The Rise of Robots

As kids, our grandparents frequently scared us by talking about how difficult life was when they were growing up. They mentioned walking miles to school in the snow, or doing hours of manual labour for little pay. Life has changed greatly since then, and it seems to get easier year by year. In fact, with the help of robots we soon might have to do much at all. But is this a good thing?

By 2030, it’s estimated that robotics will be a $10 billion business worldwide. Companies are already starting to integrate them into the workforce. The electronics manufacturer Foxconn is drawing up plans to launch a factory within the next 10 years that’s completely staffed by robot workers. Meanwhile, an American company Briggo has invented a robot that serves gourmet- quality coffee to customers. With the push of a button it will crush coffee beans, measure exact quantities of water, and even wave a steam wand to ensure customers get the perfect cream on top. Unlike human baristas, it can serve multiple drinks at once and work all day and night without a break.

Robots are also invading our homes. The Rooma is a mini-robot that vacuums rooms automatically according to a schedule. The Robomow is a device that will cut the grass for you while you sit in the shade. Then there’s the Nanda clocky, an alarm clock that makes sure that even the deepest sleepers get up on time. The clock is attached to a pair of wheels, and it will randomly move around the room. Once you finally catch it, you’re probably too awake to hit the snooze button. Although these early home robots are somewhat basic, they will likely become more capable as times goes on.

Although robots certainly help us to eliminate tedious tasks, many people are concerned about a future filled with robots. Some fear that humanity will start to decline if machines do everything for us. Others have even warned about the robot rebellion, in which robots become so smart that they may decide to turn on their masters. These ideas may seem a bit far-fetched, but there are certainly lots of questions that need to be answered before everyone opens up to the idea of a robotic future.

We can infer from the passage that ..............

Câu hỏi liên quan

• Why does the author mention a dog’s bark?

• According to the passage, young owlets eat everything EXCEPT ..............

• Approximately when did English begin to be used beyond England?

ZUNIA12

• With which of the following topics is the passage primarily concerned?

• Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “nocturnal”?

• Why does the author mention “long, grueling hours without sleeps” in paragraph 4?

• According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

• What does the word “depletion” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

• According to the passage, biological agents mainly consist of ____________.

• The word “immense” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

• In the first paragraph, the word "elements" is closest in meaning to .............

• According to the text, people could come to live in the future city in the year ............

• Why does the author mention "artistic, political, or pedagogic communication" in line 14-15?

• The tone of the passage is that of __________

• The word “they” in paragraph 4 refers to ...........

• The word consisting most nearly means ________.

• The word “itself” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

• Which form other than oral speech would be most commonly used among the blind people?

• According to the article, what is unusual about the band Four Square?

• When the writer first went to London, he was disappointed because ________.