hardly a week goes by without some advance in technology that would have seemed incredible 50 years ago.and we can expect the rate of change to accelerate rather than slow down within our lifetime.the developments in technology are bound to have a dramatic effect on the future of work.by 2010, new technology will have revolutionized communications.people will be transmitting messages down telephone lines that previously would have been sent by post.not only postmen but also clerks and secretaries will vanish in a paper-free society.all the routine tasks they perform will be carried on a tiny silicon chip so that they will be as obsolete as the horse and cart after the invention of the motor car.one change will make thousands,if not millions,redundant.
even people in traditional professions,where expert knowledge has been the key,are unlikely to escape the effects of new technology.instead of going to a solicitor,you might go to a computer which is progammed with all the most up-to-date legal information.doctors,too,will find that an electronic competitor will be able to carry out a much quicker and more accurate diagnosis and recommend more efficient courses of treatment.in education,teachers will be largely replaced by teaching machines far more knowledgeable than any human being.most learning will take place in the home via video conferencing.children will still go to school though ,until another place is created where they can make friends and develop social skills.
what can we do to avoid the threat of unemployment?we shouldn't hide our heads in the sand.unions will try to stop change but they will be fighting a losing battle.people should get computer literate as this just might save them from professional extinction.after all,there will be a few jobs left in law,education and medicine for those few individuals who are capable of writing and programming the software of the future.strangely enough,there will still be jobs like rubbish collection and cleaning as it is tough to programme tasks which are largely unpredictable.
1.according to the writer,the rate of change in technology ____.
a)will remain the same b)will slow down
c)will speed up d)can not be predicted
2.the writer expects that by 2010 new technology will have revolutionized
communications and ____.
a)bookshops will not exist
b)the present postal system will have disappeared
c)people will no longer send letters
d)the postmen will have been replaced by the motor car
3.from the passage,we can infer that ____.
a)professionals won't be affected by new techonology
b)doctors won't be as efficient as computers
c)computers can not replace lawyers
d)experts will know less in the future
4.the passage tells us that in the future____.
a)children will not be taught in schools
b)no teachers will be needed
c)teachers will be less knowledgeable
d)children will learn life skills at school
5.in the writer's view,____ .
a)people should be prepared for the future
b)there exists no threat of unemployment
c)unions can stop the unfavourable change
d)people had better become cleaners
答案与解析：
这篇论述文论述了现代社会的科学技术日新月异，必将对未来社会的工作产生重大的影响。例如新技术对通讯方式的影响，将使诸如邮差、职员、秘书等事务性工作者消失。
第二段论述即使传统上需要专业知识的行业也会受到新技术的影响。人们不用再找律师询问法律知识；医生会受到计算机的挑战；老师也会大部分被机器取代。人们通常在家里通过可视课堂学习，孩子们仍然上学也只是为了交朋友和培养社会能力。
因此，新技术将对我们造成失业的威胁。第三段告诉我们应直面现实。(not hide our heads in the sand)工会为减少失业所做的努力必将失败，人们只有会用电脑才有幸不致失业，毕竟，各行业都需要有会编写电脑程序的人。唯独收集垃圾的清洁工不须会用电脑。也只因为编写变化难测的清洁工作的程序太难。
总之，短文论述了将来高科技的发展尤其是电脑将对许多行业产生重大影响，使人们面临失业威胁。为此人们只有学会电脑，精通电脑才能在未来社会立于不败之地。
1.c 本题的落点在第一段的第二句。句中rather than (而不是)连接两个意义相对的成分。从 slow down (缓慢下来)可以推测 accelerate 意为“加速”，与c项中speed up相近。
2.b 本题的落点在第一段的第五、六句。句中提到：人们将用电话线而不用邮政传递信息，邮差将消失。
3.b 本题的所述内容在第二段的前三句第三段倒数第二句。其中第二段的第三句说明电子竞争对手即计算机能更快更准确地作出诊断，同时提供更有效的治疗措施。因此可以断定b为正确项。
4.d 本题的落点在第二段的最后三句，注意以下词语 largely replaced 而不是 completely replaced, most learning 而不是 all learning,still go to school 以及 make friends and devolop social skills.
5.a 本题的落点在第三段的第四句。本句的大意是：人们要想摆脱失业的命运，就得懂计算机 (get computer literate)。言外之意就是要人们尽早为将来作准备。b.c 两项与题意不符。d项中提到的清洁工并非人们最理想的工作。