单选题 Office jobs are among the positions hardest hit by computation. Word processors and typists will lose about 93,000 jobs over the next few years, while 57,000 secretarial jobs will vanish. Blame the PC: Today, many executives type their own memos and carry their "secretaries" in the palms of their hands. Time is also hard for stock clerks, whose ranks are expected to decrease by 68,000. And employees in manufacturing firms and wholesalers are being replaced with computerized systems.
But not everyone who loses a job will end up in the unemployment line. Many will shift to growing positions within their own companies. When new technologies shook up the telecomm business, telephone operator Judy Dougherty pursued retraining. She is now a communications technician, earning about $ 64,000 per year. Of course, if you've been a tollbooth collector for the past 30 years, and you find yourself replaced by an E-ZPass machine, it may be of little consolation to know that the telecomm field is booming.
And that's just it: The service economy is fading; welcome to the expertise (专门知识 ) economy. To succeed in the new job market, you must be able to handle complex problems. Indeed, all but one of the 50 highest-paying occupations--air-traffic controller—demand at least a bachelor's degree.
For those with just a high school diploma, it's going to get tougher to find a well-paying job. Since fewer factory and clerical jobs will be available, what's left will be the jobs that computation can't kill: Computers can't clean offices, or care for Alzheimer's patients. But, since most people have the skills to fill those positions, the wages stay painfully low, meaning computation could drive an even deeper wedge between the rich and poor. The best advice now: Never stop learning, and keep up with new technology.
For busy adults, of course, that can be tough. The good news is that the very technology that's reducing so many jobs is also making it easier to go back to school—without having to sit in a classroom. So-called Internet distance learning is hot, with more than three million students currently enrolled, and it's gaining credibility with employers.
Are you at risk of losing your job to a computer? Check the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is available online at bls. gov.

单选题 From the first paragraph we can infer that all of the following persons are easily thrown into unemployment EXCEPT ______。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为推论题，参见文章第1段，其大意是：办公室的工作职位受计算机自动化的打击最大。文字处理人员和打字员将在最近几年失去93000个就业职位，57000个秘书的职位将消失。这都怪个人电脑：今天，许多经理主管人员都能够自己输入备忘录，并且手掌中就可携带“秘书”。股票职员的日子也不好过，其职位预期要减少68000个。同时，制造业的雇员和批发商也正在被计算机化的系统所替代，由此可推断正确答案为C。

单选题 In the second paragraph the author mentions the tollbooth collector to ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点解析] 本题为推论题，参见文章第2段，其大意是：并非每个人丢掉工作就意味着失业。很多人将在自己公司的范围内转换成其他职务，譬如电话话务员Judy Dougherty现在成了通信技术员，每年挣64000美元。当然，如果你是过路收费亭的收款员，工作了30年了，你会发现自己被电子收款机所替代，那么电信领域的欣欣向荣可能就不会令人感到舒服了。由此可见，作者想通过收费亭的收款员来说明他太老而不能转换到新的职务，故正确答案为B。