Robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in Japan by 2025, a think-tank says, helping to alleviate worker shortages as the country's population shrinks.Japan faces a 16 per cent drop in the size of its workforce by 2030 while the number of elderly will mushroom, the government estimates, raising worries about who will do the work in a country unused to, and unwilling to think seriously about large-scale immigration.The think-tank, the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, says robots could help fill the gaps, ranging from micronized capsules that detect problems to high-tech vacuum cleaners. Rather than each robot replacing one person, the foundation said in a report that robots could make time for people to focus on more important things.Japan could save 2.1 trillion yen (10.4 billion pounds) of elderly insurance payments in 2025 by using robots that monitor the health of older people, so they do not have to rely on human nursing care, the foundation said in its report. Caregivers would save more than an hour a day if robots helped look after children, older people and did some housework. Robotic duties could include reading books out loud or helping bathe the elderly."Seniors are pushing back their retirement until they are 65 years old, day care centers are being built so that more women can work during the day, and there is a move to increase the quota of foreign laborers. But none of these can beat the shrinking workforce," said Takao Kobayashi, who worked on the study. "Robots are important because they could help in some ways to relieve such shortage of the labor force."The current fertility rate is 1.3 babies per woman, far below the level needed to maintain the population, while the government estimates that 40 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2055, raising concerns about who will look after the graying population.Kobayashi said changes were still needed for robots to make a big impact on the workforce. "There's the expensive price tag, the functions of the robots still need to improve, and then there are the mindsets of people," he said. "People need to have the will to use the robots."1. What is the main idea of this passage?A) Robots will play a very important role in society.B) Robots can relieve shortage of the labor force. C) Robots will change people's life style.D) Robots can save time for people.2. Which of the following best describes what robots could do in the future?A) They could be high-tech vacuum cleaners.B) They could take care of children and older people.C) They could monitor the health of older people.D) They could do various things to make time for people. 3. It can be inferred from the fifth paragraph that ________.A) delaying seniors' retirement can solve the problem of worker shortageB) women will get better job in big companyC) foreign laborers can beat the shrinking workforceD) using the robots is the best way to alleviate worker shortage 4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A) Japan faces the problem of workforce shrinkage.B) The number of older people will increase rapidly.C) Using robots can save money and time for people.D) Half of the population will be over 65 in 2055. 5. Among the things we should do, which is NOT implied in the last paragraph?A) Lower robots' price.B) Improve robots' functions.C) Produce more robots. D) Change our ways of thinking about robots.

Robots could fill the jobs of 3.5 million people in Japan by 2025, a think-tank says, helping to alleviate worker shortages as the country's population shrinks. Japan faces a 16 per cent drop in the size of its workforce by 2030 while the number of elderly will mushroom, the government estimates, raising worries about who will do the work in a country unused to, and unwilling to think seriously about large-scale immigration. The think-tank, the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, says robots could help fill the gaps, ranging from micronized capsules that detect problems to high-tech vacuum cleaners. Rather than each robot replacing one person, the foundation said in a report that robots could make time for people to focus on more important things. Japan could save 2.1 trillion yen (10.4 billion pounds) of elderly insurance payments in 2025 by using robots that monitor the health of older people, so they do not have to rely on human nursing care, the foundation said in its report. Caregivers would save more than an hour a day if robots helped look after children, older people and did some housework. Robotic duties could include reading books out loud or helping bathe the elderly. "Seniors are pushing back their retirement until they are 65 years old, day care centers are being built so that more women can work during the day, and there is a move to increase the quota of foreign laborers. But none of these can beat the shrinking workforce," said Takao Kobayashi, who worked on the study. "Robots are important because they could help in some ways to relieve such shortage of the labor force." The current fertility rate is 1.3 babies per woman, far below the level needed to maintain the population, while the government estimates that 40 percent of the population will be over 65 by 2055, raising concerns about who will look after the graying population. Kobayashi said changes were still needed for robots to make a big impact on the workforce. "There's the expensive price tag, the functions of the robots still need to improve, and then there are the mindsets of people," he said. "People need to have the will to use the robots."1. What is the main idea of this passage?A)  Robots will play a very important role in society.B)  Robots can relieve shortage of the labor force. C)  Robots will change people's life style.D)  Robots can save time for people.2. Which of the following best describes what robots could do in the future?A)  They could be high-tech vacuum cleaners.B)  They could take care of children and older people.C)  They could monitor the health of older people.D)  They could do various things to make time for people. 3. It can be inferred from the fifth paragraph that ________.A)  delaying seniors' retirement can solve the problem of worker shortageB)  women will get better job in big companyC)  foreign laborers can beat the shrinking workforceD)  using the robots is the best way to alleviate worker shortage 4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A)  Japan faces the problem of workforce shrinkage.B)  The number of older people will increase rapidly.C)  Using robots can save money and time for people.D)  Half of the population will be over 65 in 2055. 5. Among the things we should do, which is NOT implied in the last paragraph?A)  Lower robots' price.B)  Improve robots' functions.C)  Produce more robots. D)  Change our ways of thinking about robots.