Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economists predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of robots. Those most at risk are physical labor, such as factory workers. But could even teachers soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
At first sight, it might seem impossible for teachers to be replaced by robots. Teachers use a lot of soft skills that machines find hard to copy. They judge pupil’s needs and adapt materials to make them more engaging(有趣的) and effective. And they provide special care: looking out for students who drop behind or make trouble in class.
Anyhow, some believe the future of education will be technological. In an interview, the futurist Thomas predicts that “by 2030 the largest company on the Internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet”.
He thinks that online robot teachers will make education so efficient that students will be able to finish an entire undergraduate degree in six months of learning. A robot teacher learns what your character, interests and reference points are, and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time, according to Thomas.
Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in online learning. Many companies produce courses that allow millions of people to learn at home for free, at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face stimulation(激励) of a classroom environment, most of the students fail to complete online courses. How to stimulate students to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
Indeed, Thomas admits there is some way to go and he thinks that we should hug the change, even though people will lose their jobs.
1. What seems to make it hard for robots to replace teachers at first sight?| A．The various teaching materials. |
| B．The teacher’s character. |
| C．The teacher’s emotion. |
| D．The soft teaching skills. |
| A．Robots can hardly replace all teachers. |
| B．Half of teaching jobs will be replaced by robots. |
| C．Robot teachers will make teaching more effective. |
| D．Online education-based companies will decrease. |
| A．The teaching approaches are limited. |
| B．The explanations are mostly difficult. |
| C．Students don’t learn at their own pace. |
| D．Students won’t get face-to-face stimulation. |
| A．The Job Threat of the Future | B．The Robot Teacher of the Future |
| C．The Trend of Future Education | D．The Future of Online Learning |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Wanted: “Golden taste buds” and a very sweet tooth
What if you’ve got to eat candy all day for your job?
There is a job that can include these duties, which is called being a “taste tester”. The Candy Funhouse is a candy company in Canada. Right now, it is hiring a taste tester. The job’s name is “chief candy officer”.
Candy Funhouse put up an ad for the job. The ad says the chief candy officer will be in charge of “all things fun”, so it’s special. The person who gets this job will have to like eating candy. Do you know how much? More than 100 pieces a day on average!
Even Kids Can Apply
Many people think this job sounds pretty fun. The job is even open to kids! Are you 5 or older? Then you can apply!
Do you want this job? If you say yes, you need “golden taste buds (味蕾)”and “an obvious sweet tooth”, the ad says. You cannot be allergic to anything. You also need ideas about how to sell more candy, or how to make the candy better.
The company wants someone with a great sense of taste, though it will also provide some training.
This is because taste testers need to know a lot about food for their job.
Taste Testing Isn’t Just Eating Candy
As a taste tester for a candy company, you have to know how to talk about taste. You also have to understand different textures (口味). A texture is the way something feels when you eat it. For example, the texture of toast is sharp, firm and fresh. The texture of yoghurt is smooth. All in all, taste testers do more than eat candy. They should be aware of how to make sure their company has high-quality products.
1. What makes the job special?| A．Needing a lot of tests. | B．Being full of fun. |
| C．Suiting children under 5. | D．Focusing on sweet food. |
| A．An entertainer. | B．A salesman. | C．A sweet lover. | D．A career cook. |
| A．Telling taste apart. | B．Selling products. |
| C．Making things fun. | D．Offering training. |
【推荐2】Are you looking for meaningful travel opportunities that put the focus on the protection of easily damaged ecosystems and threatened ocean species? This program is well suited to volunteers who want to help with the coral reef species monitoring, turtle species recovery and weekly beach plastic removal.
Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, unless volunteering with a friend or family member who is 18 or older. You aren't required to have any specialized experience, as you'll receive detailed training to prepare for carrying out research-based activities. Please note that you need to be able to float and swim at least 50 meters. Please be sure to rate your swimming ability when you apply to volunteer in Australia. All volunteers will be tested upon arrival.
Volunteer schedule
First Day: On your first day of volunteering, you will be accompanied to your project by our local staff.
Weekdays: A typical volunteer day is as follows. Volunteers typically work in morning and afternoon shifts (轮班) that last around 3 to 5 hours each.
7:30 am Breakfast at the volunteer accommodation.
8:00 am Volunteers leave home and travel to their project.
8:30 am-1:00 pm Volunteer work and a lunch break.
1:00 pm-3:30 pm Volunteer work.
6:30 pm Dinner at the volunteer accommodation.
Please note this schedule will vary depending on the needs of your particular project. To ensure the safety of our volunteers and respect for others in the volunteer apartment, a curfew(宵禁) of 11:00 pm has been put in place from Sunday to Thursday and a 2:00 am curfew for Friday and Saturday.
1. What can volunteers do in this project?| A．Do daily beach clean-ups. | B．Count the number of reefs. |
| C．Conduct research on ecosystems. | D．Help increase turtle population. |
| A．Previous training experience. | B．Enough professional knowledge. |
| C．Some swimming ability. | D．Being accompanied by an adult. |
| A．Volunteers only work about half day. |
| B．Volunteers must follow the fixed schedule. |
| C．Volunteers have all meals at the accommodation. |
| D．Volunteers are guided by the local staff every day. |
| PAINTER Must have at least 3 years painting experience. Commercial and new construction work. $ 10/hr. Immediate opening. Call 4359201 with work history. | COOK NEEDED Immediately. Busy downtown restaurant. Must be good and dependable. Experience preferred. Weekends required. Call 3249817. |
| SECRETARY Part-time position available in friendly, busy office. Good typing and general of fice skills. Some weekends required. High pay. Various duties. Apply (申请) at East Side Man-agement, 500 Park Drive, DeWitt, NY.13214. | HOTEL needs part-time FRONT DESK CLERK No experience necessary. Excellent people and phone skills a must. Some computer skills helpful. $13/ hr. Call: Mr. Jones 3572897. |
| NURSES' ASSISTANTS Fulltime and part-time positions available for modern nursing home. High pay. Send resume to: 19 South 8th St. NY. | TEACHER Small private school needs English and maths teachers. Must have BS degree and at least 4 years teaching experience. Call Mrs. Downs 5347618. |
| A．4359201 | B．3572897 | C．3249817 | D．5347618 |
| A．painter | B．teacher | C．secretary | D．cook |
| A．FRONT DESK CLERK. | B．TEACHER. |
| C．SECRETARY. | D．PAINTER. |
【推荐1】Ludwig van Beethoven wrote many famous pieces of music in his life, but he’s probably best known for his nine symphonies (交响曲).
When Beethoven died in 1827, he had some ideas for a 10th Symphony. But all that he left behind were some notes about the piece and a few sketches. In 2019, a special team of musicians, and computer. They wanted to complete Beethoven’s 10th Symphony to celebrate his 250th birthday. The team didn’t just want to complete the symphony. They wanted to come as close as possible to producing the symphony that Beethoven meant to write. That was where deep learning came in.
To train an AI to help with the symphony, the team turned every piece of music that Beethoven ever wrote into a form the computer could understand. By feeding the program all of Beethoven’s music, the AI could look for patterns in the way Beethoven wrote.
Other members of the team studied Beethoven’s notes and sketches, and worked to figure out what Beethoven was planning to do. Where in the symphony did he plan to use each little bit of music that he left?
One early test told the team they were on the right track. They took a few minutes of music created by the AI based on the short bits of music left by Beethoven, and played it for Beethoven experts, musicians, and reporters. No one could tell which parts had been written by Beethoven and which parts the AI made up.
Finally, the AI had the challenge of trying to connect the little musical bits into a symphony.
It took over two years, but the team was able to complete Beethoven’s 10th Symphony. So Beethoven now has a 10th Symphony. And though Beethoven didn’t write it all, the team feels sure that the music is very much like what he might have written, if he had had the chance.
1. What does the underlined word “That” in paragraph 3 refer to?| A．How to improve Beethoven’s symphonies. |
| B．How to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday. |
| C．How to complete Beethoven’s 10th Symphony quickly. |
| D．How to express Beethoven’s original thought accurately. |
| A．The team did a good job. | B．The AI was a good help to create music. |
| C．Beethoven’s 10th Symphony was worth making. | D．The newly-created music was beyond comparison. |
| A．The AI Is Applied to Playing Classic Music |
| B．The Process of Beethoven’s Creation of Music |
| C．Beethoven’s Last but the Most Famous Symphony |
| D．Musicians Use AI to Help Finish Beethoven’s Music |
Do you dream of exploring space someday? You can now begin locally—just buy a ticket to the newly opened Shanghai Astronomy Museum. As the largest of its kind in the world, the museum makes a new space to lead visitors on a true-to-life tour around the universe. That sounds cool, doesn’t it?
Four Ordinary People Flew into Space
A group of four ordinary people (普通人) flew into space in the first space mission (任务) with no professional astronauts. The four remained in space, circling the Earth for three days. Though this was the first “all amateur (业余者)” flight, it’s clear that the members had a lot of knowledge and experience which was helpful. They had also had a quick astronaut training course.
Plane travel used to be very expensive, but now many people may afford it. It opens up space for ordinary tourists.
Robot Wolves Scare Away Bears
A town in Japan is using robot wolves to keep bears away. The robots, known as “Monster Wolves”, look like real wolves, only scarier. They’re meant to scare away unwanted wild animals. Since the town began using the robot wolves, there have been no bears.
1. What can you do in the Shanghai Astronomy Museum?
| A．Have a dream of exploring space. |
| B．Experience a true-to-life space trip. |
| C．Learn to be an astronaut. |
| A．2 days | B．3 days | C．4 days |
| A．To keep the bears away. | B．To make people scared. | C．To keep real wolves away. |
| A．they had a lot of experience | B．many people can afford space travel |
| C．they had no quick astronaut training courses. | |
| A．space | B．nature | C．technology |
【推荐3】Iron Cooks
Robots have arrived in American restaurants and hotels for the same reasons they first arrived on factory floors.
“We think we’ve hit the point where labor-wage rates are now making automation of those tasks make a lot more sense,” Bob Wright, the chief operations officer of the fast-food chain Wendy’s, said in a conference call with investors last February, referring to jobs that feature “repetitive production tasks.” Wendy’s and McDonald’s are in the process of installing self-service kiosks in locations across the country, allowing customers to order without ever talking to an employee.
How many employees, though, do you need working in the café?
The experience of Eatsa may be instructive. The start-up restaurant, based in San Francisco, allows customers to order its quinoa bowls and salads on their smartphone or an in-store tablet and then pick up their order from a white wall of cubbies — an Automat for the app age. Initially, two greeters were stationed alongside the cubbies to welcome and direct customers.
| A．The early success of the kiosks suggests that, at least when ordering fast food, customers prize speed over high-touch customer service. |
| B．Business owners insist that robots will take over work that is dirty, dangerous, or just dull, enabling humans to focus on other tasks. |
| C．The better hope for workers might be that automation helps the food-service industry continue to develop. |
| D．But over time, customers relied less frequently on the greeters. |
| E．The cost of machines has fallen significantly in recent years, dropping 40 percent since 2005. |
| F．This has typically been the story of automation: Technology eliminates old jobs, but it also creates new ones. |
【推荐1】Traveling to China is the dream of many people but it is important to be aware that the Chinese culture is different from Western cultures. So before arriving in China, make sure that you understand the Chinese traditions.
The eldest comes first
In China, it is a big deal to respect the eldest one in the family. The Chinese have a great respect for their parents and grandparents. So if you are introduced to someone in a place full of people, always address the oldest person first, and do the same when you are leaving.
The host pays the bill
If you are invited to a restaurant by your Chinese friends, be prepared to eat and drink for free. And if you invite them, also be ready to pay all the bill on your own. And it is not polite if you don’t offer to pay it in full if you are the host.
Be aware of the chopsticks rules
Believe it or not, there are several traditions and rules involving chopsticks in China. So never stick them straight up to your rice, never drum (敲打) them, or have them in your hands while making a gesture.
Check if your gift isn’t on the bad-luck list
If you are offering a gift to a Chinese friend, be aware that there are many items considered to bring bad luck to them, such as clocks, umbrellas, scissors and knives. Presents should be given with both hands and never be wrapped in white.
1. Who is the most respected in social life in China?| A．A millionaire. | B．A senior citizen. |
| C．A wise man. | D．A powerful leader. |
| A．Making a gesture by using chopsticks. |
| B．Opening the gift as soon as you receive it. |
| C．Offering to pay the meal in full if you are the host. |
| D．Paying for the bill when you are invited to a dinner. |
| A．Restaurant staff. | B．The assistants in the gift stores. |
| C．The hosts of a party. | D．Exchange students to China. |
【推荐2】①Beat the Crowds
Look up where you want to shop today on Google Maps, and it will display a bar graph of the busiest times for that store. You can also look at other days of the week to see how traffic patterns change. Google gathers data from specific stores, so you can compare how busy the various Targets or Walmarts in your area are on any given day.
②Shut Down Stress
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, step outside－or open a window. Researchers say getting more oxygen to the brain is a quick and effective stress reliever. “Taking in a deep breath of fresh air can immediately shift your neuro-chemistry,” says Deborah Serani, PsyD, a psychology professor at Adelphi University and the author of Living with Depression. The American Psychological Association recommends the fresh air approach too.
③Protect Your Fingers When Hammering
Ouch! You just hammered your finger instead of the tiny nail you were trying to pound into that piece of wood. To keep this from happening again, before you start hammering, stick the nail through a small piece of thin cardboard. Position the nail and holding the cardboard by the edges hit it home. When you’re finished, tear away the protective cardboard.
④Clean Your Charging Port
When you stuff your phone into your pocket or purse, dust can get caught in the charging port, causing problems with charging. Similarly, dirt in the headphone jack can make it malfunction. If you are careful, you can clear any dirt with a toothpick. To keep an opening, insert a dust plug(a package of them cost less than $10 on Amazon.
1. What section of a magazine presents the above four pieces of information?| A．Quotable Quotes | B．Cover Story |
| C．Drama in Real Life | D．We Found a Fix |
| A．①③ | B．②③ | C．①④ | D．②④ |
| A．Have a break and go outdoors. | B．Take advantage of Google to shop online. |
| C．Wrap your fingers while hammering. | D．Buy phone cleaner on Amazon. |
【推荐3】Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.
1. The writer tends to think that_____________.| A．choose a good dictionary, and you’ll be successful in learning English |
| B．dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English |
| C．it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly |
| D．using dictionaries very often can’t help to improve writing |
| A．Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English. |
| B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries. |
| C．Small two-language dictionaries have serious defects (缺陷). |
| D．Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries. |
| A．that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
| B．what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries |
| C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
| D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
| A．How to make good use of a dictionary. | B．When to use a dictionary. |
| C．How to improve spoken English. | D．How to practise reading fast. |
