【推荐1】If job seekers knew companies were using artificial intelligence to fill vacant positions, would it stop them from applying for the job?

The answer, according to a recent study, is yes sometimes. The researchers found that in certain instances, like the screening of applications, study participants usually accepted some degree of automation. But in other instances, like interviews, the study suggests, automation could discourage job seekers from applying for a position.

Companies faced with recent labor shortages are increasingly turning to AI as a way to facilitate and speed up the hiring process. AI can be used in such tasks as screening job applicants for basic qualifications, checking for professional certificates and licenses, evaluating video statements, interviewing candidates and conducting competence assessments.

Participants who saw a job posting stating that AI was used to both screen applicants and conduct interviews expected the hiring process to be more consistent in its judgments than those who saw postings with less AI involvement.

On the other hand, participants who were told the hiring would be fully automated tended to believe more than others that they had less voice in the final outcome. Overall, the study results suggest this concern tends to outweigh the appreciation of AI’s lack of prejudice at the interviewing stage.

“A hybrid approach where companies use AI in some tasks but not others may be a way to get the best of both worlds,” says Jenny Wesche, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Free University of Berlin. Participants may have been more open to automation earlier in the hiring process because they had little expectation of direct interaction at that stage and could see some benefits from using AI — such as less-prejudiced decisions and the avoidance of problems like nepotism (裙带关系), she says. But during the later stages, she suggests, applicants expect personal interaction, to give them an opportunity to sell themselves and to learn more about the company.

“AI is not essentially good or bad,” Dr. Wesche says. “It just very much depends on the context it’s used.”

1. What does the underlined word in the third paragraph mean?

A．simplify

B．qualify

C．classify

D．clarify

2. Using AI in the process of selecting applicants can lead to some outcomes, except ________.

A．more objective and consistent

B．less opportunity to express

C．higher efficiency of selecting applicants

D．being applauded by both sides

3. According to the last paragraph, which word can best describe Dr. Wesche’s attitude to the study?

A．subjective

B．objective

C．positive

D．negative

4. What can we infer from the whole text?

A．Younger applicants will be willing to accept AI.

B．Companies tend to use AI to save money.

C．AI will be employed based on the necessity of the process.

D．AI must be urgently improved to meet the job market.

【推荐2】Dr. Ellen Bronson of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore always wanted to work with animals. Unlike many animal- loving little girls, though, her first idea was to be a naturalist. If a naturalist is someone who sits in the woods and observes animals and takes notes, then that’s exactly what she was doing at the time. Dr. Bronson grew up “in the middle of now here”, and her parents didn’t let her watch TV. “So I spent a lot of time hanging out in the woods because there was not a lot to do otherwise,” she says. “I had a funny notebook that my parents still have, w here each page is about a certain animal.”

When she got a little older, being an animal doctor seemed like a better choice than working with animals in the forest, and the success in giving medical help to them satisfied her hugely, but she says that even the cases that don’t work out as well can be meaningful. “You also have the failures, which are hard at the time, but they help not just you but the whole zoo learn,” She says.

And, of course, another advantage of the job is getting to work with really cool animals. “I really like the animals that feed on meat — they’re very tough, and you can get them through hard times,” she says.

Finally, another advantage of her job is how often she gets to work with an animal over its life. “We’re there doing medical examination when they’re born, we watch them grow up,” she says. “And we watch them as they age. We help them age peacefully and help them be pain-free, and then we’re also there when they die. That is something very special.”

1. What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A．Giving animals medical help is always Ellen’s dream.

B．Even failures can also mean something to Ellen.

C．Failures in work are hard for Ellen to accept.

D．Observing animals gives Ellen greater satisfaction.

2. In her work with animals, she can .

A．earn fame and respect from her work.

B．realize her dream of becoming a naturalist.

C．take care of many animals from birth to death.

D．keep all the animals in peace and free from pain.

3. Which of the following best describes Dr. Bronson?

A．Generous.

B．Well-educated.

C．Grateful.

D．Caring.