2. 职称英语
  3. (1) The robots in movies and science fiction books that rise up to take over

(1) The robots in movies and science fiction books that rise up to take over

游客2024-09-07  11
问题    (1) The robots in movies and science fiction books that rise up to take over the world generally are able to do so because we have placed them in charge of missiles, defense systems and other military technology.
   (2) We never see a disgruntled (不满的；不高兴的), order-taking bot working at McDonald’s or Domino’s cast off its virtual hairnet to gain sentience and overthrow its fast-food overlord. But fast food, along with shipping warehouses, has become a hotbed for robots and other automated technology. McDonald’s has been testing ordering kiosks, Domino’s has numerous ways to place an order that do not involve talking with a human being, and Starbucks has used technology to shift employees away from order taking to put them into production. It may not be a fantastic Utopia where Rosie from The Jetsons does our laundry, but robot/automated technology has clearly infiltrated (潜入；渗入) fast food.
   (3) It’s not a question of whether automation will come: it’s one of whether it will make stores more efficient or allow them to get rid of human workers. Starbucks, for example, has used automation to allow it to move workers into making drinks rather than taking orders, but it has not yet cut its workforce in any meaningful way.
   (4) CollegeRecruiter. com’s Steven Rothberg, whose company works to find jobs for students and college graduates, believes that fast-food robots are coming, but he does not think they will supplant traditional workers. "Many of the students and some of the recent grads who use our site are employed by fast food restaurants," he said. "There’s no doubt that automation will continue to impact the number and types of jobs in fast food restaurants but I don’t buy the argument that automated methods will replace human workers in fast food restaurants. Just look at banks. Have ATMs reduced the need for human tellers? Absolutely. But have ATMs come close to eliminating the need for human tellers? Absolutely not. "
   (5) Timothy Carone, an IT professor, believes that automation will happen in restaurants, but not quickly or necessarily to the detriment (伤害；危害) of flesh-and-blood workers. The professor does believe that the path toward robot workers will be a slow one. He said that the idea that restaurants are automating due to labor costs is only partially true.
   (6) "Automation would occur at much lower labor costs than exist today or in the future but automation costs money," he said, noting that the expense will lower over time. "Whether a restaurant becomes partially or fully automated should depend on its customers and locations. Fast-food franchises located anywhere are finding their customers value automation. Restaurants at airports or similar locations that provide a captive audience but no loyalty except for brand loyalty will find automation necessary and valued by customers— faster is better. "
   (7) Donald Mazzela, a board member of the nonprofit National Robotics Education Foundation, said his group has been looking at the issue of robots in restaurants for three years, noting that robotic interaction is being taught in culinary (厨房的；烹调用的) and hospitality courses throughout the world. "In our latest study, we estimate the average fast food establishment will switch 1.2 workers from counter service to other tasks as remote order taking, delivery by robotic applications grow," he wrote.
   (8) He expects the tipping point will be by 2020. The industry, he explained, needs time to educate customers, but that will happen, he said, because the benefits are simply too strong. He cited machines counting change, sensors, and other tools making inventory (库存；清单) more precise and the ability to relay orders directly to the prep area as a way to decrease waste. It’s going to be a gradual change, but it’s going to happen, Mazzela wrote.
   (9) A change is coming and Fred Goff, CEO of Jobcase, a social media platform helping workers without college degrees find meaningful jobs, believes workers should embrace it. He said that robots will perform some jobs typically done by humans, but that will also create opportunity for flesh-and-blood workers. "Concerns about technology displacing jobs has been a constant Luddite theme throughout the Information Revolution, and in fact since the Industrial Revolution," he wrote. Goff explained in his email that in a broad sense technology tends to create more opportunity than it displaces.
   (10) "It is not to be feared, but it must be managed," he wrote. "The challenge—and opportunity—for workers is for people to take control of their own work-life and navigate the positive impacts so that they aren’t overwhelmed by the negative impacts of technological progress. Keep open to change and keep moving forward. " [br] The author suggests that automation will______human workforce.
选项 A、substitute
B、harass
C、surpass
D、reforge
答案 D
解析 推断题。本题的解答需综合第三段之后各段的主要信息。关于自动化对人力资源的影响，作者从第三段起提出讨论，并在随后各段引用了相关专家的观点。由第四段可知，自动化不会消除对人力的需求，第五段指出它未必会危害到人类雇员，但是从第三段和第七段中都可看出自动化会让人类工人转岗，工作性质发生变化，文章最后一段也提出工人们要学会应对变化并不断进步，可见，自动化对人力资源的性质和结构有重塑的作用，故D为答案。第五段第一句明确说明自动化不一定会危害到人力工人，故排除B；第四段和第九段都提到自动化不会取代人工，故A与原文不符，也应排除；至于自动化会驾驭人类，这个说法只是作者用于引入话题的调侃，对两者关系的论述并没有提到这一点，故排除C。
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