s mother’s struggling to be independent.
2.What does the underlined word “imperative” in paragraph 3 mean?
A. Enjoyable. B. Important.
C. Unusual. D. Hopeful.
3.What are the financial principles of Durant’s mom?
A. Enjoying now and planning for the future.
B. Sharing rewards and creating a charity program.
C. Spending less money and saving for the emergencies.
D. Donating money to the charity and helping more schools.
4.What made Durant pay attention to the charity program?
A. His kind heart. B. His poor hometown.
C. His mother’s teaching. D. His difficult life experiences.
Let’s look at the movies we can’t wait to watch in 2019
Dumbo (March 29)
Dumbo is a 1941 American film produced by Walt Disney Productions. The main character is an elephant who is nicknamed “Dumbo”. Dumbo is always laughed at for his big ears, and he is rejected by the other elephants. With no parent to care for him, he is alone. But in fact, he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. A live-action adaptation of the film directed by Tim Burton is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2019.
Shazam! (April 5)
Shazam is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film is set to star Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage boy who can transform via the magic word “Shazam” into an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. It will be the first film version of the character since the 1941 series Adventures of Captain Marvel (the character’s original name).
Aladdin (May 24)
Aladdin is a fictional character and the role of the film Aladdin (1992) based on Aladdin, a folk tale of Middle Eastern origin He is voiced by Scott Weinger, while his singing voice is provided by Brad Kane. Aladdin never received a formal education, and has only learned by living on the streets of Agrabah. He has to steal food in the local market in order to survive. Mena Massoud is set to play a live-action version of the character in a live action adaptation of the 1992 film.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (May 31)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters is a 1956 Japanese-American science fiction film, co-directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishiro Honda. It is a heavily re-edited American adaptation. For this new version of Godzilla, some of the original Japanese dialogue was translated into English, and some of the political, social and anti-nuclear themes were removed completely.
1.Which one will be shown to the audience as a form of film for the first time?
A. Dumbo. B. Shazam!
C. Aladdin. D. Godzilla, King of the Monsters.
2.Who is the actor of the newest version of Aladdin?
A. Scott Weinger. B. Brad Kane.
C. Terry O. Morse. D. Mena Massoud.
3.On which day can you watch a film about a pitiful animal according to the text?
A. March 29. B. April 5.
C. May 24. D. May 31.
假设你是李津，与你以前的外籍教师 Mrs. Green 一直保持联系。近日来，Mrs. Green 得知你校将在下周举办文化节和科技节，她来信询问你校该活动安排，请根据以下提示给 她回复一封邮件。
（1） 介绍你校文化节（如中国传统文化活动及文化展示，如春节等 ）；
（2） 介绍你校科技节（如科技活动及其成果展示，如智能机器人竞赛等 ）；
（3） 活动的意义并希望她有机会来你校参加活动。
注意：
（1） 词数不少于 100；
（2） 可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯；
（3） 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：Culture Festival 文化节 Science and Technology Festival 科技节
Dear Mrs. Green,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Every person has a history of pain and tragedy that includes regret from the situation. At times, it’s often hard to explain that pain to someone else. The challenge with a tragedy is the lack of support from someone.
This has often been my challenge when I try to explain what occurred to me. When I was younger, I was a victim of a tragic accident that changed my life both academically and emotionally. At sixteen months old, due to the neglect of my babysitter I fell off the bed. The injury was so severe that I was rushed to the emergency room and the doctors explained to my mom that I suffered from a blood clot (血块) located on the left side of the brain.
I was later diagnosed with what is known as a traumatic brain injury (外伤性脑损伤)．This accident affects my long term memory and testing ability. I often struggle with understanding information related to school and feel frustrated that I will not pass my tests. The pressure of school is so much, since I must always work harder than most students.
I become easily disappointed that I study a lot but often flunk or re-take tests. It is hard to imagine, because in my mind I feel prepared for the work; however, the test results do not connect with the information in my brain. Although I always don’t pass my tests, I feel like this injury encourages me to work and shows me that I can be confident when it comes to the future. For example, I have been able to maintain my grades, been employed for over a year at a local restaurant, and obtained my drivers license. I look forward to attending college, getting married, raising a family, and being a success. I will continue to live my life to the fullest and prove that an injury does not limit my life journey.
1.What is worse when someone suffers a tragedy in his life according to the author?(no more than 7 words)
2.What was the author’s tragic accident that changed his life? (no more than 9 words)
3.Why is the author always struggling with his study at school? (no more than 8 words)
4.What does the underlined word “flunk” mean in the last paragraph? (1 word)
5.What do you think of the author? Give your reasons. (no more than 25words)
