【推荐2】Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?

Don’t dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S.jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately (不成比例的) squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don’t appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations — trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.

This isn't to be alarmist (杞人忧天的). Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past.The Industrial Revolution didn’t go so well for Luddites (反对技术进步分子) whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms (织布机), but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.

The first step, as Erik Bryn and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums — from grammar school to college — should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools (职业学校) should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new 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 its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven’t been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.

Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.

Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.

1. Who will be most threatened by automation?

A．Leading politicians.	B．Low-wage laborers.
C．Robot owners.	D．Middle-class workers.

2. What is the author’s attitude towards the future?

A．Optimistic.	B．Pessimistic.
C．Indifferent.	D．Objective.

3. Education in the age of automation should put more efforts on________.

A．creative potential	B．job-hunting skills
C．individual needs	D．cooperative spirit

4. Where can you most possibly see this passage?

A．Teens.	B．Future.
C．The sound of workers.	D．The revolution of science.

【推荐3】Life in the future will be different from the life today. Between then and now many changes will happen. But what will the changes be?

The population is growing fast. And most of them will live longer than people now.

Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in every room. And computer studies will be one of the important subjects in schools then. People will work fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and travel. Travelling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.

There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead, they will eat more fruits and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a big problem.

1. In the future there will be________.

A．fewer vegetables

B．much more fruit

C．more people

D．less people

2. In the future people don’t have to________.

A．walk on foot

B．work long hours

C．work fast

D．eat meat

3. People may not eat_________ as much as they do today.

A．fish

B．fruit

C．rice

D．meat

4. One big problem in the future is that________.

A．people will eat more fruits and vegetables

B．many people may not be able to find work

C．room for growing fruits and vegetables will reduce

D．all the work will be done by robots

【推荐1】Self-employed private physicians who charge a fee for each patient visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most physicians have a contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital, which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities(operating room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or, in the case of veteran's hospitals, a federal government agency. Others are operated by religious orders(教会) or other non-profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried physicians may work as hospital staff members, or residents, who are often still in training. They may teach in medical schools, be hired by corporations to care for their workers or work for the federal government's Public Health Service.
Physicians are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $ 100 000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Physicians list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a physician in the United States. Most would be physicians first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $ 20 000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Prospective physicians then attend medical school for four years. Tuition alone can exceed $ 10 000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young physicians are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in a hospital, the first year as an apprentice physician. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several physicians will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying equipment. These physicians also take care of each other's patients in emergencies.
Physicians work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite routine ones, involve risk. It is understandable that physicians want to be well rewarded for making decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.
1. According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by _______.

A．a church

B．a corporation

C．a city

D．a state

2. The expenses for becoming a doctor are spent on _______.

A．schooling and retraining	B．practice in a hospital
C．facilities he or she uses	D．education he or she receives

3. According to the passage, how long does it take for a would-be physician to become an independent physician in the USA?

A．About seven years.	B．Eight years.
C．Ten years.	D．About twelve years.

4. Sometimes several physicians set up a group medical practice mainly because _______.

A．there are so many patients that it is difficult for one physician to take care all of them

B．they can take turns to work long hours

C．facilities may be too much of a burden for one physician to shoulder

D．no one wants to assume too much responsibility

5. Which of the following statements could fully express the author's view towards physicians’ payment in the USA?

A．For their expensive education and their responsibility, they deserve a handsome pay.

B．It is reasonable for physicians to have a large income because their work is very dangerous.

C．Physicians should be better paid because they work long hours under bad conditions.

D．Physicians have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well rewarded.

【推荐2】France is a country of great food, great fashion, and great art. It is also the birthplace of various painting movements and has been home to the world's most influential painters.

Claude Monet

Claude Monet started the Impressionist movement that completely changed the face of French painting in the second half of the 19th century. He first started out with selling charcoal pictures in Paris and started painting with oil after meeting Eugene Boudin. Eugene, who taught him to use oil paints, also encouraged him to paint outdoors. Later he mastered the technique and painted with his own style.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was a post-Impressionist French painter of Dutch origin, whose work had a huge influence on the 20th century art. His early works consisted more of somber（忧伤的）earth tones. However, influenced by Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, and Bernard, he adopted brighter colors in his works, started experimenting with various techniques and formed his own one. Having produced more than 2,000 works of art, the artist sold only one painting during his lifetime-The Red Vineyard at Arles.

Edouard Manet

As one of the first artists to paint modern life, he began to paint in his own style, maintaining some of Couture's technique like the use of thick lines and dark colors. He was greatly influenced by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot, which can be seen in his use of light shades. Most of his paintings show scenes from daily life on the streets of Paris.

Camille Pissarro

In his early years, Pissarro painted scenes of rivers or paths from memory. After meeting Paul Cezanne, who shared his interest of painting in a more realistic style, he changed his course to Impressionism. During his career, he experimented with various styles and formed his own one.

1. Who was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement?

A．Claude Monet.

B．Vincent van Gogh.

C．Edouard Manet.

D．Camille Pissarro.

2. How do we know Edouard Manet was influenced by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot?

A．From his use of thick lines.	B．From his use of dark colors.
C．From his use of light shades.	D．From his paintings about daily life.

3. What did the four painters have in common?

A．They were all French origin.	B．They all learned to paint outdoors.
C．They were all taught by famous artists.	D．They all formed their own painting styles.

【推荐3】The province of Pescara surrounds the city of the same name and lies in the very centre of the region of Abruzzo. This is a part of Italy of remarkable beauty and with cultural riches, yet it has never been a major destination for international visitors, largely because the region is not very well served by international flight routes. However, many Italians make their way to the coast here in the summertime. Here are places to visit around the Pescara province.

The city of Pescara

The city of Pescara is the most famous today for being the birthplace of Gabriele D’ Annunzio, perhaps the greatest Italian writer of the modern times. It is a developed coastal resort (胜地) with several miles of popular sandy beaches and a range of summertime activities for all the family to enjoy.

Citta Sant’ Angelo

Lying just a few miles northwest of the city of Pescara in an area famous for the production of Montepulcianod’Abruzzowine, its main visitor attractions are the churches of San Michele Arcangelo and Santa Chiara.

Loreto Aprutino

Almost directly west of Pescara, and north of Bolognano, it is worth visiting just to see its wall painting of The Judgement, but this small town has many more to offer the visitor including the region’s pottery industry and some excellent olive oil.

Castiglione a Casauria

If you enjoy further southwest from Loreto Aprutino, you will come to Castiglione a Casauria and the remains of the 9th-century Abbey (修道院) of San Clemente.

1. Why did the Pescara province see fewer foreign tourists?

A．It is a place newly opened to the world.

B．Its climate is not well appropriate for them.

C．Most foreign tourists dislike its specific culture.

D．It is inconvenient for visitors to arrive in Pescara.

2. What do you know about the city of Pescara?

A．It has remains of the 9th-century Abbey.

B．It is one of the most attractive coastal cities.

C．It appeals to writers of the modern times.

D．It is near the Pescara province.

3. Which of the following will you choose to go to if you love art?

A．The city of Pescara.	B．Citta Sant’ Angelo.
C．Loreto Aprutino.	D．Castiglione a Casauria.