1 . From self-driving cars to carebots for elderly people, rapid advances in technology have long represented a potential threat to many jobs normally performed by people.
But experts now believe that almost 50 per cent of occupations existing today will be completely unnecessary by 2025 as artificial intelligence continues to transform businesses. This could put some people’s livelihoods at risk.
“Experts predict that 50 per cent of occupations today will no longer exist by 2025 as people will take up more creative professions,” said Martin Chen, Chief Operating Officer of Genesis. “This means that jobs will develop and so will real estate development.”
Workspaces with rows of desks will become completely extra, not because they are not fit for purpose, but simply because that purpose no longer exists, according to the report. “The next fifteen years will see a revolution in how we work, and a corresponding revolution will necessarily take place on how we plan and think about workplaces,” said Peter Andrew, Director of Workplace Strategy for CBRE Asia Pacific.
A growing proportion of jobs in the future will require creativity intelligence, social skills and the ability to apply artificial intelligence. “And for most people that will be a route to happiness and fulfillment,” the report states.
Data in the US suggests that technology already destroys more jobs than it creates, as GDP has been able to grow faster than employment since 2000. A 2014 report by Pew Research found 52 per cent of experts in artificial and robotics were optimistic about the future and believed there would still be enough jobs in the next few decades.
The optimists imagined “a future in which robots and digital agents do not replace more jobs than they create,” Microsoft’s Jonathan Grudin told researchers that: “Technology will continue to break up jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change.”
1. What will put some people’s livelihood at risk in fifteen years of time?| A．Self-driving cars and carebots. |
| B．Artificial intelligence. |
| C．Business. |
| D．Real estate. |
| A．There will be no purpose of using the desks. |
| B．The desks will no longer be fit for the purpose. |
| C．The office revolution will make people rethink about their work. |
| D．The development of technology removes the need for desks. |
| A．Most jobs in the future use high technology. |
| B．More and more jobs focus of happiness and fulfillment. |
| C．More and more jobs are focusing on artificial intelligence. |
| D．Most jobs will require social ability to communicate with others. |
| A．There will be billions of people in fifteen years of time. |
| B．Enough jobs will be created for everyone to choose from. |
| C．People needn’t worry about their jobs in the future. |
| D．Robots and digital agents create more jobs than they destroy. |
| A．2025, A Jobless World. |
| B．2025, Robots Leave Humans Unemployed. |
| C．There Will Be No Desks in Future. |
| D．Half of Our Jobs Will Be Unnecessary by 2025. |
1. What is the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Classmates. |
| B．Teacher and student. |
| C．Customer and shop assistant. |
| A．In a clothes shop. | B．In a shoe shop. | C．In a bookshop. |
| A．Tired. | B．Pleased. | C．Interested. |
3 . I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career．
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career．
I then found myself a job — looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification (资格证书) if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience meant a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten whenever available.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.
1. What is the author’s present job?| A．Working part-time in a college. |
| B．Taking care of children for a family. |
| C．Attending children at a kindergarten. |
| D．Helping children with their schoolwork. |
| A．frequently worked extra hours |
| B．was paid for long-time work |
| C．got much help from her boss |
| D．took a day off every other week |
| A．She found a full-time job. |
| B．She was fed up with children. |
| C．She needed a rest after overworking. |
| D．She decided to take a part-time course. |
| A．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| B．Average students can still have a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job one likes. |
1. What’s the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Colleagues. | B．Friends. | C．Classmates. |
| A．Her desk in it isn’t big enough. | B．She doesn’t like it at all. | C．Mr. Smith doesn’t allow her to. |
| A．Put a small desk in Sharon’s office. |
| B．Help Sharon with the mail himself. |
| C．Ask Miss Green to help Sharon. |
| A．Attend the meeting. | B．Finish her work on her own. | C．Clean up her office by herself. |
1. What are the speakers talking about?
| A．The man’s new job offer. |
| B．The man’s working experience. |
| C．The situation of the job market. |
| A．He got a new job. | B．He started a business. | C．He graduated from college. |
1. How does the woman feel at first?
| A．Guilty. | B．Angry. | C．Sad. |
| A．One and a half hours. | B．One hour. | C．Half an hour. |
| A．She looked at every pair of shoes but didn’t buy one. |
| B．She quarreled with the woman. |
| C．She complained to the man. |
| A．Because she pretended to be angry. |
| B．Because the man comforted her. |
| C．Because she thought their shoes were not good. |
| A．Personal computers. |
| B．Communication industry. |
| C．Living far from companies. |
1. What is the woman's second book titled?
| A．Michael's Sunshine. | B．Midnight. | C．The Snow Tree. |
| A．It always interests her. | B．It's a popular topic. | C．It touches readers most. |
| A．A research project. | B．A book review. | C．A new book. |
| A．A writer. | B．An interviewer. | C．A movie maker. |
1. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
| A．The woman's night life. | B．The woman's health. | C．The woman's job. |
| A．She can't earn enough money. |
| B．She doesn't like the working time. |
| C．She returns home too early every day. |
| A．Get enough sleep. | B．Talk to her family. | C．Change her job. |
10 . You hate me. You don’t even know me and you hate me. Before we’ve even spoken, you hate me. At least that’s how it feels on my end of the call as a female collections officer at a call center.
I dread the moment when I have to log on to our phone system first thing in the morning because I never know who is going to be on the other end of that call.
Sometimes it’s an easy task. The caller is pleasant and has accepted personal responsibility for their debts, and we get through the phone call with ease. Then there are the ones who call in looking for a fight, or looking for someone to blame. Through the luck of the phone system, that person is me.
I’ve had people who shout at me, call me horrible names, accuse me personally of taking their money and threaten me. Why? I think it’s because I am invisible. I think I would be treated with the same level of disrespect if we were face to face. Fortunately for me, I have had years of experience in customer service, so I’m fairly rich in not letting the negative encounters bother me.
The biggest and most effective skill when it comes to the job is empathy (同理心). I can appreciate the situation which the caller is in because I’ve been there. That’s why I’m good at my job — I understand what you’re going through, and I’m here to help.
Some days though, no matter how much I try to leave the stress behind when I hang up the phone, it stays with me. I may do some deep breathing, go for a quick walk or simply stick my head outside for a burst of fresh air. I do this so I don’t carry that negativity on to my next call. That next call may be a person having the worst day of their life, but I don’t want to ever be the one who makes it worse. We are all humans just trying to get by in life, which makes you and me equal. So please, the next time we talk, remember that.
1. What does the underlined word “dread” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Enjoy. | B．Fear. | C．Expect. | D．Avoid. |
| A．They get angry too easily. | B．They blame her for their debts. |
| C．They do not see her as a real person. | D．They accuse her of taking their money. |
| A．She can offer callers best advice. | B．She is always respected by callers. |
| C．She can put herself in others’ shoes. | D．She isn’t easily influenced by negativity. |
| A．To call for understanding of her job. | B．To explain why she is good at her job. |
| C．To introduce what she is responsible for. | D．To complain about her being treated badly. |
