Many people have taken part into lots of virtual (虚拟的) meetings these years. Some research shows this might not impact workplace productivity to any great degree. A new study, though, suggests otherwise.
In the study, 602 participants were paired and asked to come up with creative uses for a product. They were also selected to work together either in person or virtually. The pairs were then ranked by their total number of ideas, as well as those ideas’ degree of creativity, virtual pairs came up with significantly fewer ideas, while face-to-face interaction gave more creative ideas. The findings could stiffen employers’ determination to urge or require their employees to come back to the office.
“We ran this experiment based on feedback from companies that it was harder to innovate (创新) with remote workers,” said lead researcher Melanie Brucks. “Unlike other forms of virtual communication, videoconferencing copies the in-person experience quite well, so I was surprised when we found meaningful differences between in-person and video interaction for idea generation.”
When some objects were placed in both the virtual and physical rooms, the virtual pairs of participants spent more time looking directly at each other rather than looking around the room and taking in the entire scene. Eyeing one’s whole environment and noticing the objects were closely connected with increased idea generation. On platforms, the screen occupies our interactions. We don’t see around. “Looking away might come across as rude, so we have to look at the screen because that is the defined context of the interaction, the same way we wouldn’t walk to another room while talking to someone in person.”
Like most educators, Brucks has taught virtually in the past three years, and she did notice some benefits of the approach as well. Her students were more likely to take turns speaking and her shyer students spoke up more often, for her students felt “freer” and more creative when asked to do so. And this may be sound advice for the workplace.
Virtual teamwork can’t replace face-to-face teamwork. Idea selection proficiency (能力) is only valuable if you have strong options to select from, and face-to-face teams are the best means to generate winning options. Perhaps the workplace will find a sweet spot in the middle that balances working from both home and office.
1. What does the underlined word “stiffen” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?| A．Shake. | B．Reconsider. |
| C．Challenge. | D．Strengthen. |
| A．videoconferencing can’t compare with in-person communication |
| B．participants should make eye contact in an online meeting |
| C．the feedback from companies seems questionable |
| D．creative ideas may emerge from casual thoughts |
| A．Her students have less anxiety by speaking up. |
| B．Her students progressed in focusing attention. |
| C．Her students took advantage of virtual learning. |
| D．Her students showed their talent for public speaking. |
| A．Interacting Virtually Impacts Working Participation |
| B．Maintaining Teamwork Improves Idea Generation |
| C．Grouping Properly Increases Productivity |
| D．Brainstorming Online Limits Creativity |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】
On November 14, 2023, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) officially acknowledged (承认) China’s Bei Dou satellite Navigation System (BDS) as a global (全球的) standard. This acknowledgement places it among the top group of global satellite navigation systems, sharing the stage with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and the European Union’s Galileo.
China began working on the BDS in 1994. The system became operational in 2000. After 12 years of development, it started helping people in the Asia-Pacific area. By 2020, with BDS-3 being used all over the world, China improved the system to offer more accurate (精确的) positioning services. This improvement has made it a valuable tool for different kinds of industries, including transportation, farming, and land measuring.
Now, the BDS, with its 59 satellites, has served more than 1.5 billion users around the world. In China, most mobile apps that provide maps, navigation, and shopping services already support the BDS. The country’s satellite navigation industry is growing quickly, with its value reaching more than 500 billion yuan in 2022 — an amount expected to double by 2025. In the first six months of 2023, about 13.4 million new BDS devices (设备) were introduced. Nearly 60% of these devices have been used in transportation, while the rest support communication and farming. About 28% are used for communication and 12% for farming.
As BDS gets more popular, it is expected to play an increasingly important role in global navigation and positioning services.
1. Which systems is BDS similar to after being acknowledged by ICAO?| A．GPS, GLONASS, Galileo. | B．GPS, Galileo, satellites. |
| C．Galileos, mobile apps, maps. | D．GLONASS, maps, navigation. |
| A．By 1994. | B．By 2000. | C．By 2012. | D．By 2020. |
| A．The apps are all supported by the BDS. |
| B．The BDS devices went global in 2023. |
| C．The global use of the BDS is increasing. |
| D．Farming uses the BDS the most in China. |
| A．500 billion yuan. | B．10,000 billion yuan. |
| C．60% of the 2022 value. | D．Double the 2023 value. |
| A．A science textbook. | B．A daily newspaper. |
| C．An industry report. | D．A farming magazine. |
【推荐2】We all know that exercise is good for your health. But some kinds of exercise may be better than others. Running, for example, may help to protect against heart disease and other health problems. Running may also help you live longer.
Recently, researchers studied more than 55, 000 adults. About a quarter of the adults have a good habit of running. The study found these runners were much healthier than nonrunners. In fact, the runners lived, on average (平均), three years longer than the nonrunners.
Running may be good exercise, but it can be difficult on the body. Here are some ideas from fitness experts (健身专家) to lower the risk of injury (受伤) for people who are new to running.
⊙Take it easy.
Do not run too much, too soon or too fast. Most people get running injuries when they push themselves too hard. The body needs time to get used to increases in distance (里程) or speed.
⊙Get good running shoes.
There is no single best shoe for every runner. You should find the shoe that offers the best fit and support for your feet. More importantly, you should have a new pair of shoes every 500 to 800 kilometers.
⊙Take good notes.
Take time after each run to write down notes about what you did and how you felt. Look for things that happen again and again. For example, you may find that your knees hurt when you run sometimes. But perhaps you feel great when you have a rest between running days. These notes will help you make the best plan for running.
1. The writer wants to tell us in the first paragraph ________.| A．good health comes from running | B．running is the best exercise |
| C．health problem can be solved by good exercise | D．not all exercise is equally (同样的) good |
| A．a good habit of running may help you live longer |
| B．the number of nonrunners was getting smaller |
| C．three quarters of 55, 000 adults were new to running |
| D．the hope to live three years longer drives people to exercise |
| A．what the fitness experts say | B．whether you have the best shoes |
| C．how your body feels | D．why you start running |
| A．provide information for the researchers to work better |
| B．warn the nonrunners of the dangers in running |
| C．help runners to exercise in a scientific way |
| D．encourage as many people as possible to join in running |
【推荐3】AI(人工智能)makes our lives easier and better. Let's see the amazing AI.
Cool driverless bus
A bus door opens and you get on. Wait! Where is the driver? Here is a new kind of driverless bus called Apolong. It has 14 seats and doesn't need a driver. The bus follows traffic rules. It stops as soon as it sees a stop light.
Your close friend
Hi, everyone. I'm Xiaobing, a chatbot (聊天机器人). I speak like a 17—year—old girl. If you feel lonely, you can talk with me. I'm talented at singing, writing poems and telling stories. I want to be your friend!
World's first AI anchor (主播)
Hey, look! The famous Chinese anchor Qiu Hao is reporting the news for us. But, is "he" really Qiu Hao? The answer is "no". This is the world's first Al anchor. It looks and speaks just like a real person. It can work 24 hours and doesn't make any mistakes. You might see it on TV soon.
Popular AI artist
This beautiful painting was at an auction(拍卖)in 2020. The painting is worth about 3, 000000 yuan! But it is not a work by a famous painter, such as Vincent van Gogh. It was painted by an AI arts. Three Frenchmen created the Al artist It studied over 15, 000 paintings. In this way, it learned to paint.
1. The fact about Apolong is that ________.| A．the bus door can't open itself | B．it stops as soon as it sees a stop light |
| C．there are 24 seats in it | D．it doesn't follow the traffic rules |
| A．go out to play with you | B．talk with you if you feel lonely |
| C．sing | D．be your friend |
| A．was at an auction in 2019 |
| B．is worth about 3, 000, 000 yuan at an auction |
| C．is a work painted by Vincent van Gogh |
| D．was studied by three French artists over 15, 000 times |
| A．AI makes our lives harder and worse. |
| B．This new kind of driverless bus also needs a driver to control it. |
| C．Xiaobing is a 17—year—old girl. |
| D．The AI anchor can work 24 hours and doesn't make any mistakes. |
| A．a storybook | B．a notice | C．a newspaper | D．a novel |
Hello, friends! I’m Linda. I like to tell you something about the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival is an important (重要的) festival in China. All Chinese like it.
It is always in January or February. These are my two favorite months. It is often cold at this time of year, but people are happy. Family members get together and have a big dinner. We usually eat chicken. After dinner people like to watch Spring Gala (春节联欢晚会) on TV. It’s very interesting. We can see people singing and dancing very happily. Children have a lot of fun on Spring Festival. Usually our parents get new clothes ready for us and we get the “lucky money” from our grandparents, parents aunts and uncles, we like to let off fireworks (烟花) at night, they are really beautiful.
1. Spring Festival is an important festival in ________.| A．China | B．the USA | C．the UN |
| A．January and February | B．March and April | C．November and December |
| A．sing and dance | B．eat chicken | C．watch Gala on TV. |
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．①②③ |
| A．happy | B．healthy | C．easy |
【推荐2】Nowadays, many children spend hours a day looking at computer screens or other digital (数码的) products. Some eye care doctors say all the screen time has caused more children to have what they call computer vision syndrome (视力综合症).
Nathan Warford is an optometrist in the US. He says he has seen more children having eye problems. “More children come into my office because their parents have noticed that they have headaches (头疼)or red eyes, or because their degree of short-sightedness appears to be increasing (增加)very fast and they’re worried,” he said.
Dr. Warford says part of the problem is that even if their eyes start to feel uncomfortable or they start to get a headache, some children don’t tell their parents, because they don’t want their games or the computer to be taken away. Another part of the problem is that people blink (眨眼睛) less often when they look at the screen.A person who uses a computer or a digital product blinks about a third as much as we normally(正常地) do in everyday life. If eyes can’t stay wet or are too tired, they will not be protected like normal.
1. Why don’t some children tell their parents when their eyes start to feel uncomfortable?| A．They think it is not serious. |
| B．They don’t want their parents to worry. |
| C．They want to go to the hospital themselves |
| D．They want to continue playing computer games. |
| A．About 4 times | B．About 7 times | C．About 11 times | D．About 15 times |
| A．blinking is good for eyes |
| B．sleeping late is bad for eyes |
| C．children should blink as much as possible |
| D．we shouldn’t look at screens in a dark room |
| A．Some ways of protecting children’s eyes. |
| B．Some information about the latest digital products. |
| C．Dr. Warford’s experience of working out eye problems. |
| D．Eye problems in children caused by using digital products. |
【推荐3】Zhang Ming, a college student from Shandong, created a 9-page “WeChat guide”. With drawings and simple words, the step-by-step guide explains how to send messages, take pictures and make video calls. Zhang made the guide for his parents. “My parents are getting old. They need an easy way to learn how to use new technology.” He said.
Zhang’s experience is common nowadays. Worldwide, 40 percent of parents learn about new technologies, including computers, mobile Internet and social media, from their children, according to a study from the International Communication Association in 2014.
Parents used to teach their kids about almost everything. Now for the first time, the teachers become the students, and the students turn into the teachers.
The change of roles comes from the rapid development of society and technology, says Zhou Xiaohong, a sociology professor from Nanjing University. Zhou said the Internet and other forms of media give children ways to get information besides from asking older generations(长辈). Therefore, in the age of information, it’s possible that children know more than their parents do.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center(CINIC), 56.7 percent of Internet users and 67.2 percent of social media users in China are under the age of 30. The younger generation usually acts as a link between their family and the new environment. But when they teach their parents new technologies, parents can connect to the new world by themselves, noted Zhou.
In Zhang Ming’s eyes, teaching his parents about WeChat brings him closer to his parents. “People can communicate more by using new technology. Why should we keep our parents out?” said Zhang.
1. According to the passage, Zhang’s parents can’t ________ with the “WeChat guide”.| A．make video calls | B．send messages | C．grab the red envelopes |
| A．Because parents are getting old. |
| B．Because children can ask more older generations for help. |
| C．Because children can get more information by using new technologies. |
| A．teacher | B．connection | C．treasure |
| A．Zhang Ming’s “We Chat guide” is made up of drawings and simple words. |
| B．40% of parents learn about new technologies from their children all over the world in 2014. |
| C．56.7% of social media users in China are under 30 according to the CINIC. |
| A．Ways of using new technology |
| B．Kids can also teach parents |
| C．How parents connect to the world |
