题型：任务型阅读 题类：常考题 难易度：困难
江苏省泰州中学2017-2018学年高二下学期英语6月调研测试卷
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rushing into business. Firms of all types are using AI to forecast demand, hire workers and deal with customers. The McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank within a consultancy, forecasts that just applying AI to marketing, sales and supply chains could create economic value of $2.7trn over the next 20 years.
Such grand forecasts fuel anxiety as well as hope. Less familiar, but just as important, is how AI will transform the workplace.
Start with the benefits.AI ought to improve productivity. Humanyze, a people analytics software provider, combines data from its badges（工牌）with employees' calendars and e-mails to work out, say, whether office layouts favour teamwork .Slack, a workplace messaging app, helps managers assess how quickly employees accomplish tasks. Companies will see when workers are not just dozing off but also misbehaving.
Employees will gain, too. Thanks to advance in computer vision, AI can check that workers are wearing safety equipment and that no one has been harmed on the factory floor. Some will appreciate more feedback on their work and welcome a sense of how to do better.
Machines can help ensure that pay rises and promotions go to those who deserve them. That starts with hiring. People often have biases but algorithms（算法）, if designed correctly, can be more unprejudiced. Software can flag patterns that people might miss.
Yet AI's benefits will come with many potential drawbacks. Algorithms may not be free of the biases of their programmers, which can have unintended consequences. The length of a travel may predict whether an employee will quit a job, but this focus may harm poorer applicants. Older staff might work more slowly than younger ones and could risk losing their positions if all AI looks for is productivity. And surveillance（监控）may feel Orwellian—a sensitive matter now that people have begun to question how much Facebook and other tech giants know about their private lives.
As regulators and employers weigh the pros and cons of AI in the workplace, three principles ought to guide its spread. First, data should be anonymized where possible. Microsoft, for example, has a product that shows individuals how they manage their time in the office, but gives managers information only in aggregated（整合）form. Second, the use of AI ought to be transparent. Employees should be told what technologies are being used in their workplaces and which data are being gathered. As a matter of routine, algorithms used by firms to hire, fire and promote should be tested for bias and unintended consequences. Last, countries should let individuals request their own data, whether they are ex-workers wishing to contest a dismissal or jobseekers hoping to demonstrate their ability to prospective employers.
The march of Al into the workplace calls for trade-offs between privacy and performance. A fairer, more productive workforce is a prize worth having, but not if it chains employees. Striking a balance will require thought, a willingness for both employers and employees to adapt and a strong dose of humanity.
AI Spy | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction | While its future in business is full of , AI affects the workplace negatively. |
Advantages of AI | ·AI makes business more productive by analyzing the office layout, assessing the employees' working efficiency and their behavior. ·AI can employees' safety and provide feedback for them to better themselves. ·AI helps businesses hire more suitable employees and develop a better of promotion and pay rise. |
Potential drawbacks of AI | ·Undesirable results may arise due to the biases of the programmers. ·Poorer applicants and older staff are at a ·Employees' privacy is in the age of AI. |
Principles AI's spread | ·Keep the data anonymous when they are gathered and used. employees of technologies used in the workplace and test the algorithms to avoid undesirable results. employees to access data for their own sake. |
Summary | Only when employees and employers are to adapt and respect each other, can AI make workplace fairer and more productive. |
The holiday season isn't just about shopping and gifts. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, holiday travel can be more expensive than the gifts. Fortunately, the following tips will help keep your travel spending under control.
● Plan ahead. The earlier you book your travel, from airfare to hotels, the easier it is to find good deals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your best prices on airfare come when you book three weeks before the plane leaves for domestic flights. For international flights, consider booking 30 days in advance. Many experts point out that you should book travel between one month and three months out for high-traffic holidays.
● Book your air travel on cheaper days. Traveling by air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays often costs less than traveling on Fridays and Sundays. During the holidays, it is not just about a specific day of the week. You also need to consider the days surrounding the holiday but days immediately before and after a holiday can be expensive. One of the best ways to save is to plan your air travel on the Day of the holiday. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}
● Consider traveling overnight. Red-eye flights and overnight flights often cost less than those at more convenient times. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Traveling overnight can help you avoid a night in the hotel, as well as save your money on travel to your destination.
●{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can't bring liquids with you on the airline, but you can bring sandwiches and other snacks. When you are on the road, you can buy food at local groceries to make your own meals. If you are staying in a hotel long-term, consider cooking your own food, especially if you have access to a microwave.
A. Bring your own food. B. Consider affordable accommodations. C. Traveling by plane is not the best choice. D. Plus, booking earlier can save you money. E. For instance, traveling on Christmas Day might be a great deal. F. A great deal of travel also takes place during this time of year. G. Other alternatives include sleeper trains, as well as overnight ferries. |
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Social media is all about connecting with others. But a new study suggests that too much social media leads to disconnection and loneliness—basically the opposite of what we are led to believe.
The study, Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S, which was published on March 6, 2017 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that heavy use of platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram was associated with feelings of social isolation (孤独) among young adults.
Study co-author Brian Primack and his team from the Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health at the University of Pittsburgh surveyed 1,787 U.S. adults aged 19 to 32 and asked them about their usage of 11 social media platforms (outside of work). They also asked participants questions related to social isolation, such as how often they felt left out. The participants who reported spending the most time on social media—over two hours a day—had twice the possibility of social isolation than those who said they spent a half-hour per day or less on the same sites. Additionally, people who visited social media platforms most frequently (58 visits per week or more) had more than three times the possibility of perceived social isolation than those who visited them fewer than nine times per week.
According to Tom Kersting, psychotherapist and author of Disconnected, the key to understanding these results lies in our understanding of "connections." "Humans are social-emotional beings, meaning that it is in our DNA to be connected, face-to-face, with other humans," he told Reader's Digest. "Although people think being on social media all the time makes them 'connected' to others, they are actually 'disconnected,' because the more time one spends behind a screen, the less time one spends face-to-face."
"Part of the issue of loneliness is that the majority of people who use social media aren't just posting, they are also viewing," Kersting continued. "They are spending a lot of time looking at everyone else's posts, where they are, where they are going and what they are doing. Then everyone else's 'perfect' life experiences cause them to have feelings of being left out, of being lonely."
So what's the answer? It's simple, says Kersting—although it does involve a significant amount of will power. "To solve this, what you should do is resist the temptation (诱惑) to look at everyone else's life. Just focus on your own life, where you're going, what you are grateful for, and what you want to accomplish in this world. Then go out and do it and stop wasting so much time comparing."
How social media use can {#blank#}1{#/blank#} loneliness | |
{#blank#}2{#/blank#} of the study | Contrary to popular belief, heavy users of social media may feel{#blank#}3{#/blank#} and lonely. ◆ People who spent over two hours are twice more {#blank#}4{#/blank#} to feel socially isolated than those spending a half-hour per day. ◆ People who visited social media platforms most {#blank#}5{#/blank#} tend to feel left out in comparison with those who visited them fewer than nine times per week. |
Reasons behind the problem | ◆ Lost in social media, people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to afford enough time to communicate face-to-face. ◆ People who view others' posts can be {#blank#}7{#/blank#} by others' seemingly perfect life experiences. |
{#blank#}8{#/blank#} | ◆ It requires a strong {#blank#}9{#/blank#} to resist the temptation of social media. ◆ Focus on your own life and stop{#blank#}10{#/blank#} your life with others'. |
试题篮
) 并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。注意：每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。