题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
福建省莆田第一中学2018-2019学年高二下学期英语期中考试试卷
The belief that new technologies are causing the death of work is the idea that never goes away. Despite evidence to the contrary, we still view technological change today as being more rapid and dramatic in its consequences for work than ever before. But this is nothing new. People have always viewed the technological changes that take place during their lives as the most dramatic and dangerous that ever happened in history.
In the 1930s, the British economist(经济学家) John Maynard Keynes predicted the widespread use of electricity would produce a world where people spend most of their time doing nothing. In the United States during the 1960s, the government repeatedly investigates fears that automatic machines would permanently reduce the amount of work available. In 1988, one Australian historian claimed that at least a quarter of the workforce would be without jobs within 10 years because of computers.
Of course, none of these disasters came to pass in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, or anywhere else.
Yet today, we are seeing the return of these predictions, with some experts claiming the world of work is once more undergoing radical(激进的)and unprecedented(前所未有的) change. They argue that robots and other workplace technologies are causing a reduction in the total amount of work available, or are bringing a more rapid pace of substitution of machines for humans than has been seen previously.
But there is a little evidence to support such beliefs. Statistics show that the percentage of people in work, the number of hours they work, and how frequently they change jobs have remained remarkably constant over the past 20 years.
This stability should not come as a surprise. There are good reasons why we should not expect new technologies to cause the death of work. New technologies always cause job losses, but that is only part of the story. What also needs to be understood is how they increase the amount of work available.
One way this happens is through the increases in incomes that accompany the use of new technologies. With the introduction of these technologies, goods and services can be produced faster, which results in higher real incomes for workers. Higher incomes then increase demand for other products and consequently more workers are needed to make them. Additionally, while new technologies are likely to substitute for some types of workers, they will also increase demand for other types of workers, especially those with higher level skills and expertise.
So, the end of work is no closer today than at any time in the past. But there is still a need to keep disproving the prediction, to reduce people's fears.
Classis Book Club for Home-schooled Teens
★ Sign up at Librarian's 1st Floor Reference Desk.
★ Free books for first 15 teens who sign up for each title. If you are unable to attend the activity, please return the book to Teen Librarian so she can give the book to another teen.
Classics for Home-schooled Teens
Fridays, 1:00~2:00 pm, Library Room 215
January 23: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
February 20: Antigone by Sophocles
March 20: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
April 24: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
For information contact Teen Librarian Elise Sheppard, elise.i.sheppard@lonestar.edu, 281-290-5248.
5th Annual Prom-dress Give-away
Lone Star College — CYEAIR BRANCH LIBRARY'S PROM CLOSET
Your dress is free for you to keep.
If you Need a Prom Dress
Contact the Youth Service Specialist at your school/ Contact Prom Closet organizers directly:
LSC-CF Teen Librarian Elise Sheppard at 281-290-5248, elise.i.sheppard@lonestar.edu
LSC-CF Friends of the Library President Nancy Flanakin at meaford8510@vahoo.com
Saturday dates to get a dress:
(Other dates by appointment only — contact Elise or Nancy)
Dates | Times | Locations at LSC-CF Branch Library |
March 21 | 1:00—5:00 pm | Library Room 131 |
March 28 | 1:00—5:00 pm | Activity Room of Kid's Comer (Children's Library) |
April 4 | 1:00—5:00 pm | Library Room 131 |
April 11 | Library closed | |
April 25 | 1:00—5:00 pm | Library Room 131 |
Prom Dresses Needed!
Dresses & accessories needed: All dress sizes 0 — 26
Accessories: Shoes, handbags, jewelry, hair pieces, shawls, etc.
Perfect condition: Clean, undamaged, beautiful
Delivery instructions:
Take donations to Lone Star College — CyFair Branch Library Circulation/Customer Service Desk anytime the library is open.
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