Question

Upskilling is the future—but it must work for everyone

Automation and job replacement will be one of the most significant challenges for the global economy of the coming decades. A 2017 Mckinsey report established that 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories by 2030. The World Economic Forum suggests that by 2022, automation will replace 75 million jobs globally—but create 133 million new ones.

Research into the likelihood that a job will be impacted by digitization has largely focused on the “automatability” of the role and the following economic regional and political effects of this. What this research doesn’t take into account is something more important for the millions of taxi drivers and retail workers across the globe: their likelihood of being able to change to another job that isn’t automatable. Recent research suggests that the answer to this may be that the skills that enable workers to move up the ladder to more complex roles within their current areas might be less important than broader skills that will enable workers to change across divisions.

In July, Amazon announced that it would spend $700 million retraining around 30% of its 300,000 US workforce. While praiseworthy, it will be interesting to see the outcome. In the UK, the National Retraining Scheme has largely been led by employers, meaning that those on zero-hours contracts and part-time workers—often low-skilled—will miss out. Governance will be a crucial element of ensuring that such schemes focus on individuals and life-long learning, rather than upskilling workers into roles that will soon also face automation.

According to the Mckinsey report, “growing awareness of the scale of the task ahead has yet to translate into action. Public spending on labour-force training and support has fallen for years in most member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development,” which impacts more than just the low-skilled and poorly compensated.

The global impact of automation is also put into relief by research demonstrating that, between 1988 and 2015, income inequality increased throughout the world. Billions of people do not have the essentials of life as defined by the UN Sustainable Development goals.

Alongside climate change, automation is arguably tech’s biggest challenge. As with globalization, governments and employers—and us workers—ignore its potential consequences at risk to ourselves.

1.It can be known from Paragraph 2 that         .

A.recent research has found ways to face automation

B.broad skills are of great significance in changing jobs

C.regional economy can affect the automatability of a job

D.it is even harder for workers to move up the social ladder

2.What is the author’s attitude towards retraining programs?

A.Supportive. B.Critical.

C.Skeptical. D.Sympathetic.

3.According to the author, what is one consequence of automation?

A.Less spending on training. B.A slowdown of globalization.

C.Social unrest and instability. D.An increase in income inequality.

4.The passage is written to         .

A.argue the urgency of creating new jobs B.compare globalization with automation

C.analyze the automatability of certain jobs D.stress the importance of upskilling workers

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了自动化和就业替代将是未来几十年全球经济面临的最重大挑战之一，而要应对这一趋势，当务之急是提高自身技能，尤其是跨部门跳槽所需的广泛技能。文章说明了再培训项目存在的问题，指出除了气候变化，自动化可以说是科技面临的最大挑战。就像全球化一样，政府和雇主——以及美国工人——忽视了全球化对我们自身的潜在影响。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中Recent research suggests that the answer to this may be that the skills that enable workers to move up the ladder to more complex roles within their current areas might be less important than broader skills that will enable workers to change across divisions.可知最近的研究表明，这个问题的答案可能是，使工人能够在其目前的领域内晋升到更复杂的角色的技能，可能不如使工人能够跨部门转换的更广泛的技能重要。由此可知，广泛的技能在换工作中是非常重要的。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中In the UK, the National Retraining Scheme has largely been led by employers, meaning that those on zero-hours contracts and part-time workers—often low-skilled—will miss out.可知在英国，国家再培训计划在很大程度上是由雇主主导的，这意味着那些签订零时合同的人和兼职工人——往往技能低下——将会错过机会。由此可推知，作者对再培训计划持怀疑态度。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中The global impact of automation is also put into relief by research demonstrating that, between 1988 and 2015, income inequality increased throughout the world.可知研究表明，1988年至2015年期间，世界各地的收入不平等现象加剧，这也让自动化对全球的影响得到了缓解。由此可推知，作者认为自动化的一个后果是收入不平等加剧。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据文章标题Upskilling is the future—but it must work for everyone(技能提升是未来的趋势，但它必须适用于每个人)结合文章主要说明了自动化和就业替代将是未来几十年全球经济面临的最重大挑战之一，而要应对这一趋势，当务之急是提高自身技能，尤其是跨部门跳槽所需的广泛技能。文章说明了再培训项目存在的问题，指出除了气候变化，自动化可以说是科技面临的最大挑战。就像全球化一样，政府和雇主——以及美国工人——忽视了全球化对我们自身的潜在影响。由此可推知，这篇文章是为了强调提高工人技能的重要性。故选D。