【题文】A baby born today will be thirty-something in 2050. If all goes well, that baby will still be around in 2100, and might even be an active citizen of the 22^nd century. What should we teach that baby to help them survive and flourish in the world of 2050 and beyond? What kind of skills will they need in order to get a job, understand what is happening around them, and navigate their tough life?

At present, too many schools across the world focus on providing pupils with a set of predetermined skills, such as writing computer code in C++ and conversing in Chinese. Yet since we have no idea how the world and the job market will look in 2050, we don’t really know what particular skills people will need. We might invest a lot of effort in teaching kids how to write in C++ or to speak Chinese, only to discover sooner or later that AI will have been able to code software far better than humans, and that a new translation app will have enabled you to conduct a conversation in almost flawless Mandarin, Cantonese or Hakka, even though you only know how to say ni hao.

So what should we be teaching? Many experts argue that schools should downplay technical skills and emphasize general-purpose life skills: the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations. In order to keep up with the world of 2050, you will above all need to reinvent yourself again and again.

To succeed in such a demanding task, you will need to work very hard on getting to know your operating system better—to know what you are and what you want from life. This is, of course, the oldest advice in the book: know thyself. This advice was never more urgent than in the mid-21^st century, because unlike in the days of Laozi or Socrates, now you have serious competition. Coca-Cola, Amazon and Facebook are all racing to hack you.

Right now, the algorithms (算法) are watching where you go, what you buy, and who you meet. Soon they will monitor all your steps, breaths and heartbeats. They are relying on big data and machine learning to get to know you better and better. And once these algorithms know you better than you know yourself, they could control and manipulate (操纵) you. In the end, authority will shift to them.

Of course, you might be perfectly happy giving up all authority to the algorithms and trusting them to make decisions for you and for the rest of the world. If, however, you want to maintain some control over your personal existence and over the future of life in general, you have to run faster than the algorithms. To run fast, don’t take much luggage with you. Leave all your illusions (幻想) behind. They are very heavy.

【小题1】What does the underlined word “downplay” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Give too much emphasis on something.

B．Make people think that something is less important.

C．Offer your reasons why something is right or wrong.

D．Decide something in advance so that it does not happen.

【小题2】According to the article, ___________ plays a vital role in children’s bright future.

A．imagination

B．adaptability

C．self-discipline

D．a good sense of balance

【小题3】It’s important to know our operating system because ___________.

A．if we don’t, algorithms will hack all our devices.

B．it is an essential skill for us to succeed in the world of 2050.

C．we need to learn how algorithms work and make full use of them.

D．we need to outrun algorithms to keep some control over our personal life.

【小题4】The article mainly talks about _________.

A．the importance of knowing yourself

B．the threats and dangers of technology

C．what kind of skills we might need in the future

D．some potential benefits algorithms would bring to humankind

上海市金山区2023届高三二模英语试题(含听力）