Question

From self-driving cars to carebots (care+robots) for elderly people, rapid development in technology has long represented a possible threat to many jobs normally performed by people. But experts now believe that almost 50 percent of occupations existing today will be completely unnecessary by 2025 as artificial intelligence continues to change businesses.

“The next fifteen years will see a revolution in how we work, and a revolution will necessarily take place in how we plan and think about workplaces,” said Peter Andrew, Director of Workplace Strategy for CBRE Asia Pacific.

A growing number of jobs in the future will require creative intelligence, social skills and the ability to use artificial intelligence.

The report is based on interviews with 200 experts, business leaders and young people from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. It shows that in the US technology already destroys more jobs than it creates.

But the report states: “Losing occupations does not necessarily mean losing jobs — just changing what people do.” Growth in new jobs could occur as much, according to the research.

“The growth of 20 to 40 person companies that have the speed and technological know-how will directly challenge big companies,” it states.

A 2014 report by Pew Research found 52 percent of experts in artificial intelligence and robotics were optimistic about the future and believed there would still be enough jobs in the next few years. The optimists pictured “a future in which robots do not take the place of more jobs than they create,” according to Aaron Smith, the report's co-author.

“Technology will continue to affect jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change,” Microsoft's Jonathan Grudin told researchers.

1.According to the report, _____.

A. people won't necessarily lose jobs

B. big companies will face fewer challenges

C. small companies will win against big companies

D. most people will become interested in technology

2.We can infer from the text that in the future _____.

A. people will face many difficulties

B. people will take up more creative jobs

C. artificial intelligence will threaten people's lives

D. most jobs will be done in traditional workplaces

3.What is the attitude of most experts in artificial intelligence and robotics to the future?

A. Mixed.        B. Worried.        C. Hopeful.        D. Doubtful.

4.Jonathan Grudin's words in the last paragraph suggest that _____.

A. there will be enough jobs for people

B. things will change a lot in a few years

C. many people will become unemployed

D. technology will totally change future jobs

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了未来社会的人工智能大发展，大约50%的职业将消失，但失去职业并不等于丢掉工作，只是改变了人们做的是什么，更多的新工作会被创造出来。

1. 主旨大意题。文章主要讲人工智能的发展会对人们未来生活产生影响，很多职业将会消失，但失去职业并不等于丢掉工作，只是改变了人们做的是什么，人们将会从事更具创造性的工作。故选A。

2. 推理判断题。根据对文章大意的理解，人们将会从事更具创造性的工作。故选B。

3. 细节推理题。根据第五段But the report states: “Losing occupations does not necessarily mean losing jobs — just changing what people do.” Growth in new jobs could occur as much, according to the research.可知，这些专家们对未来充满了希望。故选C。

4. 推理判断题。根据文章“Technology will continue to affect jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs可知，技术会持续影响人们的工作，但与此同时，更多的工作也会被创造出来。故选A。

【名师点睛】

科普类文章是高考英语的常考题材，这类文章的总体特点是：科技词汇多，句子结构复杂，理论性强，逻辑严谨。具体说来它有以下几个特点：1. 文章中词汇的意义比较单一、稳定、简明，不带感情色彩，具有单一性和准确性的特点。这类文章通常不会出现文学英语中采用的排比、比喻、夸张等修辞手法，一词多义的现象也不多见。2. 句子结构较复杂，语法分析较困难。为了描述一个客观事物，严密地表达自己的思想，作者经常会使用集多种语法现象于一体的长句。3. 常使用被动语态，尤其是一些惯用被动句式。

三、命题特点科普类阅读的主要命题形式有事实细节题、词义猜测题、推理判断题以及主旨概括题等，其中推理判断题居多。

四、应对策略1. 要想做好科普英语阅读理解题，同学们就要注意平时多读科普知识类文章，学习科普知识，积累常见的科普词汇，从根本上提高科普英语的阅读能力。2. 要熟悉科普类文章的结构特点。科普类文章一般由标题(Headlines)，导语(Introductions)，背景( Background)，主体(Main body)和结尾(Ends)五部分构成。标题是文章中心思想高度而又精辟的概括，但根据历年的高考真题情况来看，这类阅读理解材料一般不给标题，而要同学们选择标题。导语一般位于整篇文章的首段。背景交待一个事实的起因。主体则对导语概括的事实进行详细叙述。这一部分命题往往最多，因此，阅读时，同学们要把这部分作为重点。结尾往往也是中心思想的概括，并与导语相呼应，命题者常在此要设计一道推理判断题。3. 在进行推理判断时，同学们一定要以阅读材料所提供的科学事实为依据，同时所得出的结论还应符合基本的科普常识。

考点：科普说明类阅读理解