Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?
Don’t dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don’t appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering- have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.
This isn’t to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past. The Industrial Revolution didn’t go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.
The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums- from grammar school to college- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.
The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven’t been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.
Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.
Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.
21.Who will be most threatened by automation”?
A. Middle-class workers.
B. Low-wage laborers.
C. Robot owners.
D. Leading politicians.
22. Which of the following best represents the author’s view?
A. Worries about automation are in fact groundless.
B. Optimists’ opinions on new tech find little support.
C. Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided.
D. Issues arising from automation need to be tackled.
23. Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on
A. individual needs.
B. job-hunting skills.
C. creative potential.
D. cooperative spirit.
24. The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at
A. encouraging the development of automation.
B. preventing the income gap from widening.
C. easing the hostility between rich and poor.
D. increasing the return on capital investment.
25. In this text, the author presents a problem with
A. opposing views on it.
B. its major variation.
C. its alarming impacts.
D. possible solutions to it.
篇文章全文共7段，首先浏览五题题干，识别出各题型以便有针对性地解题，同时对文章中心有一定预判。
21.细节题【A】
根据题文同序确定定位段落为第1-2段，由题干关键词 automation对应派生词automated定位到第二段第二句话About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. 由middle class 原词复现，选择A选项，而其他选项均不在定位位置，故排除。补充题干当中major threatened 对应原文disproportionately squeezed.即受到最 大威胁的就是被无情压榨的中产阶级。
22. 段落推断题【A】
根据21题题文同序定位至第三段，判断段落论点。选转折句，即本段末句But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.对应选项D，need to 原词复现，以及tackle和adjusting 同义替换，而且in the medium term则是automation.故选择D选项。
【干扰项】A选项，自动化的担忧事实上是没有根据的，对应原文句话：这不是危言耸听，与之含义相反，即反义干扰。B选项，乐观主义者对于新技术的观点得不到支持，对应原文第二句话：乐观主义者指出技术巨变过去给工人带来了福利，因此不会得不到支持，也是反义干扰;C选项，新技术的消极后果可以被避免，实属过度推断，故排除。
23. 细节题【C】
根据上两题的定位，该题定位在第四段。因为名词均不唯 一，故由题干关键词put emphasis on同义替换focus on定位至首句双破折号后should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. 由于题干为put more emphasis on，因此对应focus more on后面的信息，故creativity派生关系对应C选项creative potential。
24. 细节题【B】
题干信息定位至第六段，由题干关键词aimed at 对应because(一项政策实施的目的就是解决由某一原因导致的问题)定位至句话Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought.原词复现widen the gap between capital income对应B选项。即因为自动化可能会造成收入差距的扩大，因此要重新考虑税收问题，也就是说制定新的税收政策旨在阻止收入差距的扩展。
25. 新主旨大意题【D】
本题的呈现形式类似于细节题，但是提问方式以及选项则是对于篇章行文的考查：作者是如何呈现问题的?A选项，持反对意见;B选项，问题的主要变体;C选项，令人担忧的结果;D选项，可能的解决方法。因此是一种新式的主旨大意题的问法，即不是确定文章中心论点，而是行文手段。我们可以根据前面四题的解题进行判断：21题提出中产阶级受到威胁这样一个问题，22题说明该问题需要被解决，23题强调自动化在教育方面应该创新，即解决方法，24题提出制定税收政策的解决方式。综上所述23-24，即4-6段都是提出解决方法，而且最后一段作者观点的表达中，末句But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.也是提到要制定帮助工人适应自动化的政策，也是提出解决问题的方法，故选择D选项。
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