1 . People duck responsibility for reasons ranging from simple laziness or a fear of failure, through to a sense of feeling frightened by the scale of a problem or a situation. Whatever the reason, if people fail to take responsibility, they’ll fail in their jobs, they’ll fail their teams, and they’ll fail to grow as individuals. All of this makes it important to address the issue.

Signs of not being responsible

There are several signs to watch out for. These include:

Lacking interest in their work, and in the well-being of the team

Blaming others for mistakes and failures

Missing deadlines

Avoiding challenging tasks and projects, and not taking risks

Regularly complaining about unfair treatment by team leaders and members and engaging in self-pity

Avoiding being dependent on others for work, advice and instructions

Lacking trust in team members and leaders

Ways to encourage responsibility

Start by talking

Your first step is to talk to the individuals concerned. Are there circumstances that are contributing to the situation, or problems that you can deal with?

Communicate roles, responsibilities and objectives

Your people need to know clearly what their roles and responsibilities are. Ensure that you have an up-to-date job description for each team member, and be as detailed as possible about every responsibility that they have.

Re-engage people

Your people will be more engaged if their work is supported with their values. Talk to them to find out what they are. Then, illustrate how their daily tasks and responsibilities go with those values.

Give plenty of praise

Finally, be sure to give your people plenty of praise when they do take responsibility. And help them improve by providing them with regular, effective and fair feedback.

1. What will happen if John fails to take responsibility?

A．He can complete his jobs.

B．His teams may suffer.

C．His growth will continue.

D．He will lose his life.

2. Which is the sign of John’s irresponsibility?

A．“It’s not my fault.”

B．“I’ll have it completed tomorrow.”

C．“It’s tough, but I can manage it.”

D．“I need resources to solve the problem. ”

3. What will you do first ifyour team members lacks responsibility?

A．Let him know their specific tasks.

B．Get them to find out the values of work.

C．Praise them for their good jobs.

D．Have a chat with him to find out problems.

2 . Last week the electricity in my flat went out. I had just got home from work and was ________ making my tea, when all of a sudden the power was off. I was surrounded by complete ________. The lights had gone out, the oven had stopped working and my phone was no longer ________. My flatmates and I tried to ________ it but we soon realised that we couldn’t. We would have to wait for a(n) ________ to come in the morning. This left me a whole night without any ________. My typical evening is spent watching TV and looking through social media. Tonight this wasn’t ________. Due to the lack of lights I couldn’t even read a book. We weren’t prepared with candles or matches. We just rely too much on electricity, expecting that it will ________.

So for me it was an early night to sleep. And I couldn’t help but think, do we ________ electricity too much? That night, losing our electricity felt like losing a basic ________, as basic as running water. But really, electricity is a luxury (奢侈品) that we’ve grown to ________ for granted. I use electricity all the time, even when it’s not really necessary. I use it to ________ my phone when I have to wait for even just a minute, for example when waiting for friends.

Our overuse of electricity is a big ________. It contributes to global warming, which is something that we really should be worried about. It is harming our environment and we need to do what we can to stop it. How would we ________ in a world without electricity? Cutting back on our use of electricity would save energy resources so that they could last for longer. I know ________ that I can cut down on my use of electricity.

1.

A．occasionally

B．happily

C．urgently

D．apparently

2.

A．silence

B．bitterness

C．darkness

D．astonishment

3.

A．calling

B．charging

C．controlling

D．existing

4.

A．set

B．put

C．get

D．fix

5.

A．friend

B．assistant

C．electrician

D．neighbour

6.

A．electricity

B．expectation

C．recognition

D．facility

7.

A．possible

B．frequent

C．important

D．general

8.

A．fail

B．work

C．leave

D．appear

9.

A．look on

B．hold on

C．live on

D．depend on

10.

A．regulation

B．necessity

C．intensity

D．system

11.

A．take

B．make

C．control

D．become

12.

A．keep

B．check

C．read

D．search

13.

A．challenge

B．temptation

C．question

D．problem

14.

A．survive

B．succeed

C．supply

D．sacrifice

15.

A．after all

B．at times

C．for sure

D．with ease