Will Robots Take Our Jobs?
B2 · Pronunciation: Intonation for lists · Society and Social Change
The Robot and the Baker
The robot came to the bakery
and kneaded all the DOUGH;
it didn’t take the baker’s JOB —
it took one TASK, you know.
The baker now DECorates CAKES
with sugar roses, red and white;
the robot works the MORNing shift,
the baker sleeps till LIGHT.
But down the road, the warehouse
has fifty fewer STAFF;
“The eCONomy is FINE,” they say ↘ —
and no one there will LAUGH.
Machines replace our TASKS, they say,
not whole JOBS — and that’s TRUE. ↘
But try TELLing that to the WORKer
whose TASKS were ALL he could DO.
Sample questions (6 questions)
- Listen. What contrast does the speaker make clear with stress?
- tasks versus whole jobs
- robots versus humans
- now versus the future
- Listen to the podcast. What is the economist’s main argument?
- Technology has always destroyed some jobs but created more.
- Automation will cause mass unemployment.
- Robots are too expensive to use.
- Listen to the union representative. Why does she disagree?
- New jobs often go to different people in different places.
- She thinks no jobs will be lost.
- She loves new technology.
- What assumption in the economist’s argument does the union representative challenge?
- that overall job numbers are what matter most
- that tractors were important
- that history repeats itself exactly
- Listen. How does the host’s final question sound, and why?
- rising — he genuinely invites both guests to respond
- falling — he is angry
- flat — he is bored
Answers and hints from Migo appear when you do it online.