文章大意:这是一篇说明文。主要介绍了当工作很无聊的时候,怎样才能坚持下去?研究人员从多个角度探讨了这个问题,研究表明,当人们监控自己的进展、获得奖励或当任务变得更有趣时,他们可能会坚持更久。
We all try to spend our days doing engaging things, but the reality is that there’s a lot of boring work which also must be done. Whether it’s washing the dishes, filing papers, entering data, or any of the countless dull yet critical tasks that keep our homes, organizations, and communities running, we all have less-than-exciting tasks we have to do. Of course it’s not always easy to get ourselves to stick to these tasks, even if we know we should. What does it take to persist (坚持) when work is boring?
Researchers have explored this question from many angles and studies have shown that people may persist longer when they monitor their progress, receive rewards, or when a task is made more fun. These findings have direct effects on how we design products and policies. For instance, companies are increasingly offering incentives to encourage employees to get more exercise, and managers are carrying out various game strategies to make employees’ work more fun.
Recent research by Harvard University, however, suggests that for tasks that don’t require a lot of attention, there may be a better approach. Researchers conducted a series of studies with over 2,000 participants and found that in many cases, people stop working on tasks earlier than expected not because they aren’t motivated enough, but because the tasks do not need enough attention.
Often, strategies designed to increase persistence will involve changing something about the work itself — but you can only make washing the dishes so exciting or mentally stimulating (振奋人心的). Rather than endlessly attempting to make boring tasks less boring, it can sometimes be more effective instead to pair these activities with other tasks that require more attention. This concept is called tangential immersion (切入式专注法).
Basically, the mind seeks to be engaged. We experience boredom when doing tasks that require less attention than we have available, and this leads us to quit those tasks too early. But if there is a second activity in which we can involve ourselves at the same time with the low-attention task, it can occupy that extra attention, reducing boredom and thus increasing persistence.
8. In what circumstance may people continue with a boring task?
A.When they feel motivated. | B.When they want to kill time. |
C.When they are full of energy. | D.When they lack attention. |
9. What does the underlined word “incentives” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Instructions. | B.Rewards. | C.Programmes. | D.Positions. |
10. Why did the participants quit their tasks earlier than expected?
A.The tasks were beyond them. | B.The studies took too much time. |
C.The tasks demanded less attention. | D.The participants were not devoted. |
11. How can we focus on a boring task according to tangential immersion?
A.By making it more challenging. | B.By checking the progress repeatedly. |
C.By refreshing the mind regularly. | D.By pairing it with a demanding one. |