Britain faces social problems as lots of people are set to lose their jobs in technological revolution, Bank of England’s chief economist warned.
Andy Haldane said the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will make the machine replace humans to do thinking things. The dark side of the change could be a much bigger breakdown of employment than in Victorian times, with professions such as accountancy (会计) among those at risk.
A report by the accountancy firm PwC last month warned that more than 7 million jobs in Britain had been lost over the next 20 years as technological change sweeps though workplaces.
The majority of these are in jobs in the retail, transport and manufacturing industries. However, other traditional professional sectors could also be at serious risk.
Economists treat the arrival of increasingly intelligent computers and robots as the fourth industrial revolution. The first was the shift from agricultural to urban societies, the second saw the widespread use of electricity and steel, and the third was the digital revolution when computers, the Internet and mobile phones were developed.
Mr Haldane said the hollowing-out (空洞化) experienced in the past years could be on a greater scale in the future so it is important to learn the lessons of history and ensure that people are given training to take advantage of new opportunities.
“Jobs were effectively taken by machines of various types, there was a hollowing-out of the jobs market, which left many people for a long period out of work and struggling to make a living,” Haldane added, “That heightened social and financial tensions, and led to a rise in inequality. This is the dark side of technological revolution.”
“That hollowing-out is going to be potentially on a much greater scale in the future, when we have machines thinking and doing the cognitive and technical skills of humans.” Mr Haldane said professions like accountancy could be among those hardest hit by the rise of AI. But he suggested economists could escape.
1.What is the dark side mentioned in the text?
A. The hollowing-out has become a major social problem.
B. Less and less people have the desire to learn accountancy
C. Intelligent computers and robots decrease good workers.
D. The technological revolution causes people to lose jobs.
2.Why are economists the lucky dog in the new technological revolution?
A. The study about economy is at a low level.
B. Economists work on a traditional professional job.
C. There is no machine that can work as an economist.
D. Economists have the chance to avoid technological revolution.
3.What should be done to deal with the serious situation?
A. To call for people to devote more to studying history.
B. To teach people to grasp the chances technological revolution brings about.
C. To warn people not to work on transport and manufacturing industries.
D. To ask workers to develop and think as the intelligent computers and robots do.
4.What attitude did Haldane have towards the future employment?
A. Positive. B. Aggressive.
C. Critical. D. Worried.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Britain faces social problems as lots of people are set to lose their jobs in technological revolution, Bank of England’s chief economist warned.
Andy Haldane said the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will make the machine replace humans to do thinking things. The dark side of the change could be a much bigger breakdown of employment than in Victorian times, with professions such as accountancy (会计) among those at risk.
A report by the accountancy firm PwC last month warned that more than 7 million jobs in Britain had been lost over the next 20 years as technological change sweeps though workplaces.
The majority of these are in jobs in the retail, transport and manufacturing industries. However, other traditional professional sectors could also be at serious risk.
Economists treat the arrival of increasingly intelligent computers and robots as the fourth industrial revolution. The first was the shift from agricultural to urban societies, the second saw the widespread use of electricity and steel, and the third was the digital revolution when computers, the Internet and mobile phones were developed.
Mr Haldane said the hollowing-out (空洞化) experienced in the past years could be on a greater scale in the future so it is important to learn the lessons of history and ensure that people are given training to take advantage of new opportunities.
“Jobs were effectively taken by machines of various types, there was a hollowing-out of the jobs market, which left many people for a long period out of work and struggling to make a living,” Haldane added, “That heightened social and financial tensions, and led to a rise in inequality. This is the dark side of technological revolution.”
“That hollowing-out is going to be potentially on a much greater scale in the future, when we have machines thinking and doing the cognitive and technical skills of humans.” Mr Haldane said professions like accountancy could be among those hardest hit by the rise of AI. But he suggested economists could escape.
1.What is the dark side mentioned in the text?
A. The hollowing-out has become a major social problem.
B. Less and less people have the desire to learn accountancy
C. Intelligent computers and robots decrease good workers.
D. The technological revolution causes people to lose jobs.
2.Why are economists the lucky dog in the new technological revolution?
A. The study about economy is at a low level.
B. Economists work on a traditional professional job.
C. There is no machine that can work as an economist.
D. Economists have the chance to avoid technological revolution.
3.What should be done to deal with the serious situation?
A. To call for people to devote more to studying history.
B. To teach people to grasp the chances technological revolution brings about.
C. To warn people not to work on transport and manufacturing industries.
D. To ask workers to develop and think as the intelligent computers and robots do.
4.What attitude did Haldane have towards the future employment?
A. Positive. B. Aggressive.
C. Critical. D. Worried.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Nowadays people are facing lots of threats（威胁）all over the world.
A serious threat to farmers in many parts of the world is erosion（侵蚀）.Erosion happens if a large area of land is cleared of trees and is then badly treated by the farmers.The rain and winds may gradually wash away,or blow away much of the topsoil.When this happens,crops of wheat and corn become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well.If erosion continues,it will turn good land into a desert.
In the past,when erosion appeared,farmers sometimes moved to a new place to farm.Sometimes they could not move,but continued to try to grow food in the unhealthy soil.This caused them to sink into poverty.Soon some people realized that there was little rich,fertile soil in the world.The government began to try to stop erosion.
One of the first experiments to stop erosion began in the United States in 1933.The experiment was carried out in the area of the Tennessee River.Flood and bad farming in this area had ruined the land that had once been rich.As a result,most of the people living around the Tennessee River were very poor.
The government built big dams across the river and stored the water for use during the dry season,when there was no rain.The government workers also helped the farmers fertilize their soil and to learn new farming methods which could stop erosion.
In the beginning,the farmers were not interested.But soon,good healthy crops began to appear on the land where new methods were used.Ten years after that the crops were extremely good.The great success of this experiment led to similar projects in other parts of the world.
With the development of science and technology,people are trying to get rid of all the threats they are facing. However,it's not an easy job,because at the same time people are polluting their homeland.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Tennessee River area?
A. It was an area seriously affected by erosion.
B. It used to be a poor and infertile land.
C. It often suffered from floods.
D. It has become a model for other parts of the world to follow.
2.In the third paragraph “to sink into poverty” means_________.
A. to become very poor
B. to lose topsoil in erosion
C. to become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well
D. to return into a desert
3.The main purpose of this passage is to tell people________.
A. something can be done to prevent erosion
B. the importance of using new farming methods
C. the serious result of erosion
D. how erosion happens
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Nowadays many people are concerned about the problem of what to do with electronic waste such as old televisions, computers, radios, cellular telephones and other electronic equipment.
Electronic trash, or e-waste, is piling up faster than ever in American homes and businesses. People do not know what to do with old televisions or computers so they throw them in the trash.
National Solid Waste Management Association (NSWMA) state programs director Chaz Miller says the large amount of electronic waste Americans product is not unexpected.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates more than 400 million consumer electronic items are dumped each year, and there is a push by more states to ban the waste from landfills (垃圾填埋场) and create recycling programs. They can be torn apart and sorted for useable parts. Mike Fannon who runs the plant in Baltimore says, “There are lots of valuable metals that can be recovered and reused instead of just putting them in the landfill, and in certain components there are some materials that should not really be in the landfill.”
Fannon says nearly 20 percent of electronic waste is recycled nationwide. Thirteen years ago, it was only about 6 percent. Recycling rates continue to rise as more communities have banned electronics from landfills in order to keep e-waste poisons like lead (铅) and mercury (汞) out of garbage dumps.
This year several states like Vermont imposed a ban on electronic waste in landfills. More than 25 other states have also adopted bans on e-waste in landfills. Chaz Miller says more can be done to boost electronic waste recycling.
“We can do much better,” noted Miller. “I think clearly our goal should be to do as well as we do recycling newspapers.”
1.Which of the following does NOT belong to e-waste?
A. Old televisions. B. Old computers.
C. Old cell phones. D. Old newspapers.
2.Why is e-waste banned from landfills in many states?
A. Because it can not be recycled.
B. Because the landfills are already full.
C. Because it might damage the environment.
D. Because it can be shipped to other countries.
3.According to Mike Fannon, what might be the best way of dealing with e-waste?
A. Recycling it. B. Selling it.
C. Burying it. D. Breaking it.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Chaz Miller works for EPA.
B. Miller is optimistic about the future of e-waste.
C. At present, less than 10 percent of e-waste is recycled.
D. All states in the US have banned e-waste from landfills.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
One of the common complaints we hear from the people around us are problems they are facing. Every day and everywhere there are problems. Many times we find it hard to stay happy. When one problem is solved, another one comes up. How to solve them? The answer is that we must equip ourselves to deal with different kinds of worries by learning the three basic steps of problem analysis. The three steps are:
Get the facts
Why is it so important to get the facts? Unless you have the facts, you can’t possibly attempt to solve your problem intelligently. Without the facts, all you can do is wondering around in confusion. It is not an easy job to get facts. When you are worried, your emotions are riding high. 1. .
When trying to get the facts, you can pretend that you are collecting this information not for yourself but for some other person. 2. You can also pretend that you are a lawyer preparing to agree. Try to get all the facts both on your side and the other side of the case. You will generally find the truth lies somewhere in between.
3.
Whenever you are worried, write down the questions that make you worry. And write out all the various steps you could take and then the probable consequences of each step. For example, what am I worrying about? What can I do about it? Here is what I’m going to do about it. After carefully weighing all the facts, you can calmly come to a decision.
Act on that decision.
4. How can you break the worry habit before it breaks you? Crowd worry out of your mind by keeping busy. Plenty of action is one of the best ways to cure worry. 5. If you know a situation is beyond your power, say to yourself: “It is so; it can’t be otherwise.” Don’t permit little things to ruin your happiness. Try to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring you peace and happiness.
A. Analyze the facts.
B. Accept what can’t be avoided.
C. Decide how much anxiety a thing may be worth.
D. This will help you to take a cold and fair view of the evidence.
E. There comes a time when you must decide and never look back.
F. But here are two ideas that can help you see the facts in a clear and objective way.
G. Unless you take your action, all your face-finding and analysis is a sheer waste of energy.
高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析
There has been a lot of such news lately. As far as the problems with today's schools are concerned, we can go back to how our culture has evolved.
In general, our culture, as represented in the media, gets excited by famous stars, and stresses that it's what you have, not what you are, that counts. Parents are encouraged to be away from even very small children for most of the day. Too many people vote for politicians who would rather cut school funding than stop tax cuts for the wealthy. All contribute greatly to the problems of educating our children.
Today's teachers have to deal with a culture that is vastly different than in the past. They report that there is, among more children than ever, a lack of motivation, no drive to succeed or even try. In the media, the role models that boys see mostly consist of men in comedies and other shows, who are rude and often extremely childish; self-centered overpaid athletes; men in movies, television or video games, who are violent and powerful. As Leonard Sax wrote in Boys Adrift, "Teenage boys are looking for models of mature adulthood, but we no longer make any collective effort to provide such models."
Girls are attacked not only with such annoying images of males, but also with women who are extremely materialistic.
In such a cultural environment, it is more important than ever to have responsible parents who are devoted to their children and see to it as their duty to model for them and raise them with high standards of honesty and responsibility. They need to care enough to see that their children are not attacked with the rubbish that comes from movie, television and computer screens.
In today's culture, they are basically alone in this effort since, unfortunately, so much is working against them. Until we, as a culture, face the truth about ourselves- that we are not providing adequately for a great many of our children, as Jim Taylor titled his book "Your Children are Under Attack”。
1.What does "such news" in the beginning most probably involve?
A.Cultural evolution. B.Financial risk from tax cuts.
C.Problems in education. D.Social influence of the media.
2.What does today's culture bring to the children?
A.Narrow access to entertainment. B.Poor social abilities.
C.Few materialistic models. D.Too much negative effect.
3.What do parents have to do in today's culture?
A.Find more models for their children.
B.Keep their kids from the bad effect of the media.
C.Forbid their children to use computers.
D.Encourage their children to stay at school.
4.What is the author's attitude towards today's culture?
A.Indifferent. B.Ambiguous.
C.Dissatisfied. D.Approving.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Britain is set to face an increase in cold winters, with up to one-in-seven hitting the UK with longer periods of time when temperatures are below freezing, a study has suggested．The prediction was based on research that found out how low solar activity affected winter weather patterns．
However, the researchers were eager to stress that their findings did not suggest that the region was about to fall suddenly into a "little ice age"．The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research Letters．"We could get to the point where one-in-seven winters are very cold, as we had at the start of last winter and all through the winter before last," said co-author Mike Lockwood, professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading．
Using the Central England Temperature （CET） record, the world's longest instrumental data series that dates back to 1659, the team said that in general temperatures during recent winters had been obviously lower than the longer-term temperatures．"The mean CET for December, January and February for the recent relatively cold winters of 2008 ~ 2009 and 2009~2010 were 3．50℃ and 2．53℃ respectively," they wrote． "However, the mean value for the previous 20 winters had been 5．04℃．The series of lower winter temperatures in the UK during the last three years had raised questions about the probability of more similar, or even colder, winters occurring in the future．"
Last year．Professor Lockwood and colleagues published a paper that found a link between fewer sunspots and atmospheric conditions that "blocked" warm westerly winds reaching Europe during winter months, opening the way for cold easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia to sweep across the region．Professor Lockwood, while acknowledging that there were a range of possible meteorological factors （气象因素） that could influence blocking events, said the latest study moved things forward by showing that there was "improvement in the predictive skill" when solar activity was taken into consideration．
1.We can know from the second paragraph that _____．
A．research shows that Britain will soon fall into an ice age
B．Mike Lockwood's research focuses on space environment physics
C．it was quite cold in Britain over the entire winter last year
D．so far one-in-seven winters have been very cold in Britain
2.The．underlined word "mean" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to "_____"．
A．average B．stable C．ungenerous D．changeable
3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．It was sunspots that blocked warm westerly winds reaching Europe．
B．Meteorological factors hardly have any influence on blocking events．
C．The latest study done by Professor Lockwood was of little practical value．
D．Considering solar activity or not affects the accuracy of weather forecasting．
4.What's the best title of the passage?
A．Another big danger approaching the UK
B．Research finds out solar activity is to blame for the cold
C．UK faces more cold winters due to weaker solar activity
D．Changes in weather patterns should be responsible for low solar activity
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
We need to face a lot of pains as we grow up. But these pains eventually bring 1.(we) gains. As for me, I remember that my parents made me learn to play 2.violin during my childhood, so I had little time to play with my friends, which 3.(annoy) me quite a lot. I hated violin at that time, just 4.it was what they forced me to do.
Now 5.(look) back, I appreciate what my parents did for me. In fact, music has enriched my life. It 6.(give) me comfort, relief and joy, especially when I am7.pressure. I have come 8.(understand) why my parents were always pushing me along.
Everybody will experience pains. A little hard work and sweat will never hurt us. If we realize these pains are just small bumps on our road to 9.(succeed), we will understand they are 10.(actual) gains.
高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Nowadays Senior 3 students are general faced a lot of pressure,which is rather common.To reduce it,the followed suggestions may help.First of all,know exactly what lead to your pressure,and then you can take measures to deal with it.Secondly,set up a goal what is not too high.In other words,don't put too much pressure on yourself. Thirdly,find a way to relax you occasionally.For example,you can listen to music,go swim or just simply go walking. Eventually,make friend with others,for example,your classmates,your teachers or your parents.They will understand you and come to you help when you are really in the trouble.In a word,never get yourself stuck in the pressure for "Impossible is nothing".
高三英语短文改错中等难度题查看答案及解析
New South Wales, Australia, is setting up cameras as part of an effort to reduce the number of people preoccupied with wireless devices while they drive. It will be the first area in the world to use the technology to punish drivers distracted (分心) with telephone calls, social media or text messages.
Road Safety experts are concerned about the growing number of accidents involving drivers using smart phones on the state’s roads. They say drivers who use phones while driving greatly increase their chances of being involved in an accident.
The New South Wales government plans to place 45 Mobile Phone Detection Cameras across the state by December. Each phone detection unit contains two cameras. One camera takes pictures of a vehicle’s registration plate (牌照). A second camera looks through the front windrow of a car or truck to see what drivers are doing with their hands.
The units use artificial intelligence to set aside drivers who are not touching their phones. Human beings then confirm if the pictures show illegal behavior before notice is sent to the vehicle’s registered owner. A violation (违反) carries fine of $232. Some cameras will be permanently set up on roadsides. Others will be moved, from time to time, around the state.
Two fixed cameras took photographs of 8.5 million vehicles as part of a six-month test earlier this year. The cameras took photos of more than 100,000 drivers with their hands on phones. One driver was using a phone and another electronic device, an Apple iPad, at the same time. Another driver had a passenger guide the vehicle while they both held phones, the state government said.
1.What is the real purpose to set up cameras in New South Wale?
A.To keep records of the accidents. B.To promote the latest technology.
C.To find illegal behavior of the drivers. D.To force drivers to focus more on driving.
2.What can we infer from the road safety experts?
A.Smart-phones are main killers on the road.
B.All accidents result from drivers’ using cell-phones.
C.Measures are badly needed to ban using phones while driving.
D.Carrying a smart-phone while driving will cause an accident.
3.How does the phone detection unit function effectively?
A.It corrects the drivers’ wrong behavior.
B.It has two cameras to record the plates.
C.It sends a notice to the legal diver autonomously.
D.It combines artificial intelligence with human’s efforts.
4.What did a six-month test show?
A.Electronic devices could help divers indeed.
B.Mary passenger helped operate the vehicles.
C.Many drivers used electronic devices while driving.
D.It was common to be busy with two wireless devices.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
People are often worried about going to other countries due to the
“language problems”.But as a matter of_____ , you can still have a
76. ______
great time living a_____ without many language skills.Here are some tips.
77. ______
To begin with, take the time to learn a few basic _____ (表达) and
78. ______
how to c_____ from one to ten.Secondly, open your mouth and say“ahh”
79. ______
before _____ (问) the way, as if you were at the doctor’s.Follow“ahh”
80. ______
by the name of the place you’re going to, l_____“ahh Paris”.Lastly,
81. ______
speak simply.Say“Menu, please.”rather_____“I would like a menu,
82. ______
please.”If your vocabulary is_____ (有限), try to communicate by writing.
83. ______
Carry_____ and a pen, and get waiters or clerks to write down prices for
84. ______
you.Most importantly, give y_____ a chance to use body language.
85. ______
高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析