1 . Many people have participated into lots of virtual meetings these years. Some research shows this adjustment might not impact workplace productivity to any great degree. A new study, though, suggests otherwise.
In the study, 602 participants were randomly paired and asked to come up with creative uses for a product. They were also randomly selected to work together either in person or virtually. The pairs were then ranked by assessing their total number of ideas, as well as those concepts’ degree of novelty, and asked to submit their best idea. Among the groups, virtual pairs came up with significantly fewer ideas, suggesting that something about face-to-face interaction generates more creative ideas. The findings could stiffen employers’ resolve 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 with remote workers,” said lead researcher Melanie Brucks. “Unlike other forms of virtual communication, like phone calls or e-mail, 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 random 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 letting their look wander about the room and taking in the entire scene. Eyeing one’s whole environment and noticing the random objects were associated with increased idea generation. On platforms, the screen occupies our interactions. Our look wavers less. “Looking away might come across as rude, ” said Brucks,“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 primarily 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, rid of the anxiety that comes from addressing a large classroom. Brucks found that one solution to improving virtual idea generation might be to simply turn off the camera, 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 compromise—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．Revise. | 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 relieved anxiety by speaking up. | B．Her students progressed in focusing attention. |
| C．Her students took advantage of virtual learning. | D．Her students displayed talent for public speaking. |
| A．Interacting Virtually Impacts Working Participation | B．Maintaining Teamwork Improves Idea Generation |
| C．Grouping Randomly Increases Productivity | D．Brainstorming Online Limits Creativity |
2 . The sign on the librarian’s desk read: “Readers Wanted for Project Read Aloud.” Sherene stared at it as the librarian stamped the book that she had selected for her weekly reading fare with a return by date.
“What is Project Read Aloud?” Sherene asked.
“Here’s the brochure about it. There’s a form inside to fill out if you want to become a reader. There is no pay, by the way,” the librarian said with a smile.
Sherene walked home. She loved living within walking distance of her town’s public library. She loved to sit in one of the overstuffed reading chairs in the reading room with the smell of books all around her and lose herself in a book. She had moved away after high school and had recently moved back. The library and fond memories of her childhood had drawn her back to this small town.
Once home, she sat down to read the brochure, which said, “Project Read Aloud seeks to provide the opportunity of hearing stories read aloud in a comfortable setting.” That is a fine goal, she thought.
Sherene filled out the form. She loved reading aloud. When she was a child, she read aloud to her teddy bear. Later, when she grew up and became a teacher, she read aloud to her students many times throughout the day. Since her retirement, she read aloud only to herself and Boots, her cat. It would feel so good to have a human audience once again to share stories with.
A couple of days later, Sherene sat in the now empty small theatre in the library, preparing the first story she was going to read. Soon, the audience began to wander in and find their seats. The theatre was half full in half an hour. Sherene stepped to the edge of the stage and introduced herself. She explained the origin of the story, opened the book and began to read. She wove the tale masterfully creating voices for the characters, pausing for emphasis, and taking the listeners into another world.
When Sherene read the last words of the story, there was a momentary silence as it all sank into the listeners and then a burst of enthusiastic applause. At that moment, understanding did grow in the town through the sharing of stories.
1. What can we learn about Sherene?| A．She used to be a teacher. | B．She lived far from the library. |
| C．She liked hearing stories read aloud. | D．She was involved in many social activities. |
| A．She wanted to make new friends. | B．The project’s goal suited her interest. |
| C．The project brought her extra income. | D．She needed to improve her reading ability. |
| A．Meaningful and humorous. | B．Novel and amusing. |
| C．Impressive and conventional. | D．Vivid and absorbing. |
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| A．awarded | B．submitted | C．presented | D．addressed |
| A．drive | B．proof | C．wish | D．reward |
| donate to, lead to, refer to, relate to, turn to, date back to, give way to |
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10 . The British love word-play and they’re enthusiastic about defending the use of their language. In recent years, books about the grammar, pronunciation and punctuation (标点) of English have been written by the dozen, and sold extremely well, reflecting people’s love of the English language. People want to defend the “correct” use of their language, but also to preserve its ability to evolve along with society. Lynne Truss’s book Eats, Shoots & Leaves is an excellent example of these two opposite ideas. Its title shows the way that punctuation can change meaning in a sentence. “Eats shoots and leaves” is a perfectly normal description of a panda’s diet: he eats the shoots and leaves of bamboo trees. But the position of the comma (逗号) turns those nouns into verbs, and makes up a ridiculous little story: the panda eats (his dinner), he shoots (a gun), and he leaves (the building). It’s a silly joke, but it shows how changing something as simple as a comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence.
Published in 2003, Eats, Shoots & Leaves was an unexpectedly huge success. It is easy to assume the typical reader of this kind of book as the humourless type. However, the book has sold thousands and thousands of copies — it must be appealing to a wide range of people. The book’s winning secret is this: it makes some serious points about language and punctuation, but also has a light-hearted dimension, and uses stories and jokes to show its points. It has invited some tough criticism, too, especially from the US. On a broader range, Eats, Shoots & Leaves has opened up a lot of public debate on Truss’s ideas. Whether they agree with her or not, punctuation and grammar has become a popular topic to discuss.
In every generation there will be people who think that the standard of language is in decline, and who are more than happy to write to the newspapers to express their concern and opinions. Truss’s book also appeals to those who think that texting and blogging is lowering the standard of literacy. Whether the standard of the English language is decreasing, or simply evolving into new forms, the success of Eats, Shoots & Leaves proves that this is a subject that many English speakers find interesting and important.
1. The title of the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a joke which shows ________.| A．a funny feeling | B．a trend in writing |
| C．a fact about animals | D．a grammatical point |
| A．it causes concern for proper use of language in a fun way |
| B．it shows the British like to teach English to other people |
| C．it solves a serious English language problem |
| D．it presents the new research on English |
| A．The English language was better in the past. |
| B．The English language is being improved by technology. |
| C．There is often dissatisfaction with the standard of English. |
| D．There have always been debates on the use of punctuation. |
| A．The Problem Punctuation Created | B．The Difference a Comma Made |
| C．Public Debate about Language Standards | D．Proper Understanding of Silly Jokes |
