Young People - Coping With An Unpredictable Future: Reading Exercise

READING EXERCISE
YOUNG PEOPLE - COPING WITH AN UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE

(Par. 1) Young people here in Asia and indeed in every continent are facing new
challenges at an unparalleled pace as they enter the global economy seeking work. But are
the young in all parts of the globe fully equipped to deal with the unforeseen hazards of the
twenty-first century?
(Par. 2) With the globalization not just of commerce, but all knowledge itself, young
graduates in India, Pakistan, or China are just as prepared for the future as their counterparts
in any other nation. Except for one thing, that is. Young people wherever they are still lack
something of paramount importance. There was a time when those companies or nations with
the most knowledge had the edge on their competitors. That is now almost gone.
(Par. 3) In future, the success of all nations and companies, and indeed the success of
young workers, will depend not on analytical thinking as has been the case until now, but on
creativity and flexible thinking. This will have huge implications on the way companies and
people function.
(Par. 4) Knowledge has now become like the light from the light bulb. It is now available
to all of us, East and West, North and South. We can now 'switch it on' in India, China, or
Korea as easily as in, say, France or Australia. Knowledge is also packaged into systems that
allow professionals of any kind and level to move around the world in the employ of
multinational companies much more easily than in the past. So it matters less and less where
people are from, where they are working, or where they move to. The same rules and systems
apply to all.
(Par. 5) With this knowledge-based industry now firmly established, mainly as a result
of the Internet, economies and people have to move on to another level of competition. What
will make or break the economies of the future in Asia and the West is not workforces
equipped with narrow life skills, but the more creative thinkers who can deal with the
unknown. But the world is still churning out young workers to cater for knowledge rather
than creativity-based economies. Edward de Bono has long championed lateral thinking and
his work has found its way into many companies and conservative institutions.
(Par. 6) More recently, Daniel Pink in A Whole New Mind (2005), a book about the
mindset needed for the coming century, has predicted that success in the future will depend
on creative thinking, not analytical thinking - more use of the right side of the brain as opposed
to the left.
(Par. 7) Knowledge-based professions which control the world like banking,
management, etc. Pink argues, will wane as more and more jobs are replaced by computers,
a prospect governments must wake up to or they will have hordes of young people trained for
a redundant world system. The analytical brain types that have dominated job interviews in
recent years have had their day. Those who see the bigger picture at the same time, i.e. those
who use the right side of their brain as well or more than the left or can switch between the
two at will, are about to come into their own.
1
(Par. 8) The most prized individuals will be those who think outside the analytical boxes.
If governments are sleep-walking into this situation, young people need not do so, but can
prepare themselves for this dramatic evolution. Broadly speaking, young people are much
more flexible and prepared to adapt to new situations than their older counterparts. Their very
familiarity with ever-changing technology and the processes that go with it equips them to be
proactive, and to develop their skills beyond the purely analytical. Take the gigantic leaps that
have been made in the economies of South-East Asia in recent years. Advanced transport
infrastructures and systems for knowledge transfer are more evolved than in many so-called
advanced western countries which are lagging behind their eastern counterparts.
(Par. 9) Businesses, rather than universities, can provide opportunities that introduce
elements of unpredictability and creativity into aspects of training or work experience to teach
employees to cope with the shifting sands of the future. The young will be encouraged to do
what they do best, breaking out of existing systems and restructuring the way things are done.
Older people will need to side with them in their readiness to remould the world if they are to
survive in the future workplace. We may be in for a bumpy ride, but whatever else it may be,
the future does not look dull.
Questions 1 – 7: Complete the summary below using the list of words, (A-K) from the box
below.
Young people everywhere are having to overcome new (1)…………….. as they look for
work. The ubiquity of knowledge means that companies and young worker need something
else to stay ahead of their (2)……………. Workers, no matter where they are from, can plug
into systems. This has huge (3)……………….. With the end of knowledge-based industries,
Daniel Pink has forecast that success in the future will depend on (4)…………………, not
analytical. The power professions like banking, management, etc. will, it is argued, take on a
(5)……………. as more jobs are carried out by computers. Young people who use the right
side of their brain as well as their left are about to assume a (6)…………….., so more work-
based training involving the (7)………………. of uncertainty is in order.
Question 8 – 10: Choose three letters, A – F
Which THREE of the following predictions are made by the writer of the text?
A. The role of creative thinkers will become more important.
B. South-East Asia will develop more advanced systems for knowledge transfer
C. The use of technology will reduce people’s creative abilities
D. Older people will find it hard to adapt to future workplace needs.
E. Businesses will spend increasing amounts of money on training.
2
F. Fewer people will enter knowledge-based professions.
Questions 11—13
Choose the correct letter, A, B. C or D.
11 According to the writer, some systems are more advanced in South-East Asia than in the
West because …………
A managers are more highly qualified.
B the business environment is more developed.
C the workforce is more prepared to adapt.
D the government has more resources.
12 According to the writer, training for the developments that he describes will be provided
by …………
A governments.
B universities.
C schools.
D businesses.
13 The writer concludes that …………
A older people will have to be more ready to change.
B businesses will have to pay young people more.
C young people will not need work-based training.
D university lecturers will not have to adapt their courses. /.

Young People - Coping With An Unpredictable Future: Reading Exercise

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Young People - Coping With An Unpredictable Future: Reading Exercise

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Young People - Coping With An Unpredictable Future: Reading Exercise

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

READING EXERCISE

YOUNG PEOPLE - COPING WITH AN UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE

You might also like