Robots aid in coronavirus fight (P6)
山东省烟台第二中学 赵娜娜

Lead-in 
Compared with humans, what advantages do robots have?
They are efficient, tireless, can be repaired when damaged and they never get sick. 

In terms of fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, what strengths do robots have?
They won't fall ill in the face of the highly infectious virus.
They are not capable of being scared.

Brainstorming  
Can you think of any work that can be done by robots during the epidemic?
    deliver food
    assist medical workers
    take people’s temperature 
    disinfect a room
    ...

Fast-reading
Read the text quickly and choose the main idea.
A. How robots have helped medical workers during the pandemic.
B. Robots have a promising future.
C. The outbreak of COVID-19 has promoted the application of robots.

Key: C

Find the key sentences of each paragraph.
Para. 1　 A. But this sudden surge in robot demanddoesn’t mean that they triumph over humans in every aspect.
Para. 2 & 3       B. Robots have certain advantages compared to humans.
Para.4           C. This is why the COVID-19 outbreak is seen as the “tipping point”...
Para. 5        D. ... using more robots than human employees can prove to be rewarding …
Para. 6 & 7       E. In non-medical companies, robots are also replacing human employees ...

Key：
 
Reading for details 
Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.
1. In areas like hospitals and healthcare facilities, what kinds of tasks do robots perform?
 

2. In non-medical companies, how are robots  replacing human employees?
Robots don’t have the problem of social distancing and will never take sick leave.
 

3. What advantages do humans have over robots? 
The human contact between doctors and patients is still important. Doctors comfort the patients and guide them through hard decisions while robots are only doing routine tasks, like cleaning and giving tests, just to free up doctors and nurses.
It might be true that robots have certain advantages over humans, but they are still secondary to human interaction. 
Post reading 
How does the author support his points?
A .By asking questions.  
B. By quoting others.  
C. By giving their opinion.    
D. By giving examples.

Key： BD

Debate  
In your opinion, will robots replace humans in the workplace one day? Why or why not?

Post reading 
We can’t stop the development of robots. What we have to do is not fight against artificial intelligence, but accelerate our pace to keep up with the changes. When robots can work as well as or even better than us at lower costs, there is a risk we will be replaced. Artificial intelligence is going to continue to develop, so we should, too. Only when we equip ourselves with the ability to progress can we take control of robots and not be controlled by them.

Language  Study

Homework 
假设你是李华，你的笔友Jack想了解你对机器人的看法，请写信回复，内容应包括：
1. 机器人的前景如何；
2. 我们应该怎样看待机器人。