2020年高考英语外刊时事命题阅读理解：疫情推动机器人加速上岗。Robots aid in coronavirus fight

Robots aid in coronavirus fight
疫情推动机器人加速上岗。

Robots have certain advantages compared to humans: They are efficient, tireless, can be repaired when damaged and they never get sick. This last trait has made them the star during our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. While hundreds of thousands of medical workers have fallen ill dealing with this highly infectious virus and a lot more are forced to stay at home for fear of getting the disease, this isn’t a problem for robots.
This is why the COVID-19 outbreak is seen as the “tipping point” – noted The Independent science reporter Anthony Cuthbertson – for robots
to start to replace humans in certain jobs.
In areas like hospitals and healthcare facilities, robots are used to perform high-risk tasks. In China, for example, a hotel in Hangzhou employed a robot named “Little Peanut” to deliver food to people under quarantine. In Spain, robots are about to be used to test people for the coronavirus. Ultraviolet-light-disinfection (紫外线消毒) robots are also being widely used to clean hospital corridors and wards (病房).
“Hospitals around the world are waking up to autonomous disinfection,” Per Juul Nielsen, CEO of Denmark’s UVD Robots, a leading company manufacturing (制造) disinfection robots, told Forbes. “We can’t build these robots fast enough."
In non-medical companies, robots are also replacing human employees since they don’t have the problem of social distancing and will never take sick leave. Walmart and Amazon, for example, where robots are already used in sorting, packing and shipping, are planning to increase the number of robots in their facilities. Fast-food chains like McDonald’s are not only delivering food with robots in some areas, but also looking to use them as cooks and servers.
According to futurist Martin Ford, using more robots than human employees can prove to be rewarding for companies – even when the pandemic is over. “People will prefer to go to a place that has fewer
workers and more machines because they feel they can lower overall risk,” Ford told the BBC.
But this sudden surge (激增) in robot demand doesn’t mean that they triumph over humans in every aspect. According to Bill Smart, a roboticist at Oregon State University, the human contact between doctors and patients is still important. Doctors comfort the patients and guide them through hard decisions while robots are only doing routine tasks, like cleaning and giving tests, just to free up doctors and nurses.
It might be true that robots have certain advantages over humans, but they are still secondary to human interaction.
（选自BBC）
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. The advantages of robots compared to humans.
B. Different views toward applying robots to fight COVID-19.
C. Why the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled robot demand.
D. Whether robots will replace humans in certain areas one day.
2. What has made robots desirable during the pandemic according to the text?
A. They can be repaired when damaged.
B. They test people for coronavirus more precisely.
C. They never get tired and can replace doctors and nurses.
D. They are not vulnerable to the coronavirus.
3. What does Martin Ford think of the application of robots?
A. Its benefits are appealing and lasting.
B. Machines are less disturbing than humans.
C. It poses a threat to human employment.
D. There are some risks with the use of robots.
4. What can be concluded from the last two paragraphs?
A. The demand for robots is too great to meet.
B. Doctors can make more accurate judgments than robots.
C. Humans interactions are essential in some areas.
D. Robots need updating to improve contact with humans.
译文：
与人类相比，机器人具有某些优势：它们高效，不倦，在受损时可以修复，并且永不生病。

这最后一个特征使他们成为我们对抗COVID-19大流行的明星。

尽管成千上万的医务人员正在感染这种高度传染性病毒，但由于担心得病而被迫留在家里，对机器人来说这不是问题。

《独立科学》记者安东尼·库斯伯特森指出，这就是为什么COVID-19爆发被视为“引爆点”的原因，因为机器人开始在某些工作中取代人类。

在医院和医疗机构等领域，机器人被用来执行高风险任务。

以中国为例，杭州的一家酒店雇用了一个名为“小花生”的机器人，将食物运送到隔离区。

在西
班牙，机器人将被用来测试人们的冠状病毒。

紫外线消毒机器人也被广泛用于清洁医院走廊和病房。

丹麦UVD机器人（一家生产消毒机器人的领先公司）首席执行官Per Juul Nielsen告诉《福布斯》：“世界各地的医院都在进行自主消毒。

” “我们无法足够快地构建这些机器人。

”
在非医疗公司中，机器人也正在替代人类员工，因为它们不存在社会疏远的问题，并且永远不会请病假。

例如，沃尔玛和亚马逊已经在分拣，包装和运输中使用了机器人，他们计划增加其设施中的机器人数量。

像麦当劳这样的快餐连锁店不仅在某些地区使用机器人运送食物，而且还希望将它们用作厨师和服务员。

根据未来主义者马丁·福特的说法，即使流行病已经结束，使用比人类员工更多的机器人也可以为公司带来回报。

福特告诉英国广播公司：“人们宁愿去一个工人少，机器多的地方，因为他们觉得这样可以降低总体风险。

”
但是，机器人需求的激增并不意味着它们在各个方面都胜过人类。

根据俄勒冈州立大学的机器人专家比尔·斯玛特的说法，医生与患者之间的人际交流仍然很重要。

医生会安慰患者并指导他们做出艰难的决定，而机器人只是在执行例行任务，例如清洁和测试，以释放医生和护士的精力。

机器人确实比人类具有某些优势，但它们仍然是人类交互的第二要务。

答案：
1-4 CDAC
1. C。

文章第二段提到了“This is why the COVID-19 outbreak is seen as the “tipping point” – noted The Independent science reporter Anthony Cuthbertson – for robots to start to replace humans in certain jobs.”下文接着详细阐述了新冠疫情如何推动了机器上上岗，所以答案为C。

原文最后一段提到了机器人与人类相比有很多优势，但是在人际交流方面，机器人做得还不够好，D选项文章有部分涉及，但不是本
文探讨的重点，只是话题的延申讨论。

2. D。

根据文章第1段第1-2句“…They are efficient, tireless, can be repaired when damaged and they never get sick. This last trait has made them the star during our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”，机器人不会生病，这一特点使机器人在抗击疫情中显得尤为重要，可得本题选D。

3. A。

根据文章第6段第1句“…using more robots than human employees can prove to be rewarding for companies – even when the pandemic is over.”，机器人应用好处很多，即使疫情结束也是如此，所以本题选A。

4. C。

根据原文最后两段，机器人在某些领域依旧无法替代人类，比如在医疗领域，医务工作者与病人的交流十分重要，而这方面机器人做得没有人类好，所以本题选C。