【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[听力原文] 23-30
(T:Tom J:Jane)
T: Welcome to Working Hours. In studio today we have Jane Michaels, HR Director at Pacific Insurance, one of many companies promoting flexible working schemes. Hello, Jane.
J: Hello, Tom.
T: So, Jane, what made Pacific decide to move away from the rigid 9-5?
J: Well, social changes have been a major factor. More women are now returning to work after having children, for example. And, even more importantly, we've had to cater for changing customer demands. With customers now preferring to do their business over the phone, we need our staff to work more flexible hours. We also took over two smaller companies recently. So we wanted a common scheme to unite all our new employees.
T: So what are the advantages of the scheme for Pacific?
J: Well, for one thing, we put great emphasis on providing our staff with regular, high quality training. It costs a lot of time and money to train our employees. So, obviously, it makes sense to retain them.
T: And providing them with flexible working patterns can help you do that?
J: That's right. But that isn't the main benefit. We see the scheme as primarily a toot for attracting potential staff to our company — especially high-calibre graduates.
T: Speaking of your staff, what's the main attraction for them?
J: Well, the majority of people in the scheme want to spend more time improving their qualifications by doing an MBA or something like that.
T: I imagine the scheme must make it much easier for staff to look after their children too.
J: Yes, that is an added benefit, as is being able to dedicate more time to their outside interests, such as sports.
T: Now, I believe the scheme isn't totally new.
J: That's right. There was an old scheme but awareness of it was very low. Most men, for example, assumed it was only available to women, which, of course, wasn't the case. The new scheme will also continue to offer alternative working patterns to staff on both short and long-term contracts. Only this time, we're making it available to employees at all levels of the organization and not just people in more junior positions.
T: I see. And what do you think will be the most popular element of the scheme? Flexible hours?
J: It's difficult to say at the moment but, yes, flexitime is likely to be popular. Typically, though, with the old scheme, employees showed most interest in having longer breaks from work, and I expect it'll be the same this time. There might be some interest in, say, job share arrangements in the future. But we'll have to wait and see.
T: And Pacific is also encouraging teleworking, I believe.
J: Yes, we are.
T: Now, how does that work? Do you use video-conferencing, for example?
J: Well, we have the facilities but they're not that widely used at the moment. As most of our teleworkers have access to the company network, they tend to communicate electronically. It's far more convenient than telephoning because you don't have to worry about whether the person's available or not.
T: That's interesting. But what about your managers, what challenges do they face working from home?
J: Well, several have mentioned the need to be self-disciplined, differentiating between work-time and private time. But the biggest difficulty seems to be empowering others to act for you, especially when they're in the office and you are not.
T: That's surprising. I would have thought the most difficult thing would be staying motivated without the support of colleagues.
J: Well, that's not something that's come up so far but I'm sure it will.
T: So, how do employees get selected as teleworkers?
J: Well, it all begins with an interview with your line manager.
T: To discuss whether the home environment is suitable, you mean?
J: Well, it's not quite as simple as that. The main reason we have the interview is to ascertain whether the applicant's duties are compatible with working from home. It's easier, say, for an IT specialist to work from home than a PA. If the interview goes OK, we then introduce the applicant to a colleague with personal experience of teleworking. We think it's important for the applicant to hear what it's really like working on your own at home.
T: Well, I'm afraid time's running out so we'll have to stop there. Thank you, Jane, for joining us today.

“应市场的要求”。问题是“Pacific公司引入弹性工作计划的主要原因是……”。这也是采访人Tom提出的第一个问题what made Pacific decide to move away from the rigid 9-5?时，很显然被采访人Jane接下来的回答是此题的答案所在。rigid 9-5意思是“刻板的朝九晚五的工作时间”。Jane在她的回答中开门见山地说：“social changes have been a major factor”(社会改变是主要因素)。但她在后面提到even more importantly，we've had to cater for changing customer demands(更重要的是，我们必须适应客户要求的变化)。所以最主要的原因不是前者，而是后者。看来选项C“应对社会变革”只是虚晃一枪，而B“团结新员工”虽有提到，但只是主要因素下的连锁反应，为次要信息。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】“招聘新员工”。问题是“Pacific公司采取这项计划的主要好处是什么?”这是采访人提出的第二个问题。Jane首先回答说for one thing, we put great emphasis on providing our staff with...training...it makes sense to retain them(首先，我们极其重视向员工提供……培训，……留住他们非常明智)。显然，问题在此还没有讨论完。在后面的一问一答中Jane提到But that isn't the main benefit. We see the scheme as primarily a tool for attracting potential staff to our company(但那不是主要的好处，我们将这个计划看作是吸引潜在员工加入我们公司的主要手段)。这里的“潜在员工”就是选项中提到的new employees。同上一道题一样，前文只是铺垫，后面才是答案。因此做听力题时不要急于作答，要听完整。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】“教育”。问题是“多数员工参与这一计划是为了把更多时间用于他们的……”。采访人的第四个问题引出了又一个新的问题What's the main attraction for them?(这项计划吸引员工的主要方面是什么?)Jane的回答说the majority of people in the scheme want to spend more time improving their qualifications by doing an MBA or something like that(加入这个计划的大多数人希望有更多时间提高自己的学历，比如说读个MBA什么的)，the majority of people对应了题干中的Most staff, spend more time对应于dedicate more time。所以其后面的内容显然是答案，即B．education。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】“非管理层员工”。问题是“旧的计划只面向……”当听到Jane提到There was an old scheme...时，应立刻捕捉到关键词old scheme，并注意听紧随其后的内容。这是一道推理题。先是提出一个假说Most men...assumed it was only available to women, which, of course, wasn't the case(大多数的男士认为旧的规则适用于女性，但其实并非如此)。这句话用了过去时，所以应该理解成指旧规则。根据这句话，我们可以排除C．女性工作人员。在她的这段话的最后We're making it available to employees at all levels of the organisation and not just peoplein more junior positions．(不过这次我们将该计划面向公司的各级员工，而不仅仅是低职位的员工)，后半句中not just说明是过去的情况，junior positions是“低职位的员工”的意思，即指“非管理层员工”，所以答案B是正确的。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】“休假延长”。问题是“Jane认为该计划最受欢迎之处在于……”这是采访人Tom提出的第五个问题And what do you think will be the most popular element of the scheme? Flexible hours?(你认为该计划中最受欢迎的条款是什么?弹性工作时吗?)在Jane的回答中并没有否定Tom的提示Flexible hours，但她只是说flexitime is likely to be popular(弹性工作时很可能会受到欢迎)，be likely to是不太肯定的说法，她接下来的Typically，though才是肯定的内容，employees showed most interest in having longer breaks from work, and I expect it'll be the same this time(在旧计划中，员工们对假期延长特别感兴趣，我预计新计划也不会对此改变)。可以推测出longer breaks才是最受欢迎的条款。所以答案是B。

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】“电子邮件设备”。问题是“多数采用电子化办公方式的员工通过使用……保持联系。”这是采访人Tom提出的第六个问题How does that work? Do you use video-conferencing, for example?(你们的远程办公开展得如何?比如，是否使用可视电话会议形式?)这段内容中提到的telework为“远程办公”的意思。Jane的回答We have the facilities but they're not that widely used at the moment(我们有这种设备，但是现在还没有广泛地应用)，排除了答案C“可视电话会议”。答案信息在As most of our teleworkers have access to the company network, they tend to communicate electronically. It's far more convenient than telephoning．(大多数的远程办公者接入公司的网络系统，他们愿意通过电子的方式相互联络。这比电话要方便得多。)说明答案B“电子邮件设备”是正确的，同时排除了答案A“电话”。

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】“委托工作”。问题是“经理们觉得什么最难?”这是Tom提出的第七个问题But what about your managers, what challenges do they face working from home?其中的challenge便是题干中的difficult的所指。答案信息在But the biggest difficulty seems to be empowering others to act for you(但是，最大的困难似乎是如何授权给别人让他替代你)。其中act for you的意思是“替代你”，与答案选项中的delegating(委托、授权)同义，所以答案C是正确的。这句话前面的一句several have mentioned the need to be self-disciplined…(有些人认为需要自律…)以及后面Tom所说的带有虚拟语气的话J would have thought the most difficult thing would be staying motivated...(我还以为最难的是保持工作的热情……)，这两句话都容易在考生选择答案时产生误导作用。

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】“工作性质”。问题是“通过对员工……的评估选择员工采用电子化办公方式”。这是Tom提出的第八个问题How do employees get selected as teleworkers?(如何挑选参与远程办公的员工?)当Tom问及To discuss whether the home environment is suitable, you mean?(你的意思是说考查其家庭情况是否适合?)Jane的回答是it's not quite as simple as that．(不是这么简单的。)所以答案B“家庭环境”被排除了。答案信息在随后的一句The main reason we have the interview is to ascertain whether the applicant's duties are compatible with working from home(面试的主要原因是确定申请者的职责是否适合在家工作)，这里的duties指的就是员工的job description(工作职责)，因此答案A是正确的。