Your Robot Teacher of The Future
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 automation. Those most at risk involve repetitive manual labor, such as factory positions. But could even the venerable profession of teaching soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
At first glance, teaching might seem to be unaffected to replacement by robots. Teachers use a range of soft skills that machines find hard to replicate. They judge pupils’ needs and adapt feedback accordingly. They adapt materials to make them more attractive and effective. And they provide pastoral care: looking out for students who lag behind or disrupt the class.
Nonetheless, some believe the future of education will be technological. In an interview with BusinessInsider magazine, futurist Thomas Frey 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 “bots”—online robot teachers—will make education so efficient that students will be able to compress an entire undergraduate degree into six months of learning. A bot learns what your “interests” and “reference points” are, “and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time,” according to Frey.
Whether or not such incredible speeds will be reached, over the last decade there has been a huge increase in online learning platforms. Companies such as Udemy and Khan Academy produce courses that allow millions to learn at home for free at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face stimulation of a classroom environment, the overwhelming majority of students fail to complete online courses. How to sustain motivation to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
Indeed, Frey admits there is some way to go:“ Nobody has quite cracked the code for the future of education.” What do teachers themselves think about this? Professor Donald Clark from Derby University in the UK thinks that we should welcome change, even though people will lose their jobs.
“Artificial intelligence will destroy jobs—so why not use it for a social good such as learning?” he asked.
I have seen amazing things.
My first visit was to a space station considered the most modern in space. Described as an enormous round plate, it spins slowly in space to imitate the pull of the earth’s gravity. Inside was an exhibition of the most up-to-date inventions of the 31st century. A guide showed us around along a moveable path.
Guide: Good morning to all our visitors from 2008. First we’re going to examine one of the latest forms of communication among our space citizens! Messages can now be sent using a “thoughtpad”. You place the metal band over your head, clear your mind, press the sending button, think your message and the next instant it’s sent. It’s stored on the “thoughtpad” of the receiver. It’s quick, efficient and environmentally friendly. The only limitation is if the user does not think his or her message clearly, an unclear message may be sent. But we cannot blame the tools for the faults of the user, can we?
During the explanation I looked at the pair of small objects called “thoughtpad” on a table. They just looked like metal ribbon. So ordinary but so powerful! While I was observing them, the path moved us on.
Guide: And now ladies and gentlemen, we are in the “environment area”. People used to collect waste in dustbins. Then the rubbish was sent to be buried or burned, am I right?（We nodded.）Well, now there’s a system where the waste is disposed of using the principles of ecology. A giant machine, always greedy for more, swallows all the waste available. The rubbish is turned into several grades of useful material, such as “fertilizer” for the fields and “soil” for deserts. Nothing is wasted, and everything, even plastic bags is recycled. A great idea, isn’t it?
I stared at the moving of the waste machine, absorbed by its efficiency. But again we moved on.
Part 1
Our third stop shows the changes that have happened to work practices. Manufacturing no longer takes place on earth but on space stations like this one.
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Part 2
My mind began to wander. What job would I do? My motivation increased as I thought of the wonderful world of the future.
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如何克服失重条件下吃饭和喝水的问题：随身携带所有食物；外太空的重力很弱，如果食物是固体，就会到处漂浮，所以要特殊制作，可以放在软管中，这样就更容易吮吸，也可以用吸管。只有这样该问题才能解决。这样我也许能有一次快乐的旅行。
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最近，在一本英文旅游杂志上刊登了国际空间站(TSS-- International Space Station)将在2020年对游客开放的信息（见下表)。如果有可能（具备足够的时间和金钱)，你是否会去争取成为第一批游客。请谈谈你的理由。
Information About the Trip to ISS
Number of visitors 2 every year
Length of stay 30 days (at most)
Cost $ 27000 per night (stay)
$ 40 million (transport)
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Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Discussions about it are increasingly heated around the world.
The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved. Therefore, it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span( 寿命) can be prolonged.
Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families have genetic diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about genetic diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. Scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born.
Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to create human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning animals such as mice, sheep, and dogs; therefore, these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned( 克隆) and that it would be beyond control, leading to some disastrous consequences. But many believe that cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in a very normal way and they also believe the governments will control gene technology and make laws to make sure the gene technology will help improve our lives instead of harming us.
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注意：1.词数100左右；
2.开头已给出，不计入总词数；
3.可以适当发挥想象。
Good morning, everyone! It is my turn to make a speech here today.
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