无法被电脑所取代的职业

计算机和智能化设备的发展，让人们担忧今天的很多职业在未来将不复存在，如同曾经的打字机打字员一样。那么，有哪些职业是无法被电脑所取代的？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

pedant 学究

molehill 鼹鼠打洞制造的小丘，小事，小困难

gullibility [,gʌli'biliti]轻信，易上当

busker 街头艺人

阅读即将开始，建议您计算一下阅读整篇文章所用时间，并对照我们在文章最后给出的参考值来估算您的阅读速度。

Five jobs no computer can replace

By Mr Colin Pringle.

* * *

FT columnist Michael Skapinker published an article on March 20, in which he pointed out five irreplaceable careers: receptionist, climate researcher, care of the elderly, executive assistant, and pedant(or pedagogue).

............

Sir, I think Michael Skapinker’s “top five careers for the next 25 years” are valid, but aim too low. These five are likely to be the real winners.

Lawyer. Computers cannot readily replace the science of making a mountain out of a molehill. The computations are complex: dispute resolution = maximum billable hours * gullibility.

Politician. A role that definitely needs to be done by a human, despite strong impressions to the contrary. This is the career that all buskers aspire to. You must carry on banging your own drum while pretending to play everyone’s favourite tune on the flute. If you can’t get the crowd with you, let them help themselves to a few coins from the hat.

Banker. Few know exactly what a banker is. It sounds important and has the seal of mystery. Traditionally bankers simply charged a levy on the ownership of assets. More recently they have diversified into lucrative lines like “fixing” interest rates, foreign exchange and other “crook the house” strategies. Why are they so indispensable? In true mafia tradition, they can threaten: “If you want to see your money again . . . ”

Doctor. Tiberius Caesar(second emperor of Rome, stepson of Augustus) said he would have on his tombstone: “It was the crowd of physicians that killed me.” Doctors are always in demand – witness the time needed to make an appointment and the wait when you actually visit. The subjective nature of some ailments and the love of second opinions mean that it can take many doctors to replace a hip. No chance of redundancy here.

Spin-doctor. Not to be confused with a real doctor (or anything real). The very human art of persuading people to change direction by using misleading signposts guarantees these rally experts are always in demand by those desperate to be first past the finish line.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. Where can we find whis article in FT?

a. Readers' letters.

b. Comments to Skapinker's article.

c. Satire column.

d. Guest commentator page.

2. The writer says lawyers can "make a mountain out of a molehill", what does this mean?

a. They always work with paper mountains.

b. They are good at diving into details.

c. They use tedious and lengthy language.

d. They always make a fuss from trivial things.

3. What is a "spin-doctor"?(You may go back to the last paragraph.)

a. Fashion & image consultant.

b. obbyst.

c. Fifty-center.

a. Propagandist.

4. What is the right match between a career and the reason it cannot be replaced, according to the passage?

a. lawyer--no computer can resolve disputes.

b. Politician--no computer can act like a busker.

c. Banker--no computer can anticipate interest or exchange rates.

d. Doctor--no computer can offer a second opinion during a surgery.

[1] 答案a. Readers' letters.

解释：这是一篇有趣的读者来信，可以看出它其实不是对斯卡平克文章的评论，而是谈论了“未来不会被取代的职业”这个话题。他对一些行业的吐槽反映了欧美文化中的一些著名“桥段”，比如人们总怀疑政客是疯子，律师、银行家是骗子，常抱怨医院排队总是很长等等。

[2] 答案d. They always make a fuss from trivial things.

解释："make a mountain out of a molehill"是句著名的谚语“小题大做”，不是指文件堆成的山，也不是褒义。

[3] 答案a. Fashion & image consultant.

解释：首先你需要知道spin一词除了“旋转”，还有“吐丝”的意思，引申义就是“编织、编造、忽悠”。spin-doctor显然是个贬义词，这些人通过粉饰、误导、断章取义等手段试图影响舆论使之对自己有利，一些政客的“公关人员”就是干这个的，其汉语翻译是“政治化妆师”。维基上的解释："spin" often implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.

[4] 答案d. Doctor--no computer can offer a second opinion during a surgery.

解释：ABC“不可被替代”显然不是因为这些原因，而是因为作者暗示“电脑无法像他们一样忽悠人”

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