单选题   As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That's partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.
    What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.
    Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and unethical (不道德的) behavior in general.
    'Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors, ' says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn's Wharton School.
    'It turns out there's no economic benefit to just having a goal—you just get a psychological benefit. 'Schweitzer says, 'But in many cases, goals have economic rewards that make them more powerful. '
    A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.
    Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears imposed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.
    Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have taken issue with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-prescribed.
    In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: 'Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can thrive without goals to provide a sense of purpose. '
    But Schweitzer contends the 'mounting causal evidence' linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. 'Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects, ' he says.
    'Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization, ' Schweitzer says.
单选题     What message does the author try to convey about goal-setting?______
 
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】由题干关键词goal-setting将答案定位在第二段。 文章第二段提到“科学家们远远没有认识到的是目标设定潜在的有害影响”，其中be far less understood与D选项中的have long be neglected属于同义转述，故选D。 [参考译文] 任何尝试过减肥的人都知道，设定现实的目标通常会产生最好的结果。这部分是因为似乎设定现实目标的人效率更高，也会为实现目标付出更多的努力。 然而，科学家们远远没有认识到的是目标设定潜在的有害影响。 报纸每天充斥着关于华尔街和主街上各行各业普遍设定业绩目标的报道。然而，令人惊讶的是，对于长期鼓吹的设定目标这一做法可能加剧了当前的经济危机并引发一些不道德行为，相关的研究却少得可怜。 “目标设定因其有利的影响而被广泛应用和提倡。然而，能促使人们以积极的方式作出更多努力的动机也同样能使人们更易做出不道德的行为。”宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院副的教授莫里斯·施魏策尔说。 “事实证明，仅仅设定目标并不会产生经济效益——那只是心理上的安慰而已。”施魏策尔说。“但在很多情况下，目标作用更加强大的原因是其背后的经济回报。” 施魏策尔和他的同事们引用的一个典型例证是2004年能源交易业巨头安然公司的倒闭。当时该公司的经理利用经济奖励激励推销员完成特定的销售目标。施魏策尔说，问题在于这些贸易实际上无利可图。 其他研究表明，给员工强加不切实际的目标可能会迫使他们说谎、欺骗或偷窃。在20世纪90年代初就有这样的一个例子。西尔斯公司给汽车维修人员强加了销售指标。这使得员工对维修工作收费过高，而且使全公司的维修人员都参与完成一些并不必要的维修。 施魏策尔承认，他的研究结果与很多宣扬目标设定有诸多益处的文献资料相抵触。目标设定的支持者争辩说，施魏策尔的团队仅使用新闻报道作为证据来支持其目标设定被普遍滥用的观点。 在一篇反驳施魏策尔的文章中，埃德温·洛克博士写道：“设定目标并没有过时。组织机构如果不集中全力朝着期望获得的最终结果奋进就无法繁荣发展，就如个人没有目标赋予的使命感就无法成功一样。” 但是施魏策尔争辩说，应该研究一下越来越多的将目标设定和有害行为联系起来的因果性证据，从而引起人们对值得警惕和进一步研究的问题的注意。他说：“即使少量的负面作用也可能产生很大的影响，以至于会盖过其正面影响。” “目标设定确实有助于协调和激励人们。我的观点是设定目标应与认真的监督和强大的组织文化结合起来，以确保你设定的目标积极有益，而不会严重危及机构(的利益)。”施魏策尔说。
单选题     What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by citing the example of Enron?______
 
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】根据题干信息词Maurice Schweitzer和Enron将答案锁定在第五、六段。 第五段末句提到“但在很多情况下，目标作用更加强大的原因是其背后的经济回报”，第六段接着提到“施魏策尔和他的同事们引用的一个典型例证是2004年能源交易业巨头安然公司的倒闭，当时该公司的经理利用经济奖励激励推销员完成特定的销售目标”，由此可以判断，安然公司采用经济奖励以激励员工完成相应的销售目标是对前文“目标作用更加强大的原因是其背后的经济回报”的例证，故选C。
单选题     How did Sears' goal-setting affect its employees?______
 
 
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】根据题干信息词Sears将答案定位到第七段第二句。 文章第七段首句提到“给员工强加不切实际的目标可能会迫使他们说谎、欺骗或偷窃”，接着第二句举了20世纪90年代初西尔斯公司的例子进行说明，而说谎、欺骗和偷窃都是不道德的行为，故选A。
单选题     What do advocates of goal-setting think of Schweitzer's research?______
 
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】据题干信息词advocates将答案定位到倒数第四段第二句。 文章倒数第四段提到“目标设定的支持者争辩说，施魏策尔的团队仅使用新闻报道作为证据来支持其目标设定被普遍滥用的观点”，由此可以判断，目标设定的支持者认为施魏策尔的研究结论并不是建立在可靠的科学证据之上。故选B。
单选题     What is Schweitzer's contention against Edwin Locke?______
 
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】根据题干信息词contention将本题答案定位到倒数第二段首句。 文章倒数第二段提到“但是施魏策尔争辩说，应该研究一下越来越多的将目标设定和有害行为联系起来的因果性证据，从而引起人们对值得警惕和进一步研究的问题的注意”，也就是说有关目标设定和有害行为之间的联系值得进一步研究，故选C。