In 1930, when the world was "suffering from a bad attack of economic pessimism", John Maynard Keynes wrote a broadly optimistic

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问题     In 1930, when the world was "suffering from a bad attack of economic pessimism", John Maynard Keynes wrote a broadly optimistic essay, "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren". It imagined a middle way between revolution and stagnation that would leave the grandchildren a great deal richer than their grandparents. But the path was not without dangers.
    One of the worries Keynes admitted was a "new disease": "technological unemployment due to our discovery of means of economising the use of labour outrunning the pace at which we can find new uses for labour." His readers might not have heard of the problem, he suggested—but they were certain to hear a lot more about it in the years to come.
    For the most part, they did not. Nowadays, the majority of economists confidently wave such worries away. By raising productivity, they argue, any automation which economises on the use of labour will increase incomes. That will generate demand for new products and services, which will in turn create new jobs for displaced workers. To think otherwise has meant being tarred a Luddite—the name taken by 19th-century textile workers who smashed the machines taking their jobs.
    For much of the 20th century, those arguing that technology brought ever more jobs and prosperity looked to have the better of the debate. Real incomes in Britain scarcely doubled between the beginning of the common era and 1570. They then tripled from 1570 to 1875. And they more than tripled from 1875 to 1975. Industrialisation did not end up eliminating the need for human workers. On the contrary, it created employment opportunities sufficient to absorb the 20th century’s exploding population. Keynes’ vision of everyone in the 2030s being a lot richer is largely achieved. His belief they would work just 15 hours or so a week has not come to pass.
Most economists argue that automation will increase incomes if ______.

选项 A、new jobs are created
B、productive force is boosted
C、the machine replaces human labour
D、demand for new products is generated

答案B

解析 根据题干中的“most economists”定位到第三段第一行:...the majority of economists ...下文的“they argue”即等同于题干中的“most economists argue”,故答案来自这个句子:By raising productivity, they argue, any automation which economises on the use of labour will increase incomes.(他们认为,通过提高生产力,任何节省人力成本的自动化生产都会增加收益。)可见答案是与“raising productivity(提高生产力)”相关的内容,所以选项B为答案,其中“productive force”对应“productivity";“boosted"对应“raising”。
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