The subject of automation and its role in our economy has taken hold in American public discourse. Technology broadly and automa

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问题     The subject of automation and its role in our economy has taken hold in American public discourse. Technology broadly and automation specifically are dramatically reshaping the way we work. And we need to have a plan for what’s still to come.
    We don’t have to look further than our own communities to see the devastating impact of automation. From automated warehouses to cashierless grocery stores to neighborhood libraries that offer self-checkout lanes instead of employing real people—automation is increasingly replacing jobs and leaving too few good new jobs behind.
    The statistics in manufacturing are staggering. Despite the widespread fears about trade, a recent report showed that just 13 percent of jobs lost in manufacturing are due to trade—the rest of the losses have been due to advances in technology.
    That is why more people are criticizing the ever-increasing role of technology in our economy. Our country is manufacturing more than ever before, but we are doing it with fewer workers. However, it’s not just factories that are seeing losses—software and information technology are also having a dramatic impact on jobs most people think are secure from the forces of a rapidly-changing economy. Something transformative is happening in America that is having an adverse effect on American families. Whether policymakers and politicians admit it or not, workers have made clear their feelings about their economic insecurity and desire to keep good jobs in America.
    So why are people so insistent on ignoring the perils of automation? They are failing to look ahead at a time when planning for the future is more important than ever. Resisting automation is futile: it is as inevitable as industrialization was before it. I sincerely hope that those who assert that automation will make us more effective and pave the way for new occupations are right, but the reality of automation’s detrimental effects on workers makes me skeptical. No one can currently say where the new jobs are coming from or when, and any sensible company or country should prepare for all alternatives.
    I’m not overstating the danger: look at what’s happened to the labor force. According to economic research, one in six working-age men, 25-54, doesn’t have a job. Fifty years ago, nearly 100 percent of men that age were working. Women’s labor force participation, meanwhile, has slipped back to the level it was at in the late 1980s.
    American families and prominent business leaders are aware that there’s a big problem with automation. The value of a college degree is diminishing, and our upward mobility is declining. If we want an economy that allows everyone to be economically secure, we need to start thinking about how we can rightfully address automation.
What should we attach importance to when dealing with automation?

选项 A、College graduates’ job prospects.
B、Women’s access to employment.
C、People’s economic security.
D、People’s social mobility.

答案C

解析 根据题干中的信息词dealing with automation,以及出题顺序和文章段落顺序基本一致的原则,答案线索定位至最后一段最后一句。最后一段最后一句指出,如果想要一个能让每个人都有经济保障的国家,我们需要开始思考如何正确地解决自动化问题,即解决自动化问题的目标是让人们有经济保障,economic security复现了原文的economically secure,故选项C正确。大学毕业生的工作前景来自前面一句中的“大学学位的价值正在下降”,女性就业机会来自原文第六段末句提到的“女性的劳动参与率已滑落至20世纪80年代末的水平”,社会流动性来自最后一段所说的“我们向上流动的能力正在降低”,而这几方面都是说经济不景气,即人们缺乏经济保障的具体体现,故A、B、D三项均排除。
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