单选题 It"s possible that while you are at work, you may dream about a month of Sundays, but your boss wishes for a week of Tuesday. That"s because he probably knows that productivity is one of the main factors bolstering a company"s growth. And a recent poll shows that workers are most productive on Tuesdays! Accountemps, an employment agency, conducted a national survey of office managers, which shows that by the middle of the week, they see a dramatic productivity decrease. While Monday is considered second in "productivity value," only nine percent of office managers think Wednesday is the peak productivity day. Five percent believe it is Thursday. And Friday, well, you can just imagine! However, forty-eight percent of the managers polled said that Tuesday is, by far, the most productive day of the week.
A close analysis of workweek rhythms would turn up some obvious reasons for those survey results. First of all, Monday is overloaded with meetings, designed to "get things moving," and everybody knows meetings aren"t very productive. Wednesday is "hump day" (驼峰日) —get over it as painlessly as possible, a worker thinks, and the week is more than halfway over. On Thursday, people are running out of steam; and Friday, everybody"s thinking about the weekend. There are reasons why the other days aren"t productive, but what makes Tuesday special? Tuesdays, employees hit peak performance because they are very focused on day-to-day activities. Also, it"s usually the first day of the week when they"re focused on their own task. They"re not in meetings that take them away from their primary responsibilities. Actually, Tuesdays can be quite hectic. Workers are arriving at work fairly frantic. And so, in 10 hours, they"re doing 20-hour work. That"s productive, but it"s also tough.
This does not mean that nothing happens on the last three days of the workweek. Things do not get so lax that people are sitting with their feet on desks, sipping coffee and talking on the phone all day, but there"s a definite lack of focus. The pace softens and the rhythm slows down. And this is not healthy: it produces fatigue and lowers productivity. To prevent this midweek slowdown, some management consultants suggest that employers avoid jamming so many meetings into Mondays. Work deadlines can be rescheduled to stretch out the workflow. Variations in productivity are only natural, but both workers and bosses win when the peaks and valleys are less dramatic than they are now.
单选题 According to the poll, which of the following days is most productive?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 此题为细节判断题。文章第一段第三句指出:a recent poll shows that workers are most productive on Tuesdays!周二最有效率;第五句指出:While Monday is considered second in “productivity value,”最有效率的其次是周一。题目选项中没有周二这一时间,与其他选项相比,C项星期一是最有效率的,所以C项符合题意。
单选题 The peak productivity day of the week is marked by ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 此题为细节判断题。文章第二段最后指出:And so, in 10 hours, they"re doing 20-hour work. That"s productive...在10个小时内,他们完成20小时的工作量。这说明了员工的工作效率。由此可判断D项全神贯注和效率符合文章意思。
单选题 The word "lax" in the last paragraph means ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 此题为语义辨析题。lax意为松弛的,松懈的,不严的。
根据文中语境:Things do not get so lax that people are sitting with their feet on desks, sipping coffee and talking on the phone all day, but there"s a definite lack of focus. 事情并未如此……以至于员工们整天闲坐着,品咖啡,煲电话粥,但的的确确缺乏专注。由此推测,B项失去控制符合题意。
单选题 With respect to the changes in productivity, the text suggests that ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 此题为推理分析题。文章最后一句指出:Variations in productivity are only natural, but both workers and bosses win when the peaks and valleys are less dramatic than they are now. 当高峰和低谷不像现在这样强烈时,员工和老板就会双赢。也就是说当高峰和低谷之间的差距不是那么大时,员工和老板都会受益。所以D项它们的差别应该被减小符合题意。
单选题 The author has explained all of the following EXCEPT ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 此题为细节判断题。B项一周第六天的工作效率,即星期五的工作效率,文章第二段指出:and Friday, everybody"s thinking about the weekend. 说明其效率不高。C项一星期的中段工作效率减慢的原因,文章第二段做出了解释:Wednesday is "hump day" —get over it as painlessly as possible,a worker thinks,and the week is more than halfway over. On Thursday,people are running out of steam; and Friday, everybody"s thinking about the weekend. 对于D项,文章第一段就指出:It"s possible that while you are at work, you may dream about a month of Sundays, but your boss wishes for a week of Tuesday. 可见老板对低工作效率的关注。文中只给出了prevent this midweek slowdown的建议,并没有说明其具体步骤,因此A项没有提及,符合题意。