【正确答案】A: I'd like to choose the second topic—Does techonology threaten our quality of life? Whether technology enhances or diminishes our overall quality of life depends largely on the type of technology one is considering. While mechanical automation may have diminished our quality of life, on balance, digital automation is doing more to improve life than to undermine its quality. First consider mechanical automation, particularly assembly-line manufacturing. With automation came a loss of pride in and alienation from one's work. In this sense, automation both diminished our quality of life and rendered us slaves to machines in our inability to reverse "progress". Admittedly, mechanical automation spawned entire industries, creating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and supplying a plethora of innovative conveniences. Nevertheless, the sociological and environmental price of progress may have outweighed its benefits. On the other hand, by delegating repetitive tasks to computers, digital technology has spawned great advances in medicine and physics, helping us to better understand the world, to enhance our health, and to prolong our lives. Digital automation has also emancipated architects, artists, designers, and musicians, by expanding creative possibilities and by saving time. Perhaps most important, however, information technology makes possible universal access to information, thereby providing a democratizing influence on our culture. In sammary, while mechanical automation may have created a society of slaves to modern conveniences and unfulfilling work, digital automation holds more promise for improving our lives without enslaving us to the technology. Thank you. Now... (say the name of candidate B), would you like to ask... (say the name of candidate A) some questions? (Allow a maximum of 2 questions by candidate B, followed by one more question by the interlocutor.) B: Do you think there are any drawbacks to digital technology? A: Yes, admittedly, this new form of technoloy has brought its own brand of alienation, and has adversely affected our quality of life in other ways as well. E: Can you give us an example of it? A: For example, computer automation, and especially the Internet, breeds information overload and steals our time and attention away from family, community, and coworkers. In these respects, digital technology tends to diminish our quality of life and create its own legion of human slaves. Now... (say the name of Candidate B), would you begin by telling us which topic you have chosen and then give your presentation, please? B: I'd like to choose the first topic—should educators provide students with a set of ideas or with job preparation? In my view the two are not mutually exclusive. It is by helping students develop their own principles for living, as well as by instilling in them certain fundamental values, that educators best prepare young people for the world of work. One reason for my viewpoint is that rote learning of facts, figures, and technical skills does not help us determine which goals are worthwhile and whether the means of attaining those goals are ethically or morally acceptable. In other words, strong values and ethical standards are needed to determine how we can best put our rote knowledge to use in the working world. Thus, by helping students develop a thoughtful, principled value system educators actually help prepare students for jobs. Another reason for my viewpoint lies in the fact that technology-driven industries account for an ever-in-creasing portion of our jobs. As advances in technology continue to accelerate, specific knowledge and skills needed for jobs will change more and more quickly. Thus it would be a waste of our education system to focus on specific knowledge and job skills that might soon become obsolete—at the expense of teaching values. Thank you. Now... (say the name of candidate A), would you like to ask... (say the name of candidate B) some questions? (Allow a maximum of 2 questions by candidate A, followed by one more question by the interlocutor.) A: What basic values should educators instill in students? B: These values include principles of fairness and equity upon which our system of laws is based, as well as the values of tolerance and respect when it comes to the viewpoints of others. E: How do educators hold a balance between the two aspects? B: Only when educators help students develop their own principles for living, and when they instill certain fundamental values, do young people grow into successful working adults. Although there will always be a need to train people for specific jobs, in our technological society where knowledge advances so rapidly, employers and job training programs are better equipped to provide this function—leaving formal educators to equip students with a moral compass and ballast to prevent them from being tossed about aimlessly in a turbulent vocational sea.