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Among the annoying challenges facing the middl

2022-08-07 18:33:19 问答库 阅读 182 次

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Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably gounmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for theirjobs?
Don‘t dismiss that possibility entirely About half of U.S jobs are at high risk of beingautomated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionatelysqueezed Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don’t appeal to robots But manymiddle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have arousedtheir interest, or soon will The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.
This isn‘t to be alarmist Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefitedworkers in the past The Industrial Revolution didn’t go so well for Luddites whose jobs weredisplaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobsthan it destroyed Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulatedemand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work But in the mediumterm, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.
The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age,should be rethinking education and job training Curriculums —from grammar school tocollege- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complexcommunication Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skillsand helping students work alongside robots Online education can supplement the traditionalkind It could make extra training and instruction affordable Professionals trying to acquirenew skills will be able to do so without going into debt.
The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S to revive itsfading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier In previous eras ofdrastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways tocombine labor and machines The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven‘t beeninvented yet The U.S needs the new companies that will invent them.
Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and laborincome, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought Taxes on low-wage labor need tobe cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: Thiswould boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduceinequality.
Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this willbe little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation Destroyingthe machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts But policies to help workers adapt willbe indispensable.
Who will be most threatened by automation?
A.Leading politicians
B.Low-wage laborers
C.Robot owners
D.Middle-class workers
Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis onA.creative potential
B.job-hunting skills
C.individual needs
D.cooperative spirit
Which of the following best represent the author’s view?A.Worries about automation are in fact groundless
B.Optimists‘ opinions on new tech find little support
C.Issues arising from automation need to be tackled
D.Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided
The author suggests that tax policies be aimed atA.encouraging the development of automation
B.increasing the return on capital investment
C.easing the hostility between rich and poor
D.preventing the income gap from widening
In this text, the author presents a problem withA.opposing views on it
B.possible solutions to it
C.its alarming impacts
D.its major variations请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析,谢谢!

参考答案

问题 1 答案解析:D

根据题干中“threatned”和“automation”定位到第一段首句“the annoyi-ngchallenge facing the middle class is one thatfor their jobs”中的 challenge 和第二段的最后三句话,可以得知相对于低收入者和富人,中产阶级受到的冲击最大



问题 2 答案解析:A
根据题干中的关键词可定位到第四段第二句“Curriculums—from grammar schoolto college—should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complexcommunication”由该句可知,课程应该更关注创造性和复杂的沟通而非记忆事实所以,应该选 C 选项 creative potential(创造潜能),同义替换为 creativity

问题 3 答案解析:C
根据题干可定位到第三段中的首句“this isn’t to be alarmist”和末句“Butmiddle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting”,but 转折句再一次强调了作者的观点,即中产阶级工人需要很多帮助来调整应对问题同时,末句中”may need a lot of help”同义替换成选项 C 中的“need to be tackled”,自动化带来的问题需要被解决,得出 C 答案

问题 4 答案解析:D
该题考查作者的观点,根据题干中的关键词可定位到第六段第一句“Finally,because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income,taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought”由该句可知,由于自动化加大了资本收入和劳动力收入的差距,所以应该重新考虑税收和安全网(保障措施),即税收政策应该避免收入差距扩大,选 D 选项 preventing the income gap from widening

问题 5 答案解析:B
作者在文章第一、二段提出问题“中产阶级受自动化危害最大”之后,第三段的末尾句提出中产阶级需要帮助去适应自动化的发展,接下来第四段至第六段介绍解决方法,最后一段表明作者观点所以应该选 B 选项 possible solutions to it(解决问题的相应方法)

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