PassageOne
Questions 46 to 50 arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
WhenIre-enteredthefull-timeworkforceafewyearsagoafteradecadeofsolitaryself-employment, therewasonethingIwaslookingforwardtothemost: theopportunitytohaveworkfriendsonceagain. Itwasn'tuntilIenteredthecorporateworldthatIrealized, formeatleast, beingfriendswithcolleaguesdidn'temergeasapriorityatall. Thisissurprisingwhenyouconsidertheprevailingemphasisbyscholarsandtrainersandmanagersontheimportanceofcultivatingcloseinterpersonalrelationshipsatwork. Somuchresearchhasexploredthewayinwhichcollegial （同事的）tiescanhelpovercomearangeofworkplaceissuesaffectingproductivityandthequalityofworkoutputsuchasteam-basedconflict, jealousy, undermining, anger, andmore.
Perhapsmyexpectationsoflunches, water-coolergossipandcaring, deep-and-meaningfulconversationswerealegacyofthelasttimeIwasinthatkindofofficeenvironment. Whereasnow, asIneartheendofmyfourthdecade, Irealizeworkcanbefullyfunctionalandentirelyfulfillingwithoutneedingtobebestmateswiththepeoplesittingnexttoyou.
Inanacademicanalysisjustpublishedintheprofoundly-respectedJournalofManagement, researchershavelookedattheconceptof "indifferentrelationships". It'sasimpletermthatencapsulates （概括） thefactthatrelationshipsatworkcanreasonablybenon-intimate, inconsequential, unimportantandeven, dareIsayit, disposableorsubstitutable.
Indifferentrelationshipsareneitherpositivenornegative. Thelimitedresearchconductedthusfarindicatesthey'reespeciallydominantamongthosewhovalueindependenceovercooperation, andharmonyoverconfrontation. Indifferenceisalsothepreferredoptionamongthosewhoaresociallylazy. Maintainingrelationshipsoverthelongtermtakeseffort. Forsomeofus, toomucheffort .
Asnotedabove, indifferentrelationshipsmaynotalwaysbethemosthelpfulapproachinresolvingsomeoftheissuesthatpopupatwork. Buttherearenonethelessseveralempiricallyprovenbenefits. Oneofthoseisefficiency. Lesstimechattingandsocializingmeansmoretimeworkingand（产出）.
Theotherisself-esteem. Ashumanbeings, we'reprimedtocompareourselvestoeachotherinwhatisananxiety-inducingphenomenon. Apparently, welookdownonacquaintancesmoresothanMends. Sincetheformerismostcommonamongthoseinclinedtowardsindifferentrelationships, theirpredominancecanbolsterindividuals'senseofself-worth.
Egoaside, athirdadvantageisthattheemotionalneutralityofindifferentrelationshipshasbeenfoundtoenhancecriticalevaluation, tostrengthenone'sfocusontaskresolution, andtogaingreateraccesstovaluableinformation. Noneofthatmightbeasfunasafter-worksocializingbut, hey, I'lltakeitanyway.
46. Whatdidtheauthorrealizewhenhere-enteredthecorporateworld?
A） MakingnewMendswithhisworkmateswasnotaseasyashehadanticipated.
B） Cultivatingpositiveinterpersonalrelationshipshelpedhimexpelsolitaryfeelings.
C） Workinginthecorporateworldrequiresmoreinterpersonalskillsthanself-employment.
D） Buildingcloserelationshipswithhiscolleagueswasnotasimportantashehadejected.
47. Whatdowelearnfrommanystudiesaboutcollegialrelationships?
A） Inharmoniousrelationshipshaveanadverseeffectonproductivity.
B） Harmoniousrelationshipsarewhatmanycompaniesaimtocultivate.
C） Closecollegialrelationshipscontributeverylittletoproductquality.
D） Conflictingrelationshipsintheworkplaceexistalmosteverywhere.
48. Whatcanbeinferredaboutrelationshipsatworkfromanacademicanalysis?
A） Theyshouldbecultivated.
B） Theyarevirtuallyirrelevant.
C） Theyarevitaltocorporateculture.
D） Theyshouldbereasonablyintimate.
49. Whatdoestheauthorsayaboutpeoplewhoaresociallylazy?
A） Theyfeeluncomfortablewhenengaginginsocialinteractions.
B） Theyoftenfindthemselvesinconfrontationwiththeircolleagues.
C） Theyareunwillingtomakeeffortstomaintainworkplacerelationships.
D） Theylackbasiccommunicationskillsindealingwithinterpersonalissues.
60. Whatisoneofthebenefitsofindifferentrelationships?
A） Theyprovidefunatwork.
B） Theyhelpcontrolemotions.
C） Theyhelpresolvedifferences.
D） Theyimproveworkefficiency.
PassageTwo
Questions 51 to 55 arebasedonthefollowingpassage.
Inafewdecades, artificialintelligence (AI) willsurpassmanyoftheabilitiesthatwebelievemakeusspecial. Thisisagrandchallengeforourageanditmayrequirean "irrational" response.
OneofthemostsignificantpiecesofnewsfromtheUSinearly 2017 wastheeffortsofGoogletomakeautonomousdrivingareality. Accordingtoareport, Google'sself-drivingcarsclocked 1,023,330 km, andrequiredhumanintervention 124 times. Thatisoneinterventionaboutevery 8,047 kmofautonomousdriving. Butevenmoreimpressiveistheprogressinjustasingleyear: humaninterventionsfellfrom 0.8 timesperthousandmilesto 0.2, a 400% improvement. Withsuchprogress, Google'scarswilleasilysurpassmyowndrivingabilitylaterthisyear.
Drivingonceseemedtobeaveryhumanskill. Butwesaidthataboutchess, too. Thenacomputerbeatthehumanworldchampion, repeatedly. TheboardgameGo（围棋）tookoverfromchessasanewtestforhumanthinkingin 2016, whenacomputerbeatoneoftheworld'sleadingprofessionalGoplayers. Withcomputersconqueringwhatusedtobedeeplyhumantasks, whatwillitmeaninthefuturetobehuman? Iworryaboutmysix-year-oldson. Whatwillhisplacebе inaworldwheremachinesbeatusinoneareaafteranother? He'llnevercalculatefaster, neverdrivebetter, orevenflymoresafely. Actually, itallcomesdowntoafairlysimplequestion： What'ssospecialaboutus? Itcan'tbeskillslikearithmetic, whichmachinesalreadyexcelin. Sofar, machineshaveaprettyhardtimeemulatingcreativity, arbitraryenoughnottobepredictedbyacomputer, andyetmorethansimplerandomness.
Perhaps, ifwecontinuetoimproveinformation-processingmachines, wellsoonhavehelpfulrationalassistants. Sowemustaimtocomplementtherationalityofthemachine, ratherthantocompetewithit. IfI'mright, weshouldfosteracreativespiritbecauseadoseofillogicalcreativitywillcomplementtherationalityofthemachine. Unfortunately, however, oureducationsystemhasnotcaughtuptotheapproachingreality. Indeed, ourschoolsanduniversitiesarestructuredtomouldpupilstobemostlyobedientservantsofrationality, andtodevelopoutdatedskillsininteractingwithoutdatedmachines. Weneedtohelpourchildrenlearnhowtobestworkwithsmartcomputerstoimprovehumandecision-making. Butmostofallweneedtokeepthelong-termperspectiveinmind: thatevenifcomputerswilloutsmartus, wecanstillbethemostcreative. Becauseifwearen't, wewon'tbeprovidingmuchvalueinfutureecosystems，andthatmayputinquestionthefoundationforourexistence.
51. Whatistheauthor'sgreatestconcernabouttheuseofAI?
A） Computersareperforminglotsofcreativetasks.
B） Manyabilitieswillceasetobeuniquetohumanbeings.
C） Computersmaybecomemorerationalthanhumans.
D） Manyhumanskillsarefastbecomingoutdated.
52. WhatimpressestheauthormostinthefieldofAI?
A） Google'sexperimentaldriverlesscarsrequirelittlehumanintervention.
B） Google'scarshavesurpassedhisdrivingabilityinjustasingleyear.
C） Googlehasmadehugeprogressinautonomousdrivinginashorttime.
D） Googlehasbecomeaworldleaderinthefieldofautonomousdriving.
53. Whatdowelearnfromthepassageaboutcreativity?
A） Itisrational.
B） Itispredictable.
C） Itishumanspecific.
D） ItisyettobeemulatedbyAI.
54. WhatshouldschoolshelpchildrendointheeraofAI?
A） Cultivateoriginalthinking.
B） Learntoworkindependently.
C） Competewithsmartmachines.
D） UnderstandhowAIworks.
55. Howcanwehumansjustifyourfutureexistence?
A） Byconstantlyoutsmartingcomputers.
B） Byadoptingalong-termperspective.
C） ByrationallycompromisingwithAI.
D） Byprovidingvaluewithourcreativity.