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出典: 近畿大学 2016年度(平成28年度)推薦入試(一般公募)11月22日実施分 Ⅶ

Ⅶ 次の英文を読み,あとの問いに答えよ。

 At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England, groups of people called Luddites attacked factories and destroyed machines. They were angry that these machines were taking away jobs. In the 200 years since the Luddites, new technologies have replaced workers in many areas. Labor unions have opposed job loss, but they have not won. Armies of machines are already common in factories.
 Robots do the work in dangerous conditions. This allows people to avoid injury and industrial disease. But because of this, there has been an increase in the number of people forced into low-skilled jobs in service industries, such as restaurants and stores. Pay in these jobs is usually low, but at least it gives people work.
 The new age of technology in the workplace threatens job security even in low-level jobs. Unskilled workers in service industries are now being replaced by machines and robots. Examples are all around us. Compared with even a few years ago, much more of our banking is done online or at ATM machines than face to face with a person. In some countries, there are fewer and fewer cashiers because customers scan their own shopping.
 The blogger Marshall Brain thinks that intelligent robots will soon be equal to or better than humans in certain areas. They will replace waiters and cashiers at restaurants and shops. Brain says that the power of robots will go up as the cost comes down. This means that workers at restaurants and stores will be replaced by robots that will cook and serve food, throw out our waste, and stock shelves at big stores, such as Walmart. He believes that this change will happen quickly because restaurants and stores that do not use robots will not be able to compete and so will go out of business.
 What will happen to the workers who are replaced by machines? In the past, improvements in technology led to increases in the applications for low-skilled jobs in the service industry, but this is unlikely to happen again. Workers will have nowhere to go since the robots will also be doing those low-skilled jobs. Perhaps we will see an era of robot wars, in which new Luddites with guns try to destroy all the robots!

 

問1

問1 本文の第1段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを,ア~エから一つ選べ。(38)
ア. During the Industrial Revolution, the Luddites fought to replace workers in factories.
イ. Labor unions have unsuccessfully fought against job losses.
ウ. Some of the machines that the Luddites destroyed 200 years ago have recently been fixed through new technologies.
エ. There are not yet so many machines working in factories.

 

問2

問2 本文の第2段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを,ア~エから一つ選べ。(39)
ア. Because robots have taken over some factory jobs, many people now have to work for little money.
イ. Many workers get sick with diseases because they are replaced by machines.
ウ. People with injuries and industrial diseases avoid working in service industries.
エ. Robots deprive people not only of jobs in factories, but also of those in restaurants and stores.

 

問3

問3 下線部(40)の具体例として挙げられていないものを,ア~エから一つ選べ。
ア. Jobs related to security have become increasingly automated.
イ. Recently, cash machines are being used by more people than ever.
ウ. Shoppers in stores are using machines to make their purchases.
エ. There has been a recent increase in the popularity of electronic banking.

 

問4

問4 本文の第3段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを,ア~エから一つ選べ。(41)
ア. Low-level jobs are safe from the threat of new technology in the workplace.
イ. Recently, more and more people do their banking face to face with a bank clerk.
ウ. Robots are taking the jobs of service industry workers who have no training or expertise.
エ. Workplace security has improved thanks to the new age of technology.

 

問5

問5 本文の第4段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを,ア~エから一つ選べ。(42)
ア. Brain says that as the power of robots goes up, the cost will also rise.
イ. Brain says that in the future, workers at restaurants will only do jobs such as throwing out waste because robots will cook and serve food.
ウ. Brain thinks that restaurants and stores will compete to have the best robots.
エ. Brain thinks that robots will do jobs now done by humans, such as placing goods on shelves.

 

問6

問6 本文の第5段落の内容に合うものとして最も適当なものを,ア~エから一 つ選べ。(43)
ア. Improvements in technology are unlikely to happen at any time in the future.
イ. New types of low-skilled jobs will be offered to workers by advances in technology.
ウ. The increased use of robots means that people will never be able to go anywhere.
エ. There will be no jobs available for low-skilled workers who are replaced by robots.

 

問7

問7 本文の内容と合うものを,ア〜キから二つ選び,(44)と(45)に一つずつマークせよ。ただし,マークする記号(ア,イ,ウ,…)の順序は問わない。
ア. The Luddites were angry that machines were depriving them of their jobs.
イ. More and more people prefer to work in low-skilled jobs.
ウ. Recently, less banking is done in person with a bank clerk.
エ. Marshall Brain thinks robots will never be able to replace humans as waiters.
オ. Marshall Brain says that Walmart will not be able to compete so will go out of business.

カ. Previously, increases in the applications for low-skilled jobs resulted in improvements in technology.
キ. The era of robot wars will have all the robots start to fight each other, and they will destroy themselves.

 
 
 
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