2 . Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economist s predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of automation. But could even the admired profession of teaching soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
At first glance, teaching might seem impossible to be replaced by robots. Teachers use a range of soft skills that machines find hard to copy exactly. They judge pupils’ needs and tailor feedback accordingly. They adapt materials to make them more engaging and effective. And they provide kind care: looking out for students who drop behind or disturb the class.
Despite that, some believe the future of education will be technological. Futurist Thomas Frey, from Business Insider magazine, 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 (压缩) an entire undergraduate degree into six months of learning. A bot learns what your “idiosyncrasies” “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 inspiration of a classroom environment, the majority of students fail to complete online courses. How to keep 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 accept change, even though people will lose their jobs.
1. What’s the second paragraph mainly about?
| A．Teaching by robots can be replaced. | B．The advantages of face-to-face teaching. |
| C．Human teachers will be replaced by robots. | D．The potential of the electronic educators. |
2. What does the underlined word “idiosyncrasies” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?
| A．Personalities. | B．Senses. | C．Nationalities. | D．Families. |
3. Why are Udemy and Khan Academy mentioned?
| A．To tell how online learning is progressing. | B．To show the significance of online learning. |
| C．To explain people how online learning works. | D．To suggest the shortcomings of online learning. |
4. What might be talked about following the last paragraph?
| A．How robots will change in the future. | B．How artificial intelligence will destroy jobs. |
| C．How educators will meet the future challenge. | D．How electronic educators will lose their jobs. |
