Question

    A knitting factory in Bangladesh brings together the past, present, and the future. On one floor, workers knit by hand. On another, people and machines do the work together. And on a third floor, there are only robots.

This building might seem outdated, given the accepted wisdom that robots will replace humans in textiles and many other industries. But it is actually a wise response to how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will likely play out in Asia. As is the case elsewhere, technological progress is rapidly changing industries and economies across the world.

However, much of Asia isn’t ready for robots, for reasons that go beyond fears of mass unemployment. Poorer countries face great barriers to adopting new technologies. Moreover, the region’s lower wages encourage companies to keep human workers. At the factory in Bangladesh, human workers can step in if power or equipment failures knock the machines offline. At the same time, having a fully automated section allows production to continue if workers go on strike.

Conventional wisdom believes that this dual-track(双轨的)approach isn’t sustainable, and that low-to middle-skilled workers will eventually make way for robots. However, these pessimistic predictions ignore the fact that most jobs consist of lots of tasks, some of which cannot be automated.

Still, robots are gaining foothold in the region, particularly in economies such as China and the Republic of Korea. In 2015, robot sales in Asia increased by 19 percent－the fourth record-breaking year in a row. When less-developed Asian countries eventually join the technology trend, layoffs will inevitably follow. To soften the blow, governments urgently need to pursue labor-market reforms and examine their education systems, starting with technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Although TVET is becoming increasingly popular in Asia’s developing economies, its quality is often poor. Governments should ensure that TVET courses focus on more relevant skills, while remaining flexible so that students can study without sacrificing income.

1.What does the author think of the knitting factory?

A.Fashionable. B.Complicated. C.Brilliant. D.Wasteful.

2.Why did robots fail to be widely applied in Asia?

A.Power failures often occur in factories.

B.Some countries are not fully prepared.

C.Unemployment has caused many problems.

D.Some countries are too poor to adopt the new technology.

3.What is the reason behind governments’ reforms?

A.To make robots more popular.

B.To raise the quality of education.

C.To reduce the influence of robots.

D.To improve the income of students.

4.What might be talked about in the following paragraph?

A.Measures to resist robots.

B.Ways to improve TVET courses.

C.Some policies to support workers.

D.The future of the dual-track approach.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文是说明文。文章讲述了亚洲的一些针织厂没有采用机器生产而是继续使用人力生产的原因。政府希望能够通过TVET项目，减少机器生产对人力生产带来的冲击。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段But it is actually a wise response to how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will likely play out in Asia（但这实际上是对第四次工业革命将如何在亚洲进行的明智反应）可知文章的观点是赞成孟加拉的一些针织厂的做法。brilliant意为：明智的，灿烂的，夺目的，与文章wise是同义词。故选 C项。

2.细节理解题。从第二段：much of Asia isn’t ready for robots和Poorer countries face great barriers to adopting new technologies. Moreover, the region’s lower wages encourage companies to keep human workers可知，亚洲大部分地区还没有做好使用机器人的准备。原因有：较贫穷的国家在采用新技术方面面临巨大障碍、较低的工资鼓励公司留住工人。故选 B 项。

3.细节理解题。从最后一段When less-developed Asian countries eventually join the technology trend , layoffs will inevitably follow. To soften the blow，governments urgently need to pursue labor-market reforms（当欠发达的亚洲国家最终加入科技的大潮，失业就不可避免地随之而来。为了缓解这种冲击，政府迫切需要寻求劳动力市场的改革）可知，政府进行改革就是要缓解机器生产对失业带来的冲击。故选 C 项。

4.推理判断题。从最后一段Although TVET is becoming increasingly popular in Asia’s developing economies, its quality is often poor可知,虽然政府进行的 TVET项目在发展亚洲经济方面很受欢迎，但是效果并不好。文章接下来应该介绍如何提高效果。故选 B 项。