Use of English (2017)

People have speculated for centuries about a future without work. Today is no different, with academics, writers, and activists once again [1] that technology is replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by [2]. A few wealthy people will own all the capital, and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland.

A different and not mutually exclusive [3] holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one [4] by purposelessness: Without jobs to give their lives [5], people will simply become lazy and depressed. [6], today’s unemployed don’t seem to be having a great time. One Gallup poll found that 20 percent of Americans who have been unemployed for at least a year report having depression, double the rate for [7] Americans. Also, some research suggests that the [8] for rising rates of mortality, mental-health problems, and addicting [9] poorly-educated middle-aged people is shortage of well-paid jobs. Perhaps this is why many [10] the agonizing dullness of a jobless future.

But it doesn’t [11] follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with unease. Such visions are based on the [12] of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the [13] of work, a society designed with other ends in mind could [14] strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure. Today, the [15] of work may be a bit overblown. “Many jobs are boring, degrading, unhealthy, and a waste of human potential,” says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland in Galway.

These days, because leisure time is relatively [16] for most workers, people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional [17] of their jobs. “When I come home from a hard day’s work, I often feel [18],” Danaher says, adding, “In a world in which I don’t have to work, I might feel rather different”—perhaps different enough to throw himself [19] a hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for [20] matters.

[A]boasting

[B]denying

[C]warning

[D]ensuring

[A]inequality

[B]instability

[C]unreliability

[D]uncertainty

[A]policy

[B]guideline

[C]resolution

[D]prediction

[A]characterized

[B]divided

[C]balanced

[D]measured

[A]wisdom

[B]meaning

[C]glory

[D]freedom

[A]Instead

[B]Indeed

[C]Thus

[D]Nevertheless

[A]rich

[B]urban

[C]working

[D]educated

[A]explanation

[B]requirement

[C]compensation

[D]substitute

[A]under

[B]beyond

[C]alongside

[D]among

10.

[A]leave behind

[B]make up

[C]worry about

[D]set aside

11.

[A]statistically

[B]occasionally

[C]necessarily

[D]economically

12.

[A]chances

[B]downsides

[C]benefits

[D]principles

13.

[A]absence

[B]height

[C]face

[D]course

14.

[A]disturb

[B]restore

[C]exclude

[D]yield

15.

[A]model

[B]practice

[C]virtue

[D]hardship

16.

[A]tricky

[B]lengthy

[C]mysterious

[D]scarce

17.

[A]demands

[B]standards

[C]qualities

[D]threats

18.

[A]ignored

[B]tired

[C]confused

[D]starved

19.

[A]off

[B]against

[C]behind

[D]into

20.

[A]technological

[B]professional

[C]educational

[D]interpersonal

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

1. [C] warning. 考查语义辨析。学者和作家再次“警告（warning）”技术正在取代工人。A项“自夸”、B项“否认”、D项“确保”均不符合警告被取代的语境。
2. [A] inequality. 考查上下文。后文提到“少数富人拥有资本，大众在贫困中挣扎”，这是典型的“不平等（inequality）”。
3. [D] prediction. 考查语义。这是一种互不排斥的关于未来的“预言（prediction）”。
4. [A] characterized. 考查搭配。one characterized by... 表示“以……为特征的一个未来”。
5. [B] meaning. 考查语义。如果没有工作给生活赋予“意义（meaning）”，人们会变得抑郁。
6. [B] Indeed. 考查逻辑关系。前句说没工作会抑郁，后句引用盖洛普调查证明失业者确实郁闷，属于递进确认，用“的确/事实上”。
7. [C] working. 考查对比逻辑。失业者的抑郁率是“在职的（working）”美国人的两倍。
8. [A] explanation. 考查语义。研究表明，高薪工作的短缺是导致死亡率上升、心理问题的“解释/原因（explanation）”。
9. [D] among. 考查介词。在受教育程度低的中年人“之中（among）”。
10. [C] worry about. 考查语义。这也许就是为什么许多人“担心（worry about）”无工作的未来的原因。
11. [C] necessarily. 考查逻辑。it doesn’t necessarily follow from... 意为“并不必然推断出……”，表示逻辑上的转折。
12. [B] downsides. 考查语义。这些悲观景象是基于在以就业为中心的社会中失业的“弊端/负面影响（downsides）”。
13. [A] absence. 考查搭配。In the absence of... 意为“在缺乏……的情况下”。
14. [D] yield. 考查语义。一个以其他目标设计的社会可能会“产生/带来（yield）”截然不同的环境。
15. [C] virtue. 考查语义。作者认为今天工作的“美德/优点（virtue）”可能被夸大了，随后引用讲师的话说很多工作其实很无聊。
16. [D] scarce. 考查对比。因为对大多数工人来说，休闲时间是“稀缺的（scarce）”。
17. [A] demands. 考查语义。人们用空闲时间来抵消工作的智力和情感“要求/负担（demands）”。
18. [B] tired. 考查语义。辛苦工作一天回家，通常感到“疲惫（tired）”。
19. [D] into. 考查搭配。throw oneself into sth. 意为“投身于某事”。
20. [B] professional. 考查对比。以通常保留给“职业/专业（professional）”事务的强度去投入爱好。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 伴随状语与宾语从句：
"Today is no different, with academics, writers, and activists once again warning that technology is replacing human workers."
 【解析】这是一个 with + 名词 + 现在分词 构成的伴随状语结构。warning 后面引导了一个 that 宾语从句，具体说明警告的内容。 
2. 后置定语与解释说明：
"A different and not mutually exclusive prediction holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one characterized by purposelessness..."
 【解析】one 是 wasteland 的同位语。characterized by... 是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰 one，描述了这种“荒地”的具体特质是“无目的感”。 
3. 主语从句与条件状语的嵌套：
"But it doesn’t necessarily follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with unease."
 【解析】it 是形式主语，真正的主语是 that 引导的从句。necessarily 起到关键的限定作用，表明作者准备对前面的悲观结论进行逻辑反驳：之前的统计数据并不必然推导出未来无工作社会就一定不安。 