Question

【题目】 Many of us have already lost the “race against the machines” - we just don’t know it yet. That is the conclusion of new research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Unlike most studies into the impact of automation, this one does not rely on informed guesswork about what machines will be able to do in 20 years’ time. 【1】 They are literacy, numeracy and problem-solving with computers - and compares our performance against the abilities of machines. The results are sobering, but rather than a reason to despair,

In the survey a group of computer scientists was given the same test and asked which questions computers could answer, using technology that exists but has not necessarily been rolled out yet in the workplace. The conclusion? Almost a third of workers use these cognitive skills daily in their jobs and yet their competency levels have already been matched by computers. About 44 per cent are still better than the machines. The remaining 25 per cent have jobs that do not use these skills every day.

There are two caveats. First, the OECD only asked computer scientists how well they thought machines could do. 【2】. Second, just because technology exists does not mean it will be deployed quickly in the workplace. It depends on how easily it can be made operational, how much it costs relative to the value it creates, and whether companies have the appetite to invest.

【3】. Stuart Elliott, the author, concludes that in 10 to 20 years, only workers with very strong literacy and numeracy skills will be comfortably more proficient than computers. At the minute, only about one in 10 working-age adults in OECD countries are of this standard.

It is true that the education systems in most countries have been raising their game: younger people tend to have better skills than older people (the UK being one notable, and worrying, exception). But even if you take the most skilled generation in the most skilled country - young people in Finland - two-thirds still do not meet these top levels of literacy and numeracy. 【4】.

The risks to workers from ever smarter computers are clear, but the opportunities will lie in maximizing the value of their human skills. For some people, such as talented chefs, the battle is already won. Others might need to harness the computers to leverage their human talents.

A.And yet, the implication of the study are hard to dismiss.

B.on many of these fronts, computers are behind humans, if they are in the race at all.

C.Technology does not necessary mean doom to all but the highest skilled.

D.Instead it takes three basic and compares our performance against the abilities of machines.

E.Apart from astonishing improvement in education, it looks like only a minority of people can win this race.

F.The result would be more alarming if machine were actually put to the test.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】F

【3】A

【4】E

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。经济合作与发展组织新研究指出我们中的许多人已经输掉了“与机器的竞赛”——我们只是还不知道。文章说明了这一研究的过程，以及这项研究的重要意义。文章最后提到越来越智能的计算机给工人带来的风险是显而易见的，但机会将在于最大限度地发挥他们的人力技能的价值。

【1】结合后文They are literacy, numeracy and problem-solving with computers - and compares our performance against the abilities of machines.可知它们是读写能力、计算能力和用电脑解决问题的能力——并将我们的表现与机器的能力进行比较。由此可知，本句是在启示下文说明需要三个基础能力。其中后文compares our performance against the abilities of machines.可对应到D选项compares our performance against the abilities of machines。故D选项“相反，它需要三个基础的，并将我们的表现与机器的能力进行比较的能力”符合上下文语境，故选D。

【2】根据上文First, the OECD only asked computer scientists how well they thought machines could do.可知首先，经合组织只问了计算机科学家他们认为机器能做得多好。由此可知，本句承接上文继续说明机器如果被投入试验，结果会令人震惊。故F选项“如果真把这台机器投入试验，其结果将更令人震惊”符合上下文语境，故选F。

【3】结合后文Stuart Elliott, the author, concludes that in 10 to 20 years, only workers with very strong literacy and numeracy skills will be comfortably more proficient than computers. At the minute, only about one in 10 working-age adults in OECD countries are of this standard.可知作者Stuart Elliott总结说，在10到20年内，只有具备很强的读写能力和计算能力的工人才能比计算机熟练得多。目前，经合组织国家每10个工作年龄的成年人中只有一个符合这一标准。由此可知，后文在说明这项研究对未来工人的重要性，由此可推知这项研究的重要意义是不容忽视的。故A选项“然而，这项研究的意义很难被忽视”符合上下文语境，故选A。

【4】结合上文It is true that the education systems in most countries have been raising their game: younger people tend to have better skills than older people (the UK being one notable, and worrying, exception). But even if you take the most skilled generation in the most skilled country - young people in Finland - two-thirds still do not meet these top levels of literacy and numeracy.可知诚然，大多数国家的教育系统都在提高他们的水平：年轻人往往比老年人拥有更好的技能（英国是一个值得注意的、令人担忧的例外）。但是，即使你把芬兰最熟练的一代人——芬兰的年轻人——带到最熟练的国家，三分之二的人仍然达不到这些最高水平的识字率和计算能力。由此可知，只有三分之一的人能达到最高水平的识字率和计算能力，即只有少数人才能赢得这场竞赛。故E选项“除了惊人的教育进步外，似乎只有少数人能赢得这场竞赛”符合上下文语境，故选E。