A、Improving transportation. B、Boosting educational opportunities. C、Spreading automation. D、Increasing productivity. B

W: As automation spreads through the American economy, its impacts will be uneven. Some key factors include geography and race, but perhaps the most important determinant is education. Today, we have Aldo Galindo with us. He teaches business at the University of Redlands, and studies the potential effects of job automation.
M: Thank you. When I was growing up, my father’s message about college was simple. He would always tell me to go to school. It wasn’t an option. It was more like, you have to.
W: What was his job then?
M: I remember my dad coming home exhausted after working 12-hour days as a cook at a local restaurant.
W: So your father has sent you a clear message that you have to work after you grow up, right?
M: It is more than that. I guess what he wanted to say is that with a degree and a profession, we could live more comfortably.
W: Is education highly valued in your region, Mr. Aldo?
M: It is sad to say, but in my region nearly half of all adults have no education beyond high school.
W: Why is that happening?
M: There’s a lot of hardship that comes around here. And a lot of students do experience that. So in the coming years, boosting educational opportunities could determine whether this region, east of Los Angeles, thrives or struggles.
W: Your region is known as the Inland Empire, and is home to about 4. 5 million people, and more than half of them Hispanic, right?
M: Yes. And now with the spread of automation, robotic machines perform simple repetitive tasks now performed by humans. For businesses, it promises to cut costs and boost productivity. For workers, especially the less-educated, it threatens to take their jobs.
W: What does that mean for the Inland Empire?
M: The numbers tell the story. My research found that 63％ of the jobs in the Inland Empire could be automated in the future. And Hispanics are 25％ more likely than whites to hold those jobs. The research also found that education is the key factor. Someone with a bachelor’s degree runs less than a 50％ risk of job automation. But unfortunately in this region, only 9％ of Hispanics fall into that category.
W: Can you say more about the local economy?
M: Yes. The Inland Empire’s economy is dominated by industries that could be heavily automated in the future: fast-food restaurants, office and administrative services, and, crucially, distribution centers. It’s just over an hour from the ports of Los Angeles. Railroad tracks and interstate highways crisscross the terrain. Warehouses dot the landscape. Amazon alone has 13 fulfillment centers in the region.
W: I see. That is why education will play an ever more important role in the near future. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us, Mr. Aldo.
6. What did the man’s father think of education?
7. What does the man learn from his father’s message?
8. What will determine the future of the man’s region in the coming years?
9. How do less-educated workers feel about automation?
10. What does the man’s research find out?