1 . Thousands of workers in the UK have a shortened week ahead of them as a large-scale four-day workweek pilot gets underway. Beginning this week, more than 3. 000 workers at 70 companies across diverse industries will get an extra day off every week. The six-month trial organized by 4 Day Week Global, is considered the largest experiment of its kind in the world.
“What is most exciting about the pilot is that we have a wide range of fields of economy participating.” said Joe Ryle, campaign director for the UK arm of 4 Day Week. “We’re hoping it will show that the four-day workweek is possible across the economy in the longer term. ”
Participating employers range from firms in the education sector to banking. IT. marketing, retail and hospitality businesses. The schedule is based on the 100-80-100 rule, which allows workers to earn 100%of their pay for 80%of their time for delivering 100% of output.
Employers have been eager to test programmes that offer workers more flexibility and a better work-life balance after workers quit their jobs at record rates. It has forced companies to find new ways to employ and retain(留住)talent, including bumping up pay and allowing more remote work. Cutting a full day off the workweek is yet another option companies can use to induce job seekers to work for them.
“We’ve seen a growing appetite for reduced work time,” said Joe O’Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global. “Employers are drawn to this idea as they see it providing them with a competitive advantage. Because of the pandemic(大流行病)，managers are more open-minded.”
For the workers’ part, expectations have also shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic. “People’s expectations about what forms a reasonable life-work balance have changed,” O’Connor said.
“The four-day week is generally considered to be a triple-dividend policy-helping employees, companies, and the climate,” said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College.
1. What is the purpose of the pilot according to Joe Ryle?| A．To test the effectiveness of the four-day workweek. |
| B．To help develop the economy during COVID-19. |
| C．To improve cooperation between different industries. |
| D．To increase employees'productivity within four days. |
| A．Work hard to get a pay raise. | B．Improve their productivity. |
| C．Keep a record of what they do. | D．Spend more time with their family. |
| A．Expect. | B．Force. | C．Allow. | D．Persuade. |
| A．Negative. | B．Unclear. | C．Favourable. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．The red one. | B．The black one. | C．The white one. |
3 . Our world is more connected than ever before thanks to technology.
You should be determined to actively end your loneliness. We often end up passively waiting for someone else to make us feel less lonely. You may feel that your loneliness indicates that nobody is willing to connect with you. And there is nothing you can do about it. But that is far from the truth.
You should find reasons why you are lonely. We all feel lonely for different reasons. Some of us have no one else to interact(互动) with on a consistent basis and that's why we feel lonely. You may feel that the people in your life don't share your thoughts and ideas.
You should find people who share your interests.
| A．Whatever the reason is |
| B．Whether it's coin collecting or video games |
| C．If you have no reason to share your interests |
| D．You should be true to yourself or actively end loneliness |
| E．You should be open about your thoughts, ideas and desires |
| F．Ending loneliness is something that you can and should do actively |
| G．However, more and more of us find ourselves having to stand loneliness |
