1 . Many people believe that working to the maximum is the secret to success, but research has found that moderation(适度) also gets results on the job.
In a study led by Ellen Langer of Harvard University, researchers asked people to translate sentences into a new made-up language. Subjects who practiced the language moderately beforehand made fewer errors than those who practiced extensively or not at all. High levels of knowledge can make people too attached to traditional ways of viewing problems across fields the arts, sciences, and politics. High conscientiousness is related to lower job performance, especially in simple jobs where it doesn’t pay to be a perfectionist.
How long we stay on the clock and how we spend that time are under careful examination in many workplaces. The young banker who eats lunch at his desk is probably seen as a go-getter, while his colleagues who chat over a relaxed conference-room meal get dirty looks from the corner office. “People from cultures that value relationships more than ours does are shocked by the thought of eating alone in front of a computer”, says Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Social interaction has been shown to lift mood(情绪) and get people thinking in new directions and in ways that could help improve any post-lunch effort.
Markman also promotes off-task time. “Part of being a good thinker is experiencing things that are seemingly unrelated to what you are working on at the moment but give you fresh ideas about your work,” he says. “Also, there is a lot of research showing that a positive mood leads to higher levels of productivity and creativity. So, when people do things to increase their life satisfaction, they also make themselves more effective at work.”
1. What does Ellen Langer’s study show?A.It is worthwhile to be a perfectionist | B.Translation makes people knowledgeable. |
C.Simpler jobs require greater caution. | D.Moderate effort produces the best result. |
A.is good at handling pressure | B.works hard to become successful |
C.a has a natural talent for his job. | D.gets on well with his co-workers |
A.A good thinker is able to inspire other people. |
B.Experience unrelated to your job is useless. |
C.A cheerful mood helps make a creative mind. |
D.Focusing on what you do raises productivity. |
A.Middle-of-the-road work habits. | B.Balance between work and family. |
C.Long-standing cultural traditions. | D.Harmony in the work environment. |
2 . How many bosses could rely on their employees threatening to quit in mass if they were abruptly forced out? Sam Altman received such a show of support from more than 700 staff after he was fired from Open AI that he was swiftly restored to his position by the board. But this level of loyalty is not typical and may not always be a good thing.
Management experts say staff who are loyal to their employer are inclined to invest more time and effort in their jobs, helping to create an engaged and higher performing workplace. In turn they receive promotions and pay rises. They have a greater sense of belonging and potentially a longer career at the same organisation. But it is not all rosy. People who are too loyal are more likely to take actions that are deemed wrong to keep their jobs and protect their employer, according to a 2021 academic paper. They might overlook wrongdoing and be less likely to expose corruption. Loyalty is sometimes seen as such a force for good that it can be used to justify bad behavior.
Often companies and senior bosses are the real winner a of employee loyalty. Research led by Matthew Stanley at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business published this year, found that managers were more likely to exploit loyal individuals. Stanley recruited almost 1,400 managers to read about a fictional 29-year-old employee called John, who worked for a company that was trying to keep costs down. They had to decide how willing they would be to ask John to work longer hours and take on more work without more pay. Researchers created various situations including labelling John as loyal versus other traits such as honest and fair. Managers were more willing to ask loyal John to take on the burden of unpaid work.
However, Consultancy Gallup’s latest state of the workplace report showed that half of the 122, 416 employees who took part in a global survey were looking out for new work. “You can’t guarantee anyone will stick around these days,” says a consultant who advises boards. This is particularly true of younger generations. They trust their bosses less and are not as patient when it comes to career progression, seeing little benefit in keeping their heads down and following orders if they do not see results quickly.
1. What does the author want to say by mentioning Sam Altman in Paragraph 1?A.Open AI’s staff loyalty is quite high. |
B.Staff loyalty’s rosy side in the work. |
C.Sam Altman could count on his employees. |
D.This level of loyalty is not always good. |
A.Through global surveys concerning a fictional employee named John. |
B.By creating different situations to ask John ta take on more unpaid work. |
C.By asking managers to make decisions about work arrangements of John. |
D.By recruiting managers to read fiction about work traits like loyal and honest. |
A.Loyalty can be used by management to exploit employees. |
B.Younger generations are more patient towards their employers. |
C.Employees who are loyal are more likely to report wrongdoing. |
D.Loyalty to an employer always leads to a positive work environment. |
A.How Job Loyalty Affects the Work Environment? |
B.Why Staff Loyalty is Not Always a Good Thing? |
C.Are Loyal Employees More Likely to be Promoted? |
D.Does Work Loyalty Help Career Progress More Quickly? |
Every child has a dream of what they want to be, right? When Renee Butts was little, her dream was to become a volunteer firefighter because her father was one. Sadly, when she was 14, her beloved father passed away and she was unable to do volunteer work with him. However, she was determined and never gave up, which makes for a good firefighter.
Now Renee is a member of the Carmel Fire Department, where she is required to be an Emergency Medical Technician. She should also be ready to deal with any emergency, like fighting a fire, dealing with a car accident or helping someone who’s sick. Sometimes she is in the driver’s seat or using the water pump. Renec works nine to eleven days a month on 24-hour shifts. She also has a family to care for, as her husband is also a busy firefighter. Dealing with housework and working so much can show her great determination.
When I asked Renee what the best part of her job is, she replied, “Helping people and the satisfaction of saving lives.” I think that shows signs of being a true hero. She’s always willing to do anything for anyone in need. Renee says that her job is frightening at times, but extremely exciting. “The worst part of my job is that I see death. Actually, sometimes, people die in the accident, for which I was very sorry,” said Renee.
I was inspired by this because I know I would be very scared to do her job and don’t know if I could handle seeing people die. With 140 people in her station, Renee is one of the only three women, but that doesn’t bother her. She says everyone gets a fair shot and they all do the same jobs.
We would never live without people like her who have the courage to risk their lives. Renee’s determination rubs off on me and helps me believe that I can do anything.
1. What’s Renee’s job in the Carmel Fire Department? (No more than 5 words)2. What makes Renee balance between doing housework and working so much? (No more than 5 words)
3. Why does the author-think Renee Butts is a true hero? (No more than 15 words)
4. How do you understand the underlined part in Paragraph 4?(No more than 5 words)
5. What do you think of Renee? Please give your reasons. (No more than 25 words)
For almost a month, Li Man has been working at an altitude of over 2, 000 meters, tirelessly carrying a medical rescue kit on her back
As one of the 38 Chinese rescue staff on duty to protect the para athletes, Li and her team members call
With competitors capable of hitting top speeds of up
5 . The workplace can be a perfect breeding-ground for “Misergonia”,also called desk rage (愤怒). It's a condition in which a series of noises and disorders cause people distress.
Sounds are often the trigger for Misergonia. The routine fire-alarm test is a case in point.“Attention please, attention please,” shouts a voice that is impossible to ignore.
Small IT failures are a fact of office life, but they can still be soul-destroying. The printer just doesn’t work.
Individual workers have their own triggers. There is no cure for Misergonia. The workplace is a collection of people keeping in touch in different ways. Their habits and noises turn into something familiar for some colleagues but annoying for others.
A.You'd better ask them for help. |
B.And then there is the reply-all email. |
C.Other noises are not so loud but just as annoying. |
D.Or the mouse that gives up at just the wrong moment. |
E.Nowadays, the computer has become an essential tool. |
F.The only release is to try to be understanding and get used to it. |
G.Verbal phrases(口头禅)are another headache for Misergonia sufferers. |
6 . Richard is a very a successful businessman. It is common for him to work hard with a non-stop. He wasn’t aware that he might wear himself out or die an early death until he overslept one morning, which was a sort of alarm. And then what happened? He had a week’s leave during which time he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach, which has enabled Richard to return to work again.
In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy.”
We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax — this has become the model of a successful life.
Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.
How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week — for followers of some religions — for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.
Rest is s spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.
1. What’s the function of the paragraph 1?A.To tell us that Richard lives a healthy life. |
B.To bring up the topic of the passage. |
C.To give us a brief introduction of Richard |
D.To tell Richard is a successful businessman. |
A.a signal of stress | B.a warning of danger |
C.a sign of age | D.a spread of disease |
A.be able to work without stress | B.be more talented than other people |
C.be more important than anyone else | D.be busying working without time to rest |
A.Praying for our family. | B.Taking a good break. |
C.Only working for two hours. | D.Enjoying delicious meal. |
A.We should balance work with rest. |
B.The Sabbath gives us permission to rest. |
C.It is silly for anyone to say “I am busy.” |
D.We should be available to our family and friends. |
A. addressing B. adoption C. attend D. budgeting E. cautions F. correspond G. extended H. hesitancy I. packages J. regardless K. rigid |
Top work-life balance benefits for 2023
“Flexibility is the gold standard of work-life balance benefits,” says Jonathan Pas, health care leader at consulting firm Mercer.
It’s no surprise then that two years after the pandemic forced most office workers to perform their jobs remotely. 78% of employers say they’ll allow employees to continue doing so regularly in 2023, according to a Mercer survey. But there’s still some
Pas
Other benefits requiring a broader organizational buy-in are sabbaticals(公休假) and unlimited vacation days. Both benefits encourage employees to pursue interests outside of work with
Instead, they prefer to find new ways to give employees more money, with the rise of employer-funded lifestyle accounts, which are often reserved for big-ticket items that might otherwise require some
But perhaps the most telling statistic about the importance of
8 . The pandemic has given a big push to all forms of digital communication. A workplace dominated by time on screens may seem bound to favor newer, faster and more visual ways of transmitting information. But an old form of communication — writing — is also flourishing (蓬勃).
The value of writing is highly valued in management thinking. “The discipline of writing something down is the first step towards making it happen, ” said Lee Iacocca, a giant of the American car industry. Jeff Bezos banned slides from meetings of senior Amazon executives (主管) back in 2004, in favor of well-structured memos (备忘录).
The move to remote working has strengthened the value of writing. When tasks are being handed off to colleagues in other locations, comprehensive documentation is crucial. When new employees start work on something, they want the back story. When old hands depart an organization, they should leave knowledge behind.
Software developers have already worked out the value of the written words. A research programme from Google into the ingredients of successful technology projects found that teams with high quality documentation deliver software faster and more reliably. Gitlab, a code hosting platform whose workforce is wholly remote, describes its secret of success as “textual communication”.
The deep thought and the discipline required by writing are helpful in other contexts, too. “Brain writing“ is a brain storming technique, used by Slack among others, in which participants are given time to put down their ideas before discussion begins.
Writing is not always the best way to communicate in the workplace. Video is more memorable; a phone call is quicker; even PowerPoint has its place. But for the structured thought it demands, and the ease with which it can be shared and edited, the written words are made for remote work and will flourish in the post-pandemic workplace.
1. Why are Lee Iacocca and Jeff Bezos mentioned in paragraph 2?A.To support an idea. |
B.To introduce a topic. |
C.To draw a conclusion. |
D.To make a comment. |
A.The tasks are handed over quickly by telephone. |
B.An expert colleague gives an experience-sharing lecture. |
C.The new comer broadens his company knowledge through the Internet. |
D.A code hosting platform succeeds mainly by textual communication. |
A.Doubtful. |
B.Objective. |
C.Grateful. |
D.Humorous. |
A.A phone call or a letter? Think twice |
B.Video conference will fade away in new situations |
C.Writing will flourish in the post-pandemic workplace |
D.Digital information or written messages? It depends |
I felt so nervous. It was the day of my interview. I woke up early just to make sure I would have time to get prepared. It felt like a normal Monday, but for me, this day was very important. There was a lot of pressure.
After showering, I put on the outfit I had carefully chosen and laid out the night before. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. “You can do this,” I encouraged myself. I ate breakfast and fed my cat. I made my way to the bus stop and waited patiently. Aside from the rapid tapping of my right foot, no one could tell that I was so nervous.
When I arrived at my stop, I walked to the office. The building was so tall and I felt small in its shadow. But I also felt hopeful. This will be a great opportunity, I thought. And what is there to lose? Looking down at my watch, I noticed that I was early. This allowed plenty of time to review my resume (简历) and further prepare myself for the interview.
The doors of the building were impressive, all steel and glass and very modern.
When I walked in, someone showed me the waiting area and offered me a cup of coffee. After a few moments, a man in a nice suit told me to join him. As we walked toward the elevators, I began to feel anxious. The palms of my hands began to sweat. It seemed like an hour had passed before I heard the “ding” of the elevators opening.
We got into the elevator, full of men and women dressed to the nines.
“It’s quite a large office,” the man said to me. I chuckled nervously. I could feel myself getting warmer. I couldn’t wait to hear that comforting “ding” that signaled an escape.
As the elevator climbed, I again nervously checked my watch. Just as I looked down, it happened.
Paragraph 1:The elevator came to a stop between floors.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
I thought that this must be the worst interview ever.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . Recent research reveals that the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by companies in the US has a disproportionate impact on women. According to a recent analysis, approximately 79% of the jobs lost to AI were held by women. This difference can be due to several factors.
Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly be influenced by automation, such as retail, hospitality, and administrative support. These sectors often involve repetitive tasks that can be easily automated by AI technologies. Consequently, women employed in these industries face a higher risk of job displacement.
Gender biases in AI algorithms (运算法则) can worsen the situation for women. AI systems are trained on historical data, which may reflect existing gender biases in hiring and promotion practices. This can result in biased decision-making during recruitment and performance evaluations, putting women at a disadvantage in the workplace.
The lack of diversity in the development of AI technologies contributes to the gender difference. The underrepresentation (代表名额不足) of women in the field of AI means that their perspectives and experiences are not adequately considered during the design and development process. As a result, AI systems may not fully understand or cater to the needs of women, continuously leading to gender inequalities.
To address these challenges, it is crucial to prioritize diversity and inclusion in the development and deployment of AI technologies. This involves increasing the representation of women in AI-related fields and ensuring diverse perspectives are considered during the design and testing phases. Additionally, companies should actively work towards eliminating gender biases in AI algorithms and regularly assess their impact on different demographic groups.
In conclusion, although men currently dominate the labor market, women bear a disproportionate burden due to the adoption of generative AI. The combination of industry composition, gender biases in algorithms, and lack of diversity in AI development contribute to this disparity. To relieve these effects, it is essential to prioritize diversity and inclusion in AI development and address gender biases in algorithms. Only through these efforts can we ensure that the benefits of AI are distributed equitably among all individuals, regardless of gender.
1. Why are women in the US workforce more influenced by the adoption of generative AI than men?A.Women are less adaptable to technological changes. |
B.Women have a lower level of education compared to men. |
C.Women are generally less skilled in technology and AI-related fields. |
D.Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly automatable. |
A.Increasing gender proportion in AI development teams. |
B.Providing targeted training and programs for women and giving them more chances in AI-related fields. |
C.Encouraging women to pursue careers in non-automatable industries. |
D.Offering financial supports to companies that prioritize gender diversity in AI programmes. |
A.It ensures equal opportunities for women in the workforce. |
B.It promotes innovation and creativity in AI solutions. |
C.It reduces the risk of biased algorithms that perpetuate gender inequalities. |
D.It improves the overall performance and effectiveness of AI systems. |
A.The impact of AI on job losses in the US. |
B.The role of women in AI-related fields. |
C.Gender biases in AI algorithms and their effects on women. |
D.Solutions to address challenges faced by women due to generative AI. |