The concept of man versus machineis at least as old as the industrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends tobe most acutely felt during economic downturns and fragile recoveries. And yet,it would be a mistake to think we are right now simply experiencing the painfulside of a boom and bust cycle. Certain jobs have gone away for eating up humanjobs, this phenomenon will continue to restructure our economy in ways we can’timmediately foresee.
When there is exponential improvement in theprice and performance of technology, jobs that were once thought to be immunefrom automation suddenly become threatened. This argument has attracted a lotof attention, via the success of the book Race Against the Machine, byErik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, whoboth hail from MITs Center for Digital Business.
Centerfor Digital Business.
This is a powerful argument, and a scaryone. And yet, John Hagel, auther of The power of pull and other books, saysBrynjolfsson and McAfee miss the reason why these jobs are so vulnerable totechnology in the first place.
Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U.S.that tend to be “tightly scripted” and “highly standardized” ones that leave noroom for “individual initiative or creativity.” In short, these are the typesof jobs that machines can perform much better at than human beings. That is howwe have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers, Hagel says.
It’s time to reinvent the formula for howwork is conducted, since we are still relying on a very 20th centurynotion of work, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than everneed people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise theirimagination “to respond to unexpected events.” That’s not something machinesare good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities.
As Hagel notes, Brynjolfsson and McAfeeindeed touched on this point in their book. We need to reframe race against themachine as race with the machine. In our works, we need to look at the ways inwhich machines can augment human labor rather than replace it. So then theproblem is not really about technology, but rather, “how do we innovate ourinstitutions and our work practices?”
31.According to the first paragraph, economic downturns would .
[A] easethe competition of man vs. machine
[B]highlight machines’ threat to human jobs
[C]provoke a painful technological revolution
[D]outmode our current economic structure
選B . 細節題，定位在第壹句話The concept of man versus machine is at least as old as theindustrial revolution, but this phenomenon tends to be most acutely felt during economic downturnsand fragile recoveries.
對象是 man vs human 答案壹定要講到machine 與human jobs 排除C D.
AB 正好相反，選B .
文章說現象在經濟衰退和脆弱復蘇是更加急劇。選B
32. Theauthors of Race Against the Machine argue that .
[A]technology is diminishing man’s job opportunities
[B]automation is accelerating technological development
[C]certain jobs will remain intact after automation
[D] manwill finally win the race against machine
選A. 細節題，容易，
答案定位在第壹句：When there is exponential improvement in the price and performanceof technology, jobs that were once thought to be immune from automationsuddenly become threatened.
段落話題是工作與自動化，機器的關系排除B D.
A C方向相反，壹定選工作不利的選項選A.
33. Hagelargues that jobs in the U.S. are often .
[A]performed by innovative minds
[B]scripted with an individual style
[C]standardized without a clear target
[D]designed against human creativity
選D. 細節題，如果不仔細定位，容易出錯，定位在第壹句話：
對象是creativity ，而且與之相悖。
最大幹擾項選C. 錯在定位信息沒有 clear target這個對象，
Target出現在第三句話中，也可以通過非定位信息排除法排除
Hagel says we have designed jobs in the U.S. that tend to be“tightly scripted” and “highly standardized” ones that leave no room for“individual initiative or creativity.”
34.According to the last paragraph, Brynjolfsson and McAfee discussed .
[A] thepredictability of machine behavior in practice
[B] theformula for how work is conducted efficiently
[C] theways machines replace human labor in modern times
[D]thenecessity of human involvement in the workplace
選D. 細節題，用排除法才能做對。不過正確選項和原文同義改寫的不是很好。
定位在最後壹句話：So then the problem is not really about technology, but rather, “howdo we innovate our institutions and our work practices?”,
作者否定了technology 排除A ,B
而C是rather than 後面的內容。
選D
35. Whichof the following could be the most appropriate title for text?
[A]How toInnovate Our Work Practices
[B]Machineswill Replace Human Labor
[C]Can WeWin the Race Against Machines
[D]EconomicDownturns Stimulate Innovations
選C . 主旨題，排除法做對，否則很容易做錯。
文章主題 machine 排除A D .
剩下 B C,
排除B machine會代替人非文章觀點。
————文章來源上海華是學院，裏面有整套，這是我摘下來的壹部分。