Section BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. Passage OneQuestions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage. Amid all the job losses, there’s one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.

Counsellors often assure their clients that what they experience themselves is only _______.

 Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

 Passage One

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

  Amid all the job losses, there’s one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.

From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and taught to carve up animal bodies in slaughter-houses, these ever-more-intelligent machines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs.

A. utomation isn’t just affecting factory workers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that previously was performed
B. y highly-paid human lawyers.
C. r jobs, and white-collar jobs are under attack by microprocessors,” says economics professor Edward Leamer. The recession permanently wiped out 2.5 million jobs. U.S. gross domestic product has climbed back to pre-recession levels, meaning we’re producing as much as before, only with 6% fewer workers. To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing (外包) stealing far more jobs than automation.
D. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Robotics Industry Association, argues that robots actually save U.S. jobs. His logic: companies that embrace automation might use fewer workers, but that’s still better than firing everyone and moving the work overseas.
E. It’s not that robots are cheaper than humans, though often they are. It’s that they’re better. “In some cases the quality requirements are so exacting that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn’t,” Burnstein says.
F. s for surgeons, who’re using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of operations—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet.
G. s may survive the robot invasion, but others at the hospital might not be so lucky, as iRobot, maker of the Roomba, a robot vacuum cleaner, has been showing off Ava, which could be used as a messenger in a hospital. And once you’re home, recovering, Ava could let you talk to your doctor, so there’s no need to send someone to your house. That “mobile telepresence” could be useful at the office. If you’re away on a trip, you can still attend a meeting. Just connect via videoconferencing software, so your face appears on Ava’s screen.
I was hoping to say “journalist,” but researchers are already developing software that can gather facts and write a news story. Which means that a few years from now, a robot could be writing this column. And who will read it? Well, there might be a lot of us hanging around with lots of free time on our hands.
 注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
w paragraphs?
The over-use of robots has done damage to American economy.
It is hard for robots to replace humans in highly professional work.
Artificial intelligence is key to future technological innovations.
from the
conomic r
rom the economic recession.
What caused the greatest loss of jobs in America?
Using microprocessors extensively.
Moving production to other countries.
The bankruptcy of many companies.
The invasion of migrant workers.
What does Jeff Burnstein say about robots?
They help companies to revive.
They are cheaper than humans.
They prevent job losses in a way.
They compete with human workers.
Why are robotic systems replacing surgeons in more and more operations according to Dr. Myriam Curet?
They save lots of money for the patients.
They beat humans in precision.
They take less time to perform a surgery.
They make operations less painful.
What does the author imply about robotics?
It will greatly enrich literary creation.
It will start a new technological revolution.
research.
in any field imaginable.
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
y times, you can probably repeat it in your sleep. President Obama will no doubt make the point publicly when he gets to Beijing: the Chinese need to consume more; they need—believe it or not—to become more like Americans, for the sake of the global economy.
nd it’s all true.
ut the other side of that equation is that the U.S. needs to save more. For the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic
oing so. After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero
quation is that the U.S. needs to save more.
or the moment, American households actually are doing so. After the personal-savings rate dipped to zero in 2005, the shock of the economic crisis last year prompted people to snap shut their wallets.
In China, the household-savings rate exceeds 20%. It is partly for policy reasons. As we’ve seen, wage earners are expected to care for not only their children but their aging parents. And there is, to date, only the flimsiest (脆弱的) of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working. But China is a society that has long esteemed personal financial prudence (谨慎). There is no chance that will change anytime soon, even if the government creates a better social safety net and successfully encourages greater consumer spending.
Why does the U.S. need to learn a little frugality (节俭)?Because healthy savings rates are one of the surest indicators of a country’s long-term financial health. High savings lead, over time, to increased investment, which in turn generates productivity gains, innovation and job growth. In short, savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest.
t thus needs to act as well. By running constant deficits, it is dis-saving, even as households save more. Peter Orszag, Obama’s Budget Director, recently called the U.S. budget deficits unsustainable and he’s right. To date, the U.S. has seemed unable to see the consequences of spending so much more than is taken in. That needs to change. And though Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership aren’t inclined to lecture visiting Presidents, he might gently hint that Beijing is getting a little nervous about the value of the dollar—which has fallen 15% since March, in large part because of increasing fears that America’s debt load is becoming unmanageable.
t happens when you’re the world’s biggest creditor: you get to drop hints like that, which would be enough by themselves to create international economic chaos if they were ever leaked. (Every time any official in Beijing deliberates publicly about seeking an alternative to the U.S. dollar for the $2.1 trillion China holds in reserve, currency traders have a heart attack.) If Americans saved more and spent less, consistently over time, they wouldn’t have to worry about all that.
How did the economic crisis affect Americans?
They had to tighten their belts.
Their bank savings rate dropped to zero.
Their leadership in the global economy was shaken.
about China’s financial policy.
What should be done to encourage Chinese people to consume?
Changing their traditional way of life.
night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in
ig Sur, California, pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in “black-hole resorts,” which charge high prices precisely becaus
liff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California, pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in “black-hole resorts,” which charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms.
Has it really come to this?
t rescue camps in South Korea and China try to save kids addicted to the screen.
Writer friends of mine pay good money to get the Freedom software that enables them to disable the very Internet connections that seemed so emancipating not long ago. Even Intel experimented in 2007 with conferring four uninterrupted hours of quiet time (no phone or e-mail) every Tuesday morning on 300 engineers and managers. Workers were not allowed to use the phone or send e-mail, but simply had the chance to clear their heads and to hear themselves think.
Providing fewer incentives for saving.
Improving China’s social security system.
Cutting down the
xpenses on child-rearing.
What does the author mean by saying “savings are the seed corn of a good economic harvest” (Line 4, Para. 4)?
The more one saves, the more returns one will reap.
A country’s economy hinges on its savings policy.
Those who keep saving will live an easy life in the end.
A healthy savings rate promotes
conomic prosperity.
In what circumstances do currency traders become scared?
When Beijing allows its currency exchange rates to float.
When China starts to reduce its current foreign reserves.
When China talks about switching its dollar reserves to other currencies.
When Beijing mentions in public the huge debts America owes China.
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
To urge the American government to cut deficits.
To encourage Chinese people to spend more.
To tell Americans not to worry about their economy.
America.
Part V                                  Cloze (15 minutes)
A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2
ach blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single l
ollowing passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
My job is killing me.”Who among us hasn't issued that complaint at least once? Now a new study suggests that your dramatic complaint may ____62____ some scientific truth.
t Tel Aviv University, _____63______ to examine the relationship between the workplace and a person's risk of death. Researchers _____64_____ 820 adults who had undergone a ______65____ physical exam at a health clinic in 1988, and then interviewed them _____66_____ detail about their workplace conditions—asking how nice their colleagues were, whether their boss was supportive and how much ______67_____ they had in their position.
t the start of the study and worked in a variety of ____69___, including finance, health care, manufacturing and insurance. The researchers _____70______ the participants through their medical records: by the study's conclusion in 2008, 53 people had died—and they were significantly more likely than those who survived to report having a ____71____ work environment.
People who reported having little or no ____72____ support from their co-workers were 2.4 times more likely to die ____73____ the course of the study than those who said they had close, supportive _____74_____ with their workmates. Interestingly, the risk of death was _____75_____ only to people's perceptions of their co-workers, not their bosses . People who reported negative relationships with their supervisors were ____76____ likely to die than others.
t could not determine whether toxic workplace environments caused death, only that it was _____78____ with the risk. But the findings add to the evidence ______79_______ having a supportive social network decreases stress and helps _____80____ good health. On the other hand, being exposed _____81_____ chronic stress contributes to depression, ill health and death.