Will Robots Put Us All on the Unemployment Line?

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is blamed for saying he’s “not worried at all” about robots displacing American workers. Yet he’s spot on: Robots will soon launch a productivity boom, leading to improved economic growth, higher wages and a higher standard of living. Just what America needs after a decade dragging along at 2 percent growth.

Scaremongers (危言聳聽者) who warn that robots steal jobs are failing to predict the jobs of the future. A hotel worker who makes room-service deliveries today may instead be monitoring or repairing delivery robots. Not to mention the new jobs in every field that will come with a booming economy, predict PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants. Robots are our friends.

And there’s no going back^ contrary to the view of Bill Gates. The tech billionaire wants to put the brakes on the next innovation boom. He’s suggesting a heavy tax to punish robots in the workplace. Complete foolishness.

Economists have been complaining about the poor world economy, declaring what’s needed is a technological breakthrough. Well, here it is — assuming politicians don’t try to kill it.

Robotics has already taken hold in manufacturing, especially the auto industry. These machines are so efficient (高效的) that US factories are producing more with fewer workers on the assembly (裝配) line. That gain in productivity translates into higher wages for the remaining factory workers and lower prices for consumers.

If President Trump succeeds in bringing auto jobs back to the United States, they won’t be the same routine, repeated tasks that assembly line workers had in the past. These new jobs will require knowledge of computer-aided design and other complex engineering issues.

The same goes for the service field, like supermarket and warehousing. A surprising 94 percent of CEOs using robots say they’ve increased productivity. The end result: fewer jobs for unskilled workers, though in all possibility more jobs overall as the economy grows, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Message to politicians: Focus on workplace readiness. It beats trying to block technological progress—a vain attempt to protect yesterday’s jobs.

The economy booms when businesses, not politicians, call the shots on technology. Welcoming robots will create more goods and services, a bigger pie for all to share. Skills training will help everyone get a piece of the pie.

1.Who may agree that robots won’t put us all on the unemployment line?

A. Steven Mnuchin. B. Scaremongers.

C. Bill Gates. D. Politicians.

2.Why are robots widely used in manufacturing?

A. They are productive. B. They are our friends.

C. Workers will earn more money. D. Workers can’t do skilled tasks.

3.What does PricewaterhouseCooper indicate?

A. More workers will lose their jobs.

B. Everybody should be retrained to gain new skills.

C. More jobs will be created due to the growth of economy.

D. High productivity leads to higher wages for all people.

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards the application of robots?

A. Supportive. B. Respectful.

C. Doubtful. D. Negative.

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語 來源:甘肅省蘭州市2016-2017學(xué)年高二下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷 題型:書面表達(dá)

假設(shè)你是Kate, 上周,你班召開了一次班會(huì),下面是你班班會(huì)上以“中學(xué)生是否能佩帶手機(jī)”為題進(jìn)行討論的情況。請(qǐng)你寫一封信給21st Century報(bào)的編輯說明該情況,并表明你自己的觀點(diǎn)。

注意:1、所列的要點(diǎn)可做參考,但不要逐句翻譯;

2、字?jǐn)?shù)約100字;

3、信的開頭和結(jié)尾已寫好

4、生詞:輻射radiation 奢侈的luxurious 親戚relative

比例:40%學(xué)生贊同 60%學(xué)生不贊同

理由:1、便于同親友聯(lián)系; 1、手機(jī)輻射對(duì)人體健康有害;

2、可以上網(wǎng)查資料; 2、響鈴影響自己和他人學(xué)習(xí);

3、空余時(shí)間玩玩游戲調(diào)節(jié)大腦; 3、屬奢侈品;

4、存儲(chǔ)有用信息。 4、容易引起相互攀比。

Dear Sir,

I'm writing to tell you that______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Best wishes.

Yours

Kate

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:湖南省冷水江市2016-2017學(xué)年高二下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷 題型:閱讀理解

For those who are tired doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app(application).

Strange though it may seem — “my wife already does that” was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week — Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install (安裝) a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them “smart”.

Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it’s Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.

The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owners are at work or on the bus.

Samsung says it’s not just something new — the app connection actually has some practical uses.

“If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go,” said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.

The company also says that with electricity rate(電價(jià))varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.

Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do —enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.

1.What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?

A. The machine will be a big success.

B. their wives like doing the laundry.

C. The machine is unrelated to their life.

D. This kind of technology is familiar to them.

2.What can we learn about the new laundry machines?

A. They can tell you when your clothes need washing

B. They can be controlled with a smartphone

C. They are difficult to operate

D. They are sold at a low price

3.We can conclude form Samsung’s statements that ___________.

A. the app connection makes life easier

B. it is better to dry clothes in the morning

C. smartphone can shorten the drying time

D. we should refresh clothes back at home

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. The laundry should be frequently checked

B. Lazy people like using such machines

C. Good technologies also cause problems

D. Television may help do the laundry.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:寧夏2016-2017學(xué)年高一下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷 題型:短文填空

The Internet is an amazing information resource. Students, teachers, and researchers use it as 1.searching tool. Journalists use it 2.(find) information for stories. Doctors use it to learn more about unfamiliar diseases and the  3.(late) medical development. When we are talking about it , it 4. (use) by ordinary people for shopping, banking, bill-paying, and communicating with family and friends. It has the magical power to connect one with people from5. countries and cultures. However,6. the Internet has many advantages , there are also certain fears and concerns connected with it.One concern relates to a lack of control over 7.

appears on the Internet. On television and radio there are  restrictions (限制)on what kinds of programs can  be broadcast ,8. on the Internet it is not the case. Parents cannot determine what is suitable 9.their children to see because the 10. (appear) of any information is not under their control.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:福建省寧德市2017屆高三畢業(yè)班第二次質(zhì)量檢查英語試卷 題型:書面表達(dá)

假如你是李華,約好陪你校外教Mrs. Wilson到中國(guó)最美十大海島之一崳山島(Yushan Island)游玩,因故不能踐約,另安排李明同學(xué)陪同。請(qǐng)你給她寫封郵件,表示歉意并說明 理由。

注意:1.詞數(shù)100左右;

2.可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié),使行文連貫。

Dear Mrs. Wilson,

I’m Li Hua.______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:湖北省2016-2017學(xué)年高二5月階段檢測(cè)英語試卷 題型:短文改錯(cuò)

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文,請(qǐng)你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯(cuò)誤,每句中最多有兩處。錯(cuò)誤僅涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加:在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧),并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除:把多余的詞用(\)劃掉。

修改:在錯(cuò)的詞下畫一橫線,并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意:1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞;

2. 只允許修改10處,多者(從第11處起)不計(jì)分。

A motto is a short statement given a rule on how to behave, which can inspire us especially when we faced with difficulties. Many of us have our motto, such as “Where there is a will, there is a way” or “Nothing is difficult if you put your heart into it”, and so on. My motto is “God helps those who help them.” Sometimes I am lazy and don’t want to make efforts, but at the moment I think of my motto I will get energetic again and devote myself to that I am doing. I write my motto where I can see it easy. Every time I fail in my exam and begin to lose heart, a sight of my motto inspires me with much confidence. However, my motto also makes me become an independent person.

My friends, unless you don’t have a motto, please choose one because a motto can have a great effect on you.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:湖北省2016-2017學(xué)年高二5月階段檢測(cè)英語試卷 題型:閱讀理解

Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman.

A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his aim is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock (有現(xiàn)貨的), the business of trying it on follows at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone’s satisfaction.

For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants, or does not have exactly what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else. No good salesman brings out a substitute impolitely; he does so with skill: “I know this jacket is not the style you want, Sir, but would you like to try it on for size? It happens to be the color you mentioned.” Few men have patience with this treatment, and the usual response is: “This is the right color and may be the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.”

Now how does a woman buy clothes? In almost every aspect she does so in the opposite way. Her shopping is not often based on need. She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She is always open to persuasion; indeed she is influenced by what the saleswoman tells her, even by what companions tell her. She will try on any number of things. What she wants is to find something that everyone thinks suits her. Contrary to a lot of jokes, most women have an excellent sense of value when they buy clothes. They are always on the lookout for the unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend hours going from one shop to another, to and fro. It is a tiring process, but apparently an enjoyable one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

1.The underlined sentence “the price is a secondary consideration” in the second paragraph means when a man is shopping .

A. he buys things without considering its price

B. he buys whatever he likes without considering its value

C. he buys things of good quality even if they are very dear

D. he cares about whether the thing is what he needs first and then the price

2.What does a man do when he can not get exactly what he wants?

A. He usually does not buy anything.

B. So long as the style is right, he buys the thing.

C. He buys a similar thing because of the color he wants.

D. At least two of his requirements must be met before he buys.

3.What does the passage tell us about women shoppers for clothes?

A. Women rarely consider buying cheap clothes.

B. They welcome suggestions from almost anyone.

C. They try to buy clothes for more than its real value.

D. Women buy things without giving the matter proper thought.

4.What is the main difference between men and women shoppers?

A. Women buy more clothes than men.

B. Women bargain for their clothes, but men do not.

C. Men go shopping based on need, but women often not.

D. Men do not try clothes on in a shop while women do.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:天津市南開區(qū)2017屆高考三模英語試卷 題型:單項(xiàng)填空

more energy to my study instead of being crazy about Interact games, I would be sitting in a comfortable office now.

A. If I devoted B. Had I devoted

C. Would I be devoted D. Should I be devoted

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:內(nèi)蒙古2016-2017學(xué)年高二下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷 題型:書面表達(dá)

假設(shè)你叫李華,是一名高三學(xué)生。你將參加某所著名大學(xué)的自主招生考試。根據(jù)要求,你需要用英語寫一封自薦信,介紹自己的情況。你的自薦信包括如下內(nèi)容:

1、自我介紹和寫信的目的;

2、你自身的優(yōu)勢(shì)和未來的打算;

3、報(bào)考這個(gè)學(xué)校的原因;

4、希望能被錄取。

注意:1、詞數(shù)為100左右;

2、可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié),以使行文連貫。

Dear Sir or Madam ,

I’m Li Hua ._______________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I sincerely hope you will consider this application .

Yours ,

Li Hua

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案