Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?
Don't dismiss that possibility entirely. About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed. Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don't appeal to robots. But many middle-class occupations-trucking, financial advice, software engineering — have aroused their interest, or soon will. The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.
This isn't to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past. The Industrial Revolution didn't go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed. Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work. But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.
The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training. Curriculums —from grammar school to college- should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication. Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots. Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable. Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.
The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier. In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines. The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven't been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.
Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought. Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded: This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.
Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation. Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.
21.Who will be most threatened by automation?
A．Leading politicians.
B．Low-wage laborers.
C．Robot owners.
D．Middle-class workers.
22 . Which of the following best represent the author's view?
A．Worries about automation are in fact groundless.
B．Optimists' opinions on new tech find little support.
C．Issues arising from automation need to be tackled
D．Negative consequences of new tech can be avoided
23.Education in the age of automation should put more emphasis on_____.
A．creative potential.
B．job-hunting skills.
C．individual needs.
D．cooperative spirit.
24.The author suggests that tax policies be aimed at_____.
A．encouraging the development of automation.
B．increasing the return on capital investment.
C．easing the hostility between rich and poor.
D．preventing the income gap from widening.
25. In this text, the author presents a problem with_____.
A．opposing views on it.
B．possible solutions to it.
C．its alarming impacts.
D．its major variations.
答案：DCADB
译文
中产阶级面临的恼人挑战之一可能不会在下届总统竞选中被提及：当机器人来找工作时会发生什么？
不要完全排除这种可能性。根据牛津大学的一项研究，美国约有一半的工作处于高度自动化的风险中，中产阶级受到不成比例的挤压。园艺或日托等低收入工作对机器人没有吸引力。但许多中产阶级职业——卡车运输、金融咨询、软件工程——已经引起了他们的兴趣，或者很快就会引起他们的兴趣。富人拥有机器人，所以他们会没事的。
这不是危言耸听。乐观主义者指出，技术剧变过去曾使工人受益。工业革命对卢德派来说并不顺利，他们的工作被机械化织布机取代，但它最终提高了生活水平，创造的就业机会多于摧毁的就业机会。同样，自动化最终应该会提高生产力，通过压低价格刺激需求，并使工人从繁重、无聊的工作中解放出来。但从中期来看，中产阶级工人可能需要很多帮助来调整。
正如 Erik Brynjolfsson 和 Andrew McAfee 在第二个机器时代所说，第一步应该是重新思考教育和职业培训。课程——从文法学校到大学——应该发展到更少地关注记忆事实，而更多地关注创造力和复杂的交流。职业学校应该在培养解决问题的能力和帮助学生与机器人一起工作方面做得更好。在线教育可以补充传统教育。它可以使额外的培训和指导负担得起。试图获得新技能的专业人士将能够做到这一点而不会负债。
应对自动化的挑战突显出美国需要重振其逐渐衰落的商业活力：必须让创办新公司变得更容易。在以前技术发生剧烈变化的时代，企业家们通过构想将劳动力和机器结合起来的方式来平稳过渡。尚未发明 3D 打印机和虚拟现实的最佳用途。美国需要能够发明它们的新公司。
最后，由于自动化可能会扩大资本收入和劳动收入之间的差距，因此必须重新考虑税收和安全网。需要削减对低工资劳动力的税收，并应扩大工资补贴，如劳动所得税抵免：这将增加收入，鼓励工作，奖励创造就业机会的公司，并减少不平等。
未来几年，技术将以大大小小的方式改善社会，但对于那些发现自己的生活和职业被自动化颠覆的人来说，这并不会带来什么安慰。摧毁为我们工作而来的机器将是疯狂的。但帮助工人适应的政策将是必不可少的。
21.谁将受到自动化的最大威胁？
A. 主要政治家。
B. 低薪劳工。
C.机器人所有者。
D．中产阶级工人。
22 .以下哪项最能代表作者的观点？
A．对自动化的担忧其实是没有根据的。
B．乐观主义者对新技术的看法几乎没有得到支持。
C. 自动化产生的问题需要解决
D.新技术的负面后果可以避免
23.自动化时代的教育更应重视_____。
A.创造潜力。
B.求职技巧。
C.个人需要。
D.合作精神。
24.作者建议税收政策针对____。
A．鼓励自动化发展。
B．提高资本投资回报率。
C. 缓和贫富之间的敌意。
D．防止收入差距扩大。
25. 在本文中，作者提出了_____的问题。
A.反对意见。
B.可能的解决方案。
C.其惊人的影响。
D.它的主要变化。
