1、2023年高考英语外刊时文精读精练 (2)Rise of the robots机器人的崛起主题语境：人与社会 主题语境内容：科学与技术【外刊原文】（斜体单词为超纲词汇，认识即可；下划线单词为课标词汇，需熟记。）The word “robot” was coined（创造） in1920by the Czech playwright Karel Capek. In “R.U.R.” (“Rossums Universal robots”) Capek imaginedartificial, fullyfunctionalservants. For most of their history, h
2、owever, robots have beendumb, inelegantmechanical devices sitting out of sight in factories.Things are starting to change, however. robots have benefited from rapidinnovationsin smartphones, which brought cheap cameras andsensors（传感器）, fastwirelesscommunications and powerful, smaller computer chips（
3、芯片）. More recent advances in machine learning have added software to make robots better informed about theirsurroundingsand equipped them to make wiser decisions. robots are leaving carefully managed industrialsettingsfor everyday life and, in the coming years, will increasingly work in supermarkets
4、, clinics, social care and much more.They could not be coming at a better time. Many industries are facing a shortage oflabourthedemandfor workers has recovered much faster than expected from the pandemic（疫情） and some people have left the workforce（劳动力）,particularlyin America. Warehousing（仓储） has gr
5、ownrapidlythanks to the e-commerce（电子商务）boom. Robots are nowindispensable（必不可少的）, picking items off shelves and helping people pack an exponentially（迅速增长的） rising numbers of boxes. They are even beginning totrundle（移动）slowly along some pavements, delivering goods or food right to peoples doors. In a
6、 pandemic-ravaged world, short of workers but with lots of elderly folk to look after, having more robots toboostproductivity（生产力） would be a good thing.And yet many people fear that robots will destroy jobs. A paper in2013by economists at Oxford University was widely misinterpreted（曲解） as meaning t
7、hat47% of American jobs were at risk of beingautomated（自动化的）.In fact, concerns about mass unemployment areoverblown（过分渲染）. The evidence suggests robots will bedisruptive（扰乱的）but ultimately beneficial forlabourmarkets. Japan and South Korea have the highest robotpenetration（渗透）but very strong workfor
8、ces. A Yale University study that looked at Japanesemanufacturing（生产）between1978and2017found that an increase of one robot unit per1,000workersboosteda companys employment by2.2%. Research from the Bank of Korea found that robotisation（机器自动化） moved jobs away frommanufacturinginto other sectors（领域）,
9、but that there was nodecreasein overallvacancies（空位）. Another study, by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and colleagues elsewhere, looked at Finnish firms and concluded that their use of advanced technologies led to increases in hiring.For all that, the march of the robots wi
10、ll bring big changes to workplaces. The skills and firms that are rewarded will shift, too. But that need not be the disaster many fear. One supposed example of “badautomation” is self-service checkouts in supermarkets, because they displace human workers. Checkout staff who retrain to help customer
11、s pick items from aisles may well find that dealing with people in need is more rewarding than spending all day swiping（刷磁卡） barcodes in front of lasers.Inevitably, some people will be on the losing end of change even as the robots make society as a whole better off. One lesson from thefreewheeling（
12、自由放纵的）globalisation of the1990s and2000s is that the growth in trade that was overwhelmingly（势不可挡地） beneficialtriggereda politicalbacklash（反击）, because the losers felt left behind. That is one more reason why firms and governments would do well to recognise the value of retraining and lifelong learn
13、ing. As jobs change, workers should be helped to acquire new skills, including how to work with and manage the robots that will increasingly be their colleagues.Thepotentialgains from the robot revolution are huge. In Capeks play, the robotsrevolt（反叛）against their human masters and cause mass unempl
14、oyment and worse. The beginnings of the worlds real robots have not matched Capeks satire（讽刺）. There is no reason to think that their future needs to either.【课标词汇】1. artificial人造的，人工的；仿造的clothes made of artificial fibres人造纤维质地的服装an artificial heart人造心脏an artificial lake人工湖artificial fur/sweeteners/f
15、lowers人造毛皮人造甜味剂假花2. functional 实用的 ;作用的；功能的；（能）起作用的，工作的，运转的Bathrooms dont have to be purely functional. 浴室不必完全只为了实用。These units played a key functional role in the military operation. 这些单位在军事行动中起到了主要的职能作用。The hospital will soon be fully functional. 这家医院将很快全面运作。3. dumb哑的；不能说话的;一时说不出话的；不肯开口的We were al
16、l struck dumb with amazement. 我们都惊讶得说不出话来。She was born deaf and dumb. 她天生又聋又哑。4. inelegant不雅的；粗俗的an inelegant posture不雅的姿势inelegant surroundings粗俗的环境5. mechanical 机械的；机械零件的a mechanical device机械设备The plane appeared to have crashed because of a mechanical problem.这架飞机看来是因机械故障而坠毁的。6. out of sight看不见了Sh
17、e saw them off, waving until the car was out of sight.她给他们送行，一直挥手到车子从目光中消失。Karen waved until the car was out of sight.卡伦不断挥手，直到汽车看不见了。7. benefit得益，受惠；（使）受益；对有帮助I feel that I have benefited greatly from her wisdom.我觉得从她的睿智中我获益良多。They are working together to benefit the whole community.他们在为整个社区的利益共同努力
18、。8. innovation革新，创新:We need to encourage innovation in industry.我们需要鼓励工业创新。Many people feel bewildered by the speed of technological innovation .很多人对技术革新的速度感到不知所措。9. advance（使）前进；使进步，使进展；使发展；促进The fire advanced steadily through the forest.大火在森林中不断蔓延。We have advanced greatly in our knowledge of the u
19、niverse.在认识宇宙方面，我们已经取得长足的进步。Hes just trying to advance (= improve) his own career.他只是在努力发展自己的事业。10. advanced先进的;高级的This is the most advanced type of engine available.这是现有的最先进的引擎。The course is suitable for beginners and advanced students.本课程适合初学者及程度较高者。The lab has recently been updated to allow for m
20、ore advanced courses.实验室最近经过更新，可以上更高阶的课程了。11. add加，相加；增加，添加；补充说，继续说If you add three and four you get seven.三加四等于七。Beat the butter and sugar together and slowly add the eggs.把奶油和糖搅拌在一起，再慢慢把鸡蛋打进去。Shes added a Picasso to her collection.她的收藏中增添了一幅毕卡索的画作。Oh, and thank you for all your help! he added as h
21、e was leaving.“噢，谢谢你的帮助！”他在离开时补充道。12. inform通知，告知The name of the dead man will not be released until his relatives have been informed.在通知死者亲属之前，不会公布死者的姓名。 I informed my boss that I was going to be away next week.我告诉老板下周我不在。13. equip装备；配备；使有准备；使有能力Its going to cost $4 million to equip the hospital.给这
22、所医院配齐医疗设备将耗资400万美元。The course aims to equip people with the skills necessary for a job in this technological age.本课程旨在使人们获得在这个科技时代必备的工作技能。14. manage管理，掌管；经营（尤指企业）Has she had any experience of managing large projects?她有负责大型专案计划的经验吗？Hes not very good at managing people.他不是很善于管理别人。His job involved mana
23、ging large investment funds.他的工作涉及管理巨额投资基金。15. increasingly越来越多地，不断增加地Increasingly, young people distrust all forms of government.年轻人越来越不相信任何形式的政府。He was finding it increasingly difficult to make decisions.他发现越来越难以作出决定。The U.S. has increasingly relied on Japanese capital.美国越来越依赖日本的资本。16. a shortage
24、of缺乏，缺少a shortage of funds 资金不足a shortage of skilled labour缺乏熟练工Theres a shortage of food and shelter in the refugee camps.难民营里缺少足够的食物和住处。17. demand坚决请求，强烈要求；强要The car workers union is demanding a 7% pay rise this year.汽车工会要求今年加薪7%。She demanded that he return the books he borrowed from her.她要求他把从她那里
25、借走的书还回来。18. recover（尤指健康、能力、所有物等）失而复得，重新得到，追回，收复，寻回It took her a long while to recover from/after her heart operation.她心脏动手术后很长时间身体才复原。It took a long time for the economy to recover after the slump.经济萧条期过后，这间公司花了很长时间才恢复元气。19. thanks to多亏；幸亏；归功于It was all a great successthanks to a lot of hard work.
26、由于尽心竭力，这才大获成功。Everyone knows about it now, thanks to you! 多亏了你，现在大家都知道了！20. boom（经济上的）繁荣，迅速发展This year has seen a boom in book sales.今年图书销售激增。Tourism on the island has boomed.该岛的旅游业迅速发展。By the 1980s, the computer industry was booming. 到 20 世纪 80 年代时,计算机行业迅猛发展。 21. pack把东西装进（箱，包）,把打包；把装箱I packed a ba
27、g with a few of my favourite clothes.我往包里装了几件我最喜欢的衣服。She had packed and checked out of the hotel.她已收拾好东西结账离开了旅馆。He packed a bag with a few things and was off. 他装了几件衣物就走了。22. deliver运送；递送，投递;发表；宣布；The shop is delivering our new bed on Thursday.该店将于周二把我们的新床送来。Before leaving I delivered myself of a few
28、 choice comments. 离开之前，我发表了一些精心准备的评论23. boost 使增长；使兴旺:The movie helped boost her screen career. 那部电影有助于她的银幕生涯的发展。Share prices were boosted by reports of the Presidents recovery.总统康复的报导导致股票价格上扬。24. at risk处境危险，冒风险All houses within 100 metres of the seas are at risk of flooding.所有离海岸不足100米的房子都有被洪水袭击的危
29、险。If we go to war, innocent lives will be put at risk. 如果我们发动战争，无辜的生命就会受到威胁。25. concern使担忧；使挂念；使焦虑The state of my fathers health concerns us greatly.我父亲的健康状况让我们非常担心。It concerns me that he hasnt been in contact.还没有联络到他，我很担心。26. beneficial有益的，有用的，有利的A stay in the country will be beneficial to his heal
30、th.在乡下生活一段时间，对他的健康有利。Using computers has a beneficial effect on childrens learning.使用计算机对孩子们的学习有益。来自牛津双解27. conclude使结束;作出结论；推断；断定The doctors concluded that Esther had suffered a stroke.医生诊断埃丝特中风了。They conclude their study with these words.他们以这些话结束调查报告。The report concluded that the school should be
31、closed immediately.报告的结论是这所学校应该立刻关闭。28. lead to引发（某事物）There is no doubt that stress can lead to physical illness. 毫无疑问，心理压力会导致生理疾病。29. shift移动；改变；转移The wind is expected to shift (to the east) tomorrow.预计风明天转向（为东风）。Media attention has shifted recently onto environmental issues.媒体关注的焦点最近转到了环保问题。She sh
32、ifted her gaze from me to Bobby.她把凝视的目光从我身上移开，转向了博比。30. displace取代，替代;Coal has been displaced by natural gas as a major source of energy.作为一种主要能源的煤正为天然气所取代。Coal is to be displaced by natural gas and nuclear power.煤炭将让位于天然气和核能。31. in need需要帮助的We must care for those in need.我们必须关心那些生活困难的人。The charity
33、aims to provide assistance to people in need.这个慈善机构的宗旨是向贫困者提供帮助。 32. reward答；报偿；奖赏The company rewarded him for his years of service with a grand farewell party and several presents.公司为了答谢他多年为公司所作的贡献，为他举行了一个隆重的欢送会，还赠送了他几件礼物。She was rewarded for her efforts with a cash bonus. 她因自己所作的努力而得到一笔奖金。 She sta
34、rted singing to the baby and was rewarded with a smile. 她开始给孩子唱歌,孩子则报以微笑。 33. inevitably不可避免地Their arguments inevitably end in tears.他们的争论不可避免地以眼泪告终。Inevitably, the situation did not please everyone.这种局势必定不能让所有人都感到满意。34. trigger引起，引发（坏事）Some people find that certain foods trigger their headaches.有些人
35、发现某些食物导致他们头痛。His action triggered a massive response from the government.他的行动激起了来自政府的极大反响。35. acquire取得，获得；学到，获得知识、技能The college acquired a reputation for very high standards.那所学院以学术水平高而闻名。He spent years acquiring his skills as a surgeon.他花了许多年时间学习外科医生的技能。She has acquired a good knowledge of English
36、. 她英语已经学得很好。 【课标词汇精练】根据语境，从上面的“课标词汇”和“重点短语”中选用合适的单词及其正确形式将句子补充完整。1. Many thousands from the new treatment.2. Her colleagues laughter only to her embarrassment.3. A degree in the history of art is very nice but it doesnt exactly you for many jobs.4. He has alwaysthe highest standards of behaviour fro
37、m his children.5. He never really from the shock of his wife dying .6. this treatment, her condition has improved. 7. They passed behind the hill and . 8. When you have a job as well as children to look after, you have to learn how to your time.9. There is anpopular alternative10. funds is preventin
38、g the UN from monitoring relief.11. 23 million people in Africa arefrom starvation.12. What me is our lack of preparation for the change. 13. The improvement in sales figures had a effect /influence on the company as a whole.14. Walters was not properly of the reasons for her arrest.15. The office w
39、as large andrather than welcoming. 16. We sat there in silence. 17. The company produces parts for airplane engines.18. We must encourage if the company is to remain competitive.19. Her study has considerably the cause of equal rights.20. Without more training or technical skills, theyll lose their
40、jobs.21. Business was , and money wasnt a problem.22. I decided to a few things and take the kids to my Mums.23. Mail to our office twice a day.24. She is due to a lecture on genetic engineering. 25. The theatre managed to its audiences by cutting ticket prices.26. She the speech by reminding us of
41、our responsibility.27. The decision will lead to political tensions.28. The racial killings at the weekend haveoff a wave of protests.29. These factories have tourism as the countrys largest source of foreign exchange.30. You just hope that the money goes to those who are most .31. This suggestion w
42、ill certainlyan argument.32. She (her weight) uneasily from one foot to the other.33. All his hard work was (= was made worth it) when he saw his book in print.34. Elsie a good knowledge of Chinese.Keys:1. have benefited 千千万万的人受益于这种新的疗法。2. added她的同事笑了起来，这使她更加难堪了。3. equip能获得一个艺术史学位固然不错，但在很多工作中它并不见得会使
43、你有用武之地。4. demanded他总是以最高的行为准则来要求自己的孩子。5. recovered 他再也没有从丧妻之痛中真正恢复过来。6. Thanks to幸亏采用了这种疗法，她的病情已经好转。7. out of sight他们走到山后，看不见了。8. manage如果你既要工作又要照顾孩子，就必须学会如何分配时间。9. increasingly有了越来越受欢迎的替代品。10. A shortage of 资金短缺使联合国无法督导救援工作。11. at risk非洲有2,300万人正处于饥饿的危险中。12. concerns 让我担心的是我们对事态的变化缺乏准备。 13. benefic
44、ial 销售额的上升使整间公司受益。14. informed沃尔特斯并未按规定被告知其被捕的原因。15. functional这个办公室大而实用，但不怎么宜人。16. dumb我们坐在那里，默然无语。17. mechanical 这家公司生产飞机引擎的机械零件。18. innovation公司要想保持竞争力，就必须鼓励革新。19. advanced她的研究极大地促进了权利平等运动的事业。20. advanced 没有进一步的培训或高级技能的话，他们就会丢掉工作。21. booming生意非常兴隆，钱已不是问题。22. pack 我决定收拾些东西，带孩子们去我妈妈家。23. is deliver
45、ed邮差每天给我们办公室投递两次邮件。24. deliver根据安排她要作一个关于遗传工程的演讲。 25. boost剧院设法透过降低票价来增加观众数量。26. concluded她在演讲结束时提醒我们所承担的责任。27. inevitably该决定必然导致政治局势的紧张。28. have triggered周末发生的种族屠杀引发抗议浪潮。29. have displaced 这些工厂已取代旅游业成为该国最大的外汇来源。30. in need你只是希望那些钱会交到最有需要的人手里。31. lead to 这个建议必将引起一场争论。32. shifted她不安地把身体的重心由一只脚转移到另一只脚
46、。33. was rewarded .看到了自己的书付梓出版，他感到一切的艰辛都得到了回报。34. acquired 埃尔茜汉语学得很好。【译文】“机器人”一词是由捷克剧作家卡雷尔恰佩克（Karl Capek）在1920年创造的。在罗素姆万能机器人（“Rossums Universal robots”，简称“R.U.R.”）中，恰佩克设想出了功能齐全的人造仆人。然而，纵观机器人历史，大部分时间里人们只是将它们视为愚笨、粗糙的机械设备，并把它们堆放在工厂的隐蔽角落。然而，情况开始发生转变。智能手机的快速革新使机器人受益匪浅，因为它们带来了廉价摄像头和传感器、快速的无线通信和功能强大的小型计算机芯
47、片。此外，机器学习方面的最新进展已经增加了软件，使机器人能够更好地了解周围环境，并且可以做出更明智的决定。机器人正逐步走出精心管理的工业环境，进入日常生活。在接下来的几年中，将会有越来越多的机器人在超市、诊所、社会护理等领域工作。它们来得正是时候。许多行业正面临劳动力短缺的问题对工人的需求从疫情中恢复的速度比预期快得多，而劳动力却在减少，美国这一情况尤为显著。得益于电子商务的繁荣，仓储业务增长迅速。机器人现在是不可或缺的，它们可以从货架上挑选物品，也可以帮助人们处理数量剧增的打包工作。他们甚至开始缓慢行走于人行道上，以实现商品和食物的送货上门。疫情肆虐下，工人短缺，但有很多老人需要照顾，生产更
48、多的机器人来提高生产力将是一件好事。然而，许多人担心机器人会破坏就业。牛津大学经济学家在2013年发表的一篇论文被广泛误解为美国有47%的工作面临被机器人取代的风险。事实上，关于自动化会造成大规模失业是人们的过度担忧。有证据表明，机器人最初会对劳动力市场产生破坏性，但最终是有利于劳动力市场发展的。日本和韩国的机器人普及率最高，但他们的劳动力也非常强大。耶鲁大学对1978年至2017年间日本制造业的研究发现，在每1000名工人中增加一个机器人，公司的就业率就会提高2.2%。韩国央行的研究发现，机器自动化让原本从事制造业的工人转行到了其他行业，总体上就业岗位总数并没有减少。另一项研究是由麻省理工大
49、学和其他研究机构的研究人员合作进行的，他们考察了芬兰的多家公司，得出的结论是，先进技术的使用反而会增加就业机会。尽管如此，机器人的发展将会给工作场所带来巨大的变化。过去的技能和盈利的公司也会发生转变。但这并不意味着人们担忧的灾难会发生。一个“不良自动化”的例子就是超市的自助收银台，因为它们取代了人力。经过再培训的收银员可以在货架过道处帮助顾客挑选商品，他们很可能会发现，与那些需要帮助的人打交道比整天用激光器扫描商品条形码更有意义。不可避免的是，即使机器人让整个社会变得更好，仍有一部分人会在变革中处于不利方。比如，在20世纪90年代和21世纪头10年蓬勃发展的全球化浪潮中，给大多数人带来益处的贸
50、易发展却引发了政治抵制，因为有失败者感觉被国家抛弃了。这也是企业和政府应该重视再培训和终身学习的价值的另一个原因。随着工作岗位的变化，应该帮助工人获得新技能，包括如何与越来越多的机器人共事并管理它们。机器人革命带来的潜在收益是巨大的。在恰佩克的戏剧中，机器人背叛人类主人，造成大规模失业及更严重的后果。现实世界的机器人的开端并未应验恰佩克讽刺作品里的内容。我们没有理由认为机器人的未来会如恰佩克所言。【背景知识】 Rossums Universal Robots：罗素姆万能机器人。捷克科幻剧作品，3幕。作者恰佩克。剧本发表于1920年。描述一个名叫罗素姆的哲学家研制出一种机器人，被资本家大批制造来充当劳动力。但是世界上如果充满了干活的机器人，人类就会停止生育，面临末日。因此作者在作品中描写了一对会恋爱和能生育的机器人，以此象征人类将免遭灭亡。
