Question

    The belief that new technologies are causing the death of work is the idea that never goes away. Despite evidence to the contrary, we still view technological change today as being more rapid and dramatic in its consequences for work than ever before. But this is nothing new. People have always viewed the technological changes that take place during their lives as the most dramatic and dangerous that ever happened in history.

In the 1930s, the British economist(经济学家) John Maynard Keynes predicted the widespread use of electricity would produce a world where people spend most of their time doing nothing. In the United States during the 1960s, the government repeatedly investigates fears that automatic machines would permanently reduce the amount of work available. In 1988, one Australian historian claimed that at least a quarter of the workforce would be without jobs within 10 years because of computers.

Of course, none of these disasters came to pass in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, or anywhere else.

Yet today, we are seeing the return of these predictions, with some experts claiming the world of work is once more undergoing radical and unprecedented change. They argue that robots and other workplace technologies are causing a reduction in the total amount of work available, or are bringing a more rapid pace of substitution of machines for humans than has been seen previously.

But there is a little evidence to support such beliefs. Statistics show that the percentage of people in work, the number of hours they work, and how frequently they change jobs have remained remarkably constant over the past 20 years.

This stability should not come as a surprise. There are good reasons why we should not expect new technologies to cause the death of work. New technologies always cause job losses, but that is only part of the story. What also needs to be understood is how they increase the amount of work available.

One way this happens is through the increases in incomes that accompany the use of new technologies. With the introduction of these technologies, good and services can be produced faster, which results in higher real incomes for workers. Higher incomes then increase demand for other products and consequently more workers are needed to make them. Additionally, while new technologies are likely to substitute for some types of workers, they will also increase demand for other types of workers, especially those with higher level skills and expertise.

So, the end of work is no closer today than at any time in the past. But there is still a need to keep disproving the prediction, to reduce people's fears.

1.What is the function of the second paragraph?

A.To explain the importance of developing new technology.

B.To show how technology affected employment in the past.

C.To argue that technological dangers are becoming more serious.

D.To give historical examples of unnecessary fear about new technology.

2.How can employment statistics over the past 20 years best be described?

A.Confusing B.Reliable

C.Stable D.Variable

3.According to paragraph 7, why does demand for products often increase after new technology is introduced?

A.There are more goods for people to choose from.

B.There is more demand for new skills in the economy.

C.Productivity improvements help raise workers’ salaries.

D.Higher quality goods at lower prices encourage consumption.

4.What is the author’s opinion about the introduction of new technology?

A.It does not have an effect on most people’s jobs.

B.Its benefits are usually not worth the introduction.

C.It usually leads to a significant increase in employment.

D.Its danger to peoples employment possibilities is overstated.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文为议论文。许多人一直认为新科技导致失业，并把科技看作是危险的。但过去和现在的事实证明，事实并非如此。随着这些技术的引入，生产力提高了工人的实际收入。更高的收入增加了对其他产品的需求，因此需要更多的工人来生产这些产品。所以科技对于就业的影响并没有那么大。对于科技威胁到就业被夸大了。

1.推理判断题。第一段的内容The belief that new technologies are causing the death of work is the idea that never goes away. Despite evidence to the contrary,… people have always viewed the technological changes that take place during their lives as the most dramatic and dangerous that ever happened in history. “认为新技术导致失业的信念是永远不会消失。尽管事实正好相反…，人们把生活中发生的科技变化看作是历史上发生的最危险最戏剧化的东西。由此可知，长期以来，人们认为科技的发展是令人担忧和恐惧的。但事实正好相反。因此在下一段就是为了说明这种长期以来的想法是不对的，并用历史上的例子加以说明事实并非如此，即不必要害怕。分析选项可知D项（用历史上的例子，说明对新技术的不必要的恐惧）。符合题意。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段和第三段的内容“20世纪时对于新科技带来的就业变化的预言都没有发生，就业变化不大。因此可知，这些就业数据是稳定的。分析选项A. Confusing；B. Reliable可靠；C. Stable稳定；D. Variable变化。可 知C项符合题意，故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据第七段的内容With the introduction of these technologies, good and services can be produced faster, which results in higher real incomes for workers. Higher incomes then increase demand for other products and consequently more workers are needed to make them. “随着这些技术的引入，提高了生产率，从而提高工人的实际收入。更高的收入增加了对其他产品的需求，因此需要更多的工人来生产这些产品“。由此可推断出技术的引进，生产率的提高，有助于工人工资的提高。分析选项可知C项符合题意。故选C。

4.推理判断题。第一段The belief that new technologies are causing the death of work is the idea that never goes away. Despite evidence to the contrary,… people have always viewed the technological changes …the most dramatic and dangerous that ever happened in history.可知许多人一直认为新科技导致失业，并把科技看作是危险的。但事实并非如此。二、三四段用过去和现在的事实证明了他们夸大了这种危险。第六段中的New technologies always cause job losses, but that is only part of the story. What also needs to be understood is how they increase the amount of work available.新科技总会导致失业，但这只是它的一小部分，我们需要看到的是科技是如何增加工作机会的。第七段中作者说科技的引进，导致生产率的提高，需要更好的产品，因此需要更好的工人。最后一段So, the end of work is no closer today than at any time in the past. But there is still a need to keep disproving the prediction, to reduce people's fears.可知，失业在今天不比以前的任何时候紧张，但仍有必要继续对失业预测进行反驳，以减少人们的恐惧。由此可知，作者认为科技的引进对就业的危险被夸大了。分析选项可知D符合题意。