2 . Four years ago, Chris Nagele did what many other technology CEO have done before—he moved his team into an open concept office.
His staff had been working from home, but he wanted everyone to be together. It quickly became clear, though, that Nagele had made a huge mistake. Everyone was distracted, productivity(生产率) suffered and the nine employees were unhappy, not to mention Nagele himself.
In April 2015, about three years after moving into the open office, Nagele moved the company into a 10,000-square foot office where everyone now has their own space — complete with closing doors.
Numerous companies have accepted the open office. But we’re 15% less productive, we have great trouble concentrating.
Since moving, Nagele himself has heard from others in technology who say they long for the closed office lifestyle. It’s unlikely that the open office concept will go away anytime soon, but some companies are following Nagele’s example and making a return to private spaces.
There’s one big reason we’d all love a space with four walls and a door that shuts: focus. The truth is, we can’t multitask(多任务化) and small distractions can cause us to lose focus for upwards of 20 minutes.
What’s more, certain open spaces can negatively impact our memory. We retain(保留) more information when we sit in one spot, says Sally Augustin, an environmental and design psychologist in La Grange Park, Illinois. It’s not so obvious to us each day, but we offload(卸下) memories — often little details — into our surroundings, she says.
Beside the cheaper cost, one main argument for the open workspace is that it increases teamwork. However, it’s well documented(记载) that we rarely brainstorm brilliant ideas when we’re just talk casually in a crowd.
1. How did Nagele feel three years after moving into the new office?
| A．He felt satisfied with it | B．He felt doubtful about it |
| C．He regretted his decision | D．He was confused about it |
2. What made Nagele more the company in April 2015 again?
| A．The suggestions from his friends | B．The cheaper cost of the new office |
| C．The complaints from his employees | D．The negative results of the open office |
3. What can we learn about offices from the text?
| A．The majority of US companies choose open offices |
| B．Nagele influenced some companies to move offices |
| C．Many US companies are moving into private offices |
| D．Open offices will soon be replaced by traditional ones |
4. What will happen when we work in an open office according to the text?
| A．We will retain more information | B．We will become more productive |
| C．We will obtain more brilliant ideas | D．We will have trouble concentrating |
