First the good news: 9 in 10 people said they were satisfied with their jobs or the work that they do—and that remained steady throughout 2008, despite the economy. And now the bad, even if it's not so surprising: The number of people who said their employer reduced the size of the workforce rose dramatically during the year, from 15% in the first quarter to 23% in the fourth quarter. That's according to a survey from Gallup and health management company Healthways. Nearly each day in 2008, about 1, 000 adults were asked about their physical, emotional, economic and workplace well-being. When it came to their work environment, many of the 355, 334 people surveyed by phone were positive. But there were some labor pains. Just 47% of respondents from Hawaii said they were satisfied with their jobs, used their strengths at work, were treated by a supervisor as a partner and worked in an "open, trusting environment". That was the lowest score of any state on a work environment index that was compiled by calculating positive responses in those four areas. Utah nabbed top honors, with 59% of its respondents saying those four elements were prevalent in work lives. Among the biggest differences between Utah and Hawaii: 73% of Utah respondents said their supervisor created a trusting environment, while only 58% of folks in Hawaii felt that way. The national average was 65%. The Gallup-Healthways AHIP Congressional Report didn't offer any insights into why Utah ruled and Hawaii ranked so poorly on the workplace front. Hawaii's residents took the No. 1 slot in another two survey areas, emotional health and living conditions. "Maybe having a job while you're in paradise may not be all that great, " says Jim Harter, a chief scientist of workplace and well-being at Gallup. Utah has done well in separate workplace studies, as well. After considering factors such as unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income and the cost of living, Moody's Economy, com named its capital, Salt Lake City, the best U.S. city to work in for 2007 and 2008. But those glory days have faded, says Gus Faucher, Moody's Economy. com director of macroeconomics. Utah's housing boom turned into a bust later than most states. The national recession began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Salt Lake City's recession began in November 2008, according to Moody's Economy. com. From a non-economic angle, Faucher says he can see why Utah would earn strong marks on the work front. "The state is really Mormon, so there is a sense of solidarity" among many employees, he says. "People feel very connected to each other." Also, with its high birth rate, Utah has a robust population of younger employees who often add enthusiasm to the workplace, Faucher says. That's the case at the Wasatch Music Coaching Academy in Salt Lake City, school owner David Murphy says. Most instructors are between 22 and 35 years old and are extremely passionate and excited about teaching students, he says. Murphy, 52, who says he has a "dream" job, takes a collaborative approach in managing all staffers, "I see myself working side by side with my staff, not over my staff. "
单选题 What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:细节题. 首段最后一句讲到,受访者中认为公司老板今年有裁员行为的人数显著增长,从第一季度的15%上升至第四季度的23%,这说明越来越多的老板开始裁员了,所以更多的人不得不更换工作,故[B]正确。首段首句提到,工作满意度很高,尽管经济并不景气,所以[A]错误;从第二段每日1000位成年人接受调查可以计算出全年共有大约36.5万人接受调查,所以根据第一段最后一句的数据容易计算出[C]中的数字,但是这些数字手机受访者的数量,并非被裁掉员工的数量,故排除[C];[D]与第二段倒数第二句中的“积极的(positive)”相悖,故排除。
单选题 From Paragraph 4, we can infer ail of the following EXCEPT that______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:推理题. 本段大意为:夏威夷居民在精神健康和居住环境满意度两项调查中拔得头筹,并由此引起了吉姆·哈特的感慨——在天堂一样的地方还要工作就不那么美好了。所以,此处“天堂”一定指的是夏威夷;而且由此可以看出,夏威夷更适合居住而不适合上班;另外可以推断出当地居民虽然对于工作满意度不高,但他们的精神是放松的、健康的。所以[A]、[B]和[C]都可以从本段中找到推断依据,但文中并没有充分的依据推断出[D],所以[D]应为正确答案。