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Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
We are moving inexorably into the age of automation. Our aim is not to devise a mechanism
which can perform a thousand different actions of any individual man but, on the contrary which
could by a single action replace a thousand men.
Industrial automation has moved along three lines. First there is the conveyor belt system of
continuous production whereby separate operations are linked into a single sequence. The goods
produced by this well-established method are untouched by the worker, and the machine replaces
both unskilled and semi-skilled. Secondly, there is automation with feedback control of the
quality of the product; here mechanisms are built into the system which can compare the output
with a norm, that is, the actual product with what it is supposed to be, and then correct any
shortcomings. The entire cycle of operations dispenses with human control except in so far as
monitors are concerned. One or two examples of this type of automation will illustrate its
immense possibilities. There is a factory in the USA which makes 1,000 million electric light
bulbs a year, and the factory employs three hundred people. If the pre-automation techniques
were to be employed, the labour force required would leap to 25, 000. A motor manufacturing
company with 45,000 spare parts regulates their entire supply entirely by computer. Computers
can be entrusted with most of the supervision of industrial installations, such as chemical plants
or oil refineries. Thirdly, there is computer automation, for banks, accounting departments,
insurance companies and the like. Here the essential features are the recording, storing, sorting
and retrieval of information.
The principal merit of modern computing machines is the achievement of their vastly greater
speed of operation by comparison with unaided human effort; a task which otherwise might take
years, if attempted at all, now takes days or hours.
One of the most urgent problems of industrial societies rapidly introducing automation is how to
fill the time that will be made free by machines which will take over the tasks of the workers.
The question is not simply of filling empty time but also of utilizing the surplus human energy
that will be released. We are already seeing straws in the wind: destructive outbursts on the part
of youth whose work no longer demands muscular strength. While automation will undoubtedly
do away with a large number of tedious jobs, are we sure that it will not put others which are
equally tedious in their place? For an enormous amount of sheer monitoring will be required. A
man in an automated plant may have to sit for hours on end watching dials and taking decisive
action when some signal informs him that all is not well. What meaning will his occupation bear
for the worker? How will he devote his free time after a four or five hour stint of labour?
Moreover, what, indeed, will be the significance for him of his leisure? If industry of the future
could be purged of its monotony and meaninglessness, man would then be better equipped to use
his leisure time constructively.
a) What is the main purpose of automation, according to the passage?
The main purpose of automation is to devise a mechanism which can by a single action replace a thousand men.
b) Explain why less men are required for the first type of industrial automation than in a manual
system?
This is because in the conveyor belt system there is continuous production whereby the operations are linked into a single sequence without the worker touching them. The machine replaces both unskilled and semi-skilled.
c) What is more sophisticated about the second industrial automation system than
the first?
The second industrial automation system has feedback control of the quality of the product, an inbuilt system which can compare the output with a norm (the actual product with what it is supposed to be, and then correct any shortcomings).
d) What is the main benefit of computing machines?
The main benefit of computing machines is the achievement of their vastly greater speed of operation compared to unaided human effort.
e) Comment on the biggest drawbacks of automation in industrial societies.
The biggest drawbacks of automation in industrial societies are: how to fill the time that will be made free by machines which will take over the tasks of the workers; another is how to utilize the surplus human energy that will be released; doing away with tedious jobs may unfortunately be replaced by others which are equally tedious (e.g. monitoring).
f) How would the sense be changed if the phrase “a single action” (lines 2-3) were replaced by “a
thousand actions”?
Undoubtedly, automation will do away with a large number of tedious jobs, but they will surely be replaced by others which are equally tedious.
g) What does the phrase “if attempted at all” refer to?
) The phrase refers to a task that may take a long time to achieve results without the assistance of the computer.
h) What does the author consider as important as “filling empty time”?
The writer considers the utilizing of the surplus human energy that will be released as important as filling empty time.
i) The three lines of industrial automation referred to by the author are:
• The conveyor belt system of continuous production
• The automation with feedback control of the quality of the product
• Computer automation for banks, accounting departments, etc
Musyoxx answered the question on July 25, 2018 at 13:40
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