单选题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.

单选题此题为音频题

单选题此题为音频题

单选题此题为音频题

问答题 海南是仅次于台湾的中国第二大岛，是位于中国最南端的省份。海南岛风景秀丽，气候宜人，阳光充足，生物多样，温泉密布，海水清澈，大部分海滩几乎全年都是游泳和日光浴的理想场所，因而被誉为中国的四季花园和度假胜地，每年都吸引了大批中外游客。 海南1988年建省以来，旅游业、服务业、高新技术产业飞速发展，是中国唯一的省级经济特区。在中央政府和全国人民的大力支持下，海南将建成中国最大的自由贸易试验区。

问答题 云南是位于中国西南的一个省份，平均海拔1500米。云南历史悠久，风景秀丽，气候宜人。云南生态环境优越，生物多种多样，被誉为野生动植物的天堂。云南还有多种矿藏和充足的水资源，为全省经济的可持续发展提供了有利条件。 云南居住着25个少数民族，他们大多有自己的语言、习俗和宗教。云南独特的自然景色和丰富的民族文化使其成为中国最受欢迎的旅游目的地之一，每年都吸引着大批国内外游客前往观光旅游。

问答题 Young people spend a lot of time on the internet. However, they are sometimes unable to recognize false information on the internet, judge the reliability of online information sources, or tell real

问答题 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write an essay based on the graph below. You should start your essay with a brief description of the graph and comment on China’s achievements in urbaniza

问答题According to psychologist Sharon Draper, our clothing choices can absolutely affect our wellbeing. When we wear ill-fitting clothes, or feel over- or under-dressed for an event, it’s natural to feel self-conscious or even stressed. Conversely, she says, opting for clothes that fit well and【C1】________with your sense of style can improve your confidence. But can you improve your health through your【C2】________clothing, without having to dash out and buy a whole new【C3】________? "Absolutely," says Draper. If your goal is to improve your thinking, she recommends picking clothes that fit well and are unlikely to encourage restlessness, so, avoid bows, ties and unnecessary【C4】________. It also helps to opt for clothes you【C5】________as tying in with your goals, so, if you want to perform better at work, select pieces you view as professional. Draper says this fits in with the concept of behavioral activation, whereby【C6】________in a behavior (in this case, selecting clothes) can set you on the path to then achieving your goals (working harder). Another way to improve your【C7】________of mind is to mix things up. Draper says we often feel stuck in a rut (常规) if we wear the same clothes—even if they’re our favorites—thus opting for an item you don’t wear often, or adding something different to an outfit, such as a hat, can【C8】________shift your mood. On days when you’re really【C9】________to brave the world, Draper suggests selecting sentimental items of clothing, such as ones you wore on a special day, or given to you by a loved one, as clothes with【C10】________associations can help you tap into constructive emotions. A) accessories F) fond K) profile B) align G) frame L) prospering C) concurrently H) locations M) reluctant D) current I) perceive N) showcase E) engaging J) positively O) wardrobe

问答题According to psychologist Sharon Draper, our clothing choices can absolutely affect our wellbeing. When we wear ill-fitting clothes, or feel over- or under-dressed for an event, it’s natural to feel self-conscious or even stressed. Conversely, she says, opting for clothes that fit well and【C1】________with your sense of style can improve your confidence. But can you improve your health through your【C2】________clothing, without having to dash out and buy a whole new【C3】________? "Absolutely," says Draper. If your goal is to improve your thinking, she recommends picking clothes that fit well and are unlikely to encourage restlessness, so, avoid bows, ties and unnecessary【C4】________. It also helps to opt for clothes you【C5】________as tying in with your goals, so, if you want to perform better at work, select pieces you view as professional. Draper says this fits in with the concept of behavioral activation, whereby【C6】________in a behavior (in this case, selecting clothes) can set you on the path to then achieving your goals (working harder). Another way to improve your【C7】________of mind is to mix things up. Draper says we often feel stuck in a rut (常规) if we wear the same clothes—even if they’re our favorites—thus opting for an item you don’t wear often, or adding something different to an outfit, such as a hat, can【C8】________shift your mood. On days when you’re really【C9】________to brave the world, Draper suggests selecting sentimental items of clothing, such as ones you wore on a special day, or given to you by a loved one, as clothes with【C10】________associations can help you tap into constructive emotions. A) accessories F) fond K) profile B) align G) frame L) prospering C) concurrently H) locations M) reluctant D) current I) perceive N) showcase E) engaging J) positively O) wardrobe

问答题 青海是中国西北部的一个省份，平均海拔3 000米以上，大部分地区为高山和高原。青海省得名于全国最大的咸水湖青海湖。青海湖被誉为“中国最美的湖泊”，是最受欢迎的旅游景点之一，也是摄影师和艺术家的天堂。 青海山川壮丽，地大物博，石油和天然气储量丰富，省内许多城市的经济在石油和天然气工业带动下得到了长足发展。青海尤以水资源丰富而闻名，是中国三大河流长江、黄河和澜沧江的发源地，在中国的水生态中发挥着重要

问答题No one in fashion is surprised that Burberry burnt ￡28 million of stock A) Last week, Burberry’s annual report revealed that ￡28.6 million worth of stock was burnt last year. The news has left investors and consumers outraged but comes as little surprise to those in the fashion industry. B) The practice of destroying unsold stock, and even rolls of unused fabric, is commonplace for luxury labels. Becoming too widely available at a cheaper price through discount stores discourages full-price sales. Sending products for recycling leaves them vulnerable to being stolen and sold on the black market. Jasmine Bina, CEO of brand strategy agency Concept Bureau explains, "Typically, luxury brands rally around exclusivity to protect their business interests, namely intellectual property and preservation of brand equity (资产)." She stated she had heard rumors of stock burning but not specific cases until this week. C) Another reason for the commonplace practice is a financial incentive for brands exporting goods to America. United States Customs states that if imported merchandise is unused and destroyed under their supervision, 99% of the duties, taxes or fees paid on the merchandise may be recovered. It is incredibly difficult to calculate how much dead stock currently goes to waste. While there are incentives to do it, there’s no legal obligation to report it. D) A source, who chose to remain anonymous, shared her experience working in a Burberry store in New York in October 2016. "My job was to toss items in boxes so they could be sent to be burned. It was killing me inside because all that leather and fur went to waste and animals had died for nothing. I couldn’t stay there any longer, their business practices threw me off the roof." In May this year, Burberry announced it was taking fur out of its catwalk shows and reviewing its use elsewhere in the business. "Even though we asked the management, they refused to give us detailed answers as to why they would do this with their collection," continued the source, who left her role within two weeks. She has since worked with another high-profile, luxury label. E) In an online forum post, which asked if it’s true that Louis Vuitton burns its bags, Ahmed Bouchfaa, who claimed to work for Louis Vuitton, responded that the brand holds sales of old stock for staff members twice a year. Items which have still not sold after several sales are destroyed. "Louis Vuitton doesn’t have public sales. They either sell a product at a given price or discontinue it. This is to make sure that everybody pays the same price for an item," he says. He goes on to disclose the strict guidelines around the employee sales: "You may buy gifts for someone, but they track each item, and if your gift ends up online they know who to ask." One investor commenting on the Burberry figures was reportedly outraged that the unsold goods were not even offered to investors before they were destroyed. F) Richemont, who owns several luxury brands, hit the headlines in May for taking back ￡437 million of watches for destruction in the last two years to avoid marked-down prices. It’s not just luxury brands either. In October last year, a Danish TV show exposed H&M for burning 12 tonnes of unsold clothing since 2013. In a statement, the high street retailer defended itself by saying that the burnt clothing had failed safety tests: "The products to which the media are referring have been tested in external laboratories. The test results show that one of the products is mold infested and the other product contains levels of lead that are too high. Those products have rightly been stopped in accordance with our safety routines." In March, a report revealed that H&M were struggling with $4.3 billion worth of unsold stock. The brand told The New York Times that the plan was to reduce prices to move the stock, arguably encouraging consumers to buy and throw away with little thought. G) Over-production is perhaps the biggest concern for Burberry. While there has been much outrage at the elitist connotation of burning goods rather than making them affordable, executives at the British fashion house are no doubt struggling to defend how they miscalculated production. The waste has been put down to burning old cosmetic stock to make way for their new beauty range. However, while the value of destroyed stock is up from ￡26.9 million last year, it’s an even more significant increase from 2016’s figure of ￡18.8 million, highlighting that this is an ongoing issue. H) In September 2016, Burberry switched to a "see now, buy now" catwalk show format. The move was a switch to leverage on the coverage of their fashion week show to make stock available immediately to consumers. This is opposed to the traditional format of presenting to the industry, taking orders for production and becoming available in six months’ time. While Burberry announced "record-breaking" online reach and engagement, there has been little evidence to suggest that the strategy has had a significant effect on sales, particularly as the hype (炒作) slows across the season. In February they made adjustments to the format, dropping some catwalk items immediately and promising that others would launch in the coming months. I) In a statement, Burberry denied that switching to "see now, buy now" has had an impact on waste. A Burberry spokesperson further said, "On the occasions when disposal of products is necessary, we do so in a responsible manner. We are always seeking ways to reduce and revalue our waste. This is a core part of our strategy and we have forged partnerships and committed support to innovative organizations to help reach this goal." J) One such partnership is with Elvis & Kresse, an accessories brand working with reclaimed materials. Co-founder Kresse Wesling said, "Late last year we launched an ambitious five-year partnership with the Burberry Foundation. The main aim of this is to scale our leather rescue project, starting with off-cuts from the production of Burberry leather goods. We are working tirelessly to expand our solutions and would love to welcome anyone to our workshop to come and see what we are doing." At the moment, the partnership only addresses waste at the production stage and not unsold goods. K) While these are honorable schemes, it makes it harder for Burberry to defend these latest figures. Fifteen years ago, Burberry was at crisis point as their signature check pattern was widely imitated by cheap, imitation brands. It deterred luxury consumers who found their expensive clothing more closely associated with working-class youth culture than a prestigious heritage fashion house. In the year 2004, at the height of over-exposure of the Burberry check, the brand’s turnover was ￡715.5 million. Under Christopher Bailey as creative director they turned the brand around and this past year revenue hit ￡2.73 billion. L) Bina believes that brands need to readdress their exclusivity tactic. "Exclusivity is starting to be challenged," she says. "I think that goes hand in hand with how luxury itself is being challenged. Access to fashion, and the brands who police it, are becoming less and less relevant. Things like health, enlightenment, and social and environmental responsibility are the new luxuries. These all come from within, not without. That’s the challenge that traditional luxury brands will have to contend with in the mid- to long-term future."

复合题You can’t see it, smell it, or hear it, and people disagree on how precisely to define it, or where exactly it comes from. It isn’t a school subject or an academic discipline, but it can be learned. It is a quality that is required of artists, but it is also present in the lives of scientists and entrepreneurs. All of us benefit from it and we thrive mentally and spiritually when we are able to wield it. It is a delicate thing, easily stamped out; in fact, it flourishes most fully when people are playful and childlike. Meanwhile, it works best in conjunction with deep knowledge and expertise. This mysterious—but teachable—quality is creativity, the subject of a recently-published report by Durham Commission on Creativity and Education. The report concludes that creativity should not inhabit the school curriculum only as it relates to drama, music, art and other obviously creative subjects, but that creative thinking ought to run through all of school life, infusing (充满) the way humanities and natural sciences are learned. The authors, who focus on education in England, offer a number of sensible recommendations, some of which are an attempt to alleviate the uninspiring and fact-based approach to education that has crept into policy in recent years. When children are regarded as vessels to be filled with facts, creativity does not prosper; nor does it when teachers’ sole objective is coaching children towards exams. One suggestion from the commission is a network of teacher-led creativity collaboratives, along the lines of existing maths hubs (中心) , with the aim of supporting teaching for creativity through the school curriculum. Nevertheless, it is arts subjects through which creativity can most obviously be fostered. The value placed on them by the independent education sector is clear. One only has to look at the remarkable arts facilities at Britain’s top private schools to comprehend this. But in the state sector the excessive focus on English, maths and science threatens to crush arts subjects; meanwhile, reduced school budgets mean diminishing extracurricular activities. There has been a 28.1% decline in students taking creative subjects at high schools since 2014, though happily, art and design have seen a recent increase. This discrepancy between state and private education is a matter of social justice. It is simply wrong and unfair that most children have a fraction of the access to choirs, orchestras, art studios and drama that their more privileged peers enjoy. As lives are affected by any number of looming challenges—climate crisis, automation in the workplace—humans are going to need creative thinking more than ever. For all of our sakes, creativity in education, and for all, must become a priority.

复合题Humansarefascinatedbythesourceoftheirfailingsandvirtues.Thispreoccupationinevitablyleadstoanolddebate:whethernatureornurturemouldsusmore.Arevolutioningeneticshaspoisedthisasamodernpoliticalquestionaboutthecharacterofoursociety:ifpersonalitiesarehard-wiredintoourgenes,whatcangovernmentsdotohelpus?Itfeelsmorallyquestionable,yetclaimsofgeneticselectionbyintelligencearemakingheadlines.Thisisdowntohereditarian(遗传论的)scienceandarecentpaperclaimeddifferencesinexamperformancebetweenpupilsattendingselectiveandnon-selectiveschoolsmirrorthegeneticdifferencesbetweenthem.Withsuchanassertion,theworkwaspredictablygreetedbyalotofabsurdclaimsaboutgeneticsdeterminingacademicsuccess.Whattheresearchrevealedwastheratherlesssurprisingresult:theeducationalbenefitsofselectiveschoolslargelydisappearoncepupils’inbornabilityandsocio-economicbackgroundweretakenintoaccount.Itisaglimpseoftheblindinglyobvious—andthere’snothingtobackstronglyeitherahereditaryorenvironmentalargument.Yetthepaperdoessaychildrenareunintentionallygeneticallyselectedbytheschoolsystem.Centraltohereditarianscienceisatallclaim:thatidentifiablevariationsingeneticsequencescanpredictanindividual’saptnesstolearn,reasonandsolveproblems.Thisisproblematiconmanylevels.Ateachercouldnotseriouslytellaparenttheirchildhasalowgenetictendencytostudywhenexternalfactorsclearlyexist.Unlike-mindedacademicssaytheinheritabilityofhumantraitsisscientificallyunsound.AtbestthereisaweakstatisticalassociationandnotacausallinkbetweenDNAandintelligence.Yetsophisticatedstatisticsareusedtocreateanintimidatoryatmosphereofscientificcertainty.Whilethere’sanundoubtedgeneticbasistoindividualdifference,itiswrongtothinkthatsociallydefinedgroupscanbegeneticallyaccountedfor.Thefixationongenesasdestinyissurelyfalsetoo.MedicalpredictabilitycanrarelybebasedonDNAalone;theenvironmentmatterstoo.Somethingascomplexasintellectislikelytobeaffectedbymanyfactorsbeyondgenes.Ifhereditarianswanttoadvancetheircauseitwillrequiremorebalancedinterpretationandnotjustactsofadvocacy.Geneticselectionisawayofexertinginfluenceoverothers,theultimatecollectivecontrolofhumandestinies,aswriterH.G.Wellsputit.Knowledgebecomespowerandpowerrequiresasenseofresponsibility.Inunderstandingcognitiveability,wemustnotelevatediscriminationtoascience;allowingpeopletoclimbtheladderoflifeonlyasfarastheircellsmightsuggest.Thiswillneedamorescepticaleyeonthescience.Astechnologyprogresses,weallhaveadutytomakesurethatweshapeafuturethatwewouldwanttofindourselvesin.

复合题NicolaSturgeon’sspeechlastTuesdaysettingouttheScottishgovernment’slegislativeprogrammefortheyearaheadconfirmedwhatwasalreadyprettyclear.ScottishcouncilsaresettobethefirstintheUKwiththepowertolevychargesonvisitors,withEdinburghlikelytoleadtheway.Touristtaxesarenotnew.TheHimayalankingdomofBhutanhasalongstandingpolicyofchargingvisitorsadailyfee.France’staxonovernightstayswasintroducedtoassistthermalspa(温泉)townstodevelop,andaroundhalfofFrenchlocalauthoritiesuseittoday.Butsuchleviesareontherise.MovesbyBarcelonaandVenicetodealwiththephenomenonofover-tourismthroughtheuseofchargeshaverecentlygainedprominence.JapanandGreeceareamongthecountriestohaverecentlyintroducedtouristtaxes.ThattheUKlagsbehindisduetoourweak,byinternationalstandards,localgovernment,aswellastheoppositiontotaxesandregulationofouraggressivelypro-marketrulingparty.SomeUKcitieshavelobbiedwithoutsuccessforthepowertolevyachargeonvisitors.Suchleviesarenouniversalremedyastheamountsraisedwouldbetinycomparedwithwhathasbeentakenawaybycentralgovernmentsince2010.Still,itistobehopedthattheScottishgovernment’sboldmovewillpromptotherstoact.ThereisnoreasonwhyvisitorstotheUK,ordomestictouristsonholidayinhotspotssuchasCornwall,shouldbeexemptfromtaxation—particularlywhenvitallocalservicesincludingwastecollection,parkmaintenanceandartsandculturespendingareunderunprecedentedstrain.Onthecontrary,compellingtouriststomakeafinancialcontributiontotheplacestheyvisitbeyondtheirpersonalconsumptionshouldbepartofawiderculturalshift.Westernerswithdisposableincomeshaveoftenbehavedasiftheyhavearighttogowherevertheychoosewithlittleregardfortheconsequences.Justastheenvironmentalharmcausedbyaviationandothertransportmustcomeunderfargreaterscrutiny,thesocialcostoftourismmustalsobeconfronted.Thisincludestheimpactofshort-termletsonhousingcostsandqualityoflifeforresidents.SeveralEuropeancapitals,includingParisandBerlin,areleadingacampaignfortougherregulationbytheEuropeanUnion.Italsoincludestheimpactofovercrowding,litterandthekindsofbehaviourassociatedwithnoisyparties.Thereisnoonesizefitsallsolutiontothisproblem.Theexistenceofnewrevenuestreamsforsomebutnotallcouncilsiscomplicated,andbusinessesareoftenopposed,fearinghighercostswillmakethemuncompetitive.Butthoseplacesthatwantthemmustbegiventhechancetomaketouristtaxeswork.

复合题We often think of drawing as something that takes inborn talent, but this kind of thinking stems from our misclassification of drawing as, primarily, an art form rather than a tool for learning. Researchers, teachers, and artists are starting to see how drawing can positively impact a wide variety of skills and disciplines. Most of us have spent some time drawing before, but at some point, most of us stop drawing. There are people who don’t, obviously, and thank god for that: a world without designers and artists would be a very shabby one indeed. Some argue that so many adults have abandoned drawing because we’ve miscategorized it and given it a very narrow definition. In his book, Stick Figures: Drawing as a Human Practice, Professor D. B. Dowd argues that we have misfiled the significance of drawing because we see it as a professional skill instead of a personal capacity. We mistakenly think of good drawings as those which work as recreations of the real world, as realistic illusions. Rather, drawing should be recategorized as a symbolic tool. Human beings have been drawing for 73,000 years. It’s part of what it means to be human. We don’t have the strength of chimpanzees (大猩猩) because we’ve given up animal strength to manipulate subtle instruments, like hammers, spears, and—later—pens and pencils. The human hand is an extremely dense network of nerve endings. In many ways, human beings are built to draw. Some researchers argue that doodling (涂画) activates the brain’s so-called default circuit— essentially, the areas of the brain responsible for maintaining a baseline level of activity in the absence of other stimuli. Because of this, some believe that doodling during a boring lecture can help students pay attention. In one study, participants were asked to listen to a list of names while either doodling or sitting still. Those who doodled remembered 29 percent more of the names than those who did not. There’s also evidence that drawing talent is based on how accurately someone perceives the world. The human visual system tends to misjudge size, shape, color, and angles but artists perceive these qualities more accurately than non-artists. Cultivating drawing talent can become an essential tool to improve people’s observational skills in fields where the visual is important. Rather than think of drawing as a talent that some creative people are gifted in, we should consider it as a tool for seeing and understanding the world better—one that just so happens to double as an art form. Both absent-minded doodling and copying from life have been shown to positively affect your memory and visual perception, so complain loudly the next time your school board slashes the art department’s budget.

复合题Emulating your conversation partner’s actions is a common human behavior classified as mirroring and has been known and studied by psychologists for years. We all tend to subconsciously copy gestures of people we like. But why do we act like this? As a rule, mirroring means that conversationalists enjoy their communication and that there’s a certain level of agreement between them. The topic of discussion is equally interesting for both and they know their interests meet. Repeating someone’s behavior is typical of talented communicators, not always because the person is sympathetic, but because there is a goal to be achieved. This way new idols have been brought to the stage: politicians, celebrities, and other big names. Popular culture makes people want to look popular, and act and speak like popular people. Nowadays celebrities steal lyrics from each other and struggle with copyright violation accusations or straightforwardly claim themselves to be the authors, even though all the work was done by other people. Among celebrities, it’s trendy nowadays to use their own speech writers as politicians do. The so-called ghostwriting can take various forms: books, articles, autobiographies, and even social media posts. Who is a true copycat (抄袭者) and who gets copycatted? Sometimes, it is a hard nut to crack without an expert’s help. But new authorship defending methods based on identifying individual writing patterns are already here. Their aim is to protect intellectual property. Using scientific methods, some of them can define authorship with 85% accuracy. Writing is not an easy craft to master. If you want to write like a professional without plagiarism (抄袭), there are a few lessons to learn and the first one is: Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from two, it’s research. The correct interpretation of this statement is not about copying, but rather about creating your own style. When you study an author’s writing style, don’t stop on a single one, but explore numerous styles instead. Examine types of sentences they use, pay attention to their metaphors, and focus on stories you feel you could write a pretty cool sequel (续篇) to. Imitation is rather paradoxical. As an integral part of learning, it brings about positive changes, making people develop and grow. However, it may do a lot of harm. Copying someone’s thoughts, ideas or inventions is completely unacceptable. It infringes on intellectual property rights of others. Still, many things we do are about copying others one way or another. So if you want to compliment someone on the work they have done and imitate it, just make sure you do it the right way to avoid committing plagiarism.