How do you design a pay plan that motivates people to do their best work? A new study by three Harvard researchers suggests a novel answer: Shortly after you hire new workers, give them a raise.
"Previous research has shown that paying people more than they expect may elicit reciprocity(相互作用) in the form of greater productivity," notes Deepak Malhotra, a Harvard business-administration professor who worked on the study. What he and his colleagues found, however, was that the connection between more pay and extra effort depends on presenting the increase "as a gift—that is, as something you've chosen to do purely as a nice gesture, with no strings attached."
Malhotra and his team studied 267 people hired by oDesk, a global online network of freelancers, to do a one-time data-entry project for four hours. All of the new hires were people in developing countries, for whom hourly wages of $3 and $4 were higher than what they had been making in previous jobs.
The researchers split the group up into three equal parts. One group was told they would earn $3 an hour. A second group was initially hired at $3 an hour but, before they started working, they got a surprise: The budget for the project had expanded unexpectedly, they were told, and they would now be paid $4 an hour. The third group was offered $4 an hour from the start and given no increase.
Even though the second and third groups were eventually paid the same amount, the second group worked harder and produced more—about 20% more—than either of the other two. People in the second group also showed the most stamina, maintaining their focus all the way through the assigned task and performing especially well toward the end of the four hours. Interestingly, the more experienced employees in the high-performing group were the most productive of all, apparently because their previous work experience led them to appreciate the rarity of an unexpected raise.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Malhotra points out that higher pay, in and of itself, didn't promote productivity: People who made $4 an hour from the beginning worked no harder than those who were hired at $3 and were then paid $3.
To get the most impact from their pay plans, he adds, companies might consider not only what to pay new hires, but when to pay it.
"The key thing is how you present [the reason for an increase]," he says. Doling out extra money could promote productivity most "if you make it clear that the pay raise is something you're choosing to do just because you can. Our theory is that people will reciprocate. If you do something nice, they'll do something nice back." What does the underlined word “stamina” most probably mean?
| A．The quality of being intelligent or clever. |
| B．The quality of doing something difficult or dangerous. |
| C．The physical or mental energy needed to do a tiring activity for a long time. |
| D．A particular method of doing an activity, usually involving practical skills. |
Why did the second group produce more than the other two groups?
| A．Because they thought they were better paid than the other groups. |
| B．Because they were experienced employees from developing countries. |
| C．Because an unexpected raise reminded them of their previous work. |
| D．Because they felt they were nicely treated and tried best to repay it. |
What can we infer from this passage?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．It matters not what we give but how. |
| C．Honesty is the best policy. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun -see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
64. The purpose of this passage is to ________.
A. explain how to use the Internet
B. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology
C. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet
D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet
65. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former（前者） helps one _________.
A. reach a group of people at a time conveniently
B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible
C. pass on much more information than the later
D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later
66. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Computer: New Technological Advances
B. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship
C. Computers Have Made Life Easier
D. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication
My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out, he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of concern for his welfare(福利), but out of fear: if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.
One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.
The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed. I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted, “The war is over!” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark（喊） orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.
60. What the grandfather was most worried about was ______.
A. the spread of the world war B. the safety of his two cousins
C. a drop in his living standards D. his relatives killing each other
61. The underlined phrase “draft notice” means “______”.
A. order for army service B. train ticket for Europe
C. letter of rejection D. note of warning
62. What did the “service pins” （in Para. 2） stand for in the eyes of the little girls?
A. Strength. B. Courage. C. Victory. D. Honor.
63. Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
A. The grandfather felt downhearted because he was afraid of receiving a draft notice.
B. The train was traveling fast to the front when the news came that the war was over.
C. Few soldiers on the train had training in advance（预先）.
D. Most people including the mother were disappointed that the war didn’t last a bit longer.
It was Mother's Day，but the young mother was a little unhappy，because she was 800 miles away from her parents．In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day，and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs（丁香）in the garden．
Later that day，when she told her husband about the lilacs，he said，“I know where we can find all that you want．Get the children and come on．”So they went，driving down the country roads．
There on a small hill，they saw a lot of beautiful purple(紫色的) lilacs．The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers．Carefully，she picked a few here and a few there．On their way home there was a smile on her face．
When they were passing a nursing home（养老院），the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair．She had no children with her．They stopped the car and the young woman walked to the old woman，put the flowers in her hands，and smiled at her．The old granny thanked her again and again．She smiled happily，too．
When the young mother came back to her car，her children asked her，“Who is that old granny？Why did you give our flowers to her？”
“I don't know her，”their mother said．“But it's Mother's Day，and she has no children．I have all of you，and I still have my mother．Just think how much those flowers meant to her．”
56. The young woman was a little unhappy on Mother's Day because．
A．she didn't have a present B．she was a long way from her mother
C．she didn't know it was Mother's Day D．she wanted to see her father
57. The young woman had．
A．one child B．no child
C．more than one child D．a boy and a girl
58.The young woman gave the flowers to the old granny because．
A．she was her mother B．she didn't like those flowers
C．her mother asked her to do so D．she wanted the old granny to be happy，too
59. Which of the following is NOT true？
A．The young woman was kind． B．The young woman was understanding．
C．The young woman was friendly． D．The young woman was surprised．
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They’re called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work and their bad condition has become a subject of concern（关心）。
Lynette Long was once the principal（校长）of an elementary school. Said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of the kids had chains around their necks with keys attached（附带）。 I was often telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys that it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the effect working couples and single parents had on their children Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared（害怕）.Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it high volume.
It’s hard to get statistics（统计数字）on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
71. The main idea about “latchkey” children is that they ______.
are growing in numbers
are also found in middle-class neighborhoods
watch too much TV during the day
suffer problems from being left alone
72. Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?
We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.
A lot of kids had chains around their necks.
I was often telling them to put them inside their shirts.
She learned they were house keys.
73. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is ______.
A. tiredness B. freedom C. loneliness D. fear
74. The word “nightmare” in the third paragraph probably means______.
A. night suit B. night habit
C. terrible dream at night D. staying up at night
75. We may draw a conclusion that_______.
latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone
latchkey children try to hide their feeling
latchkey children often watch TV with their parents
it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are
The following table shows some results of a survey （调查）in which 800 Japanese school pupils were asked to give their impressions（印象）of their classroom teachers. The pupils’ impressions were found to differ depending on whether the teacher was new (with less than three years’ experience), middle-standing(ten to twenty years), or veteran（有经验的）（twenty to thirty years）. The numbers in the table show the percentage of the pupils who answered “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” for each question item （项目）
| Question Items |
New |
Middle-standing |
Veteran |
| 1.Shows sense of humor in class 2.Explains clearly 3.Teaches in a relaxed（放松的）manner. 4. Writes neatly on the blackboard 5. Lets pupils ask questions in class 6. Makes checks in notebooks 7. Speaks loudly and clearly 8. Treats pupils equally 9. Cares about pupils opinions 10. Spends time with pupils between classes |
42 33 30 9 18 22 45 43 47 25 |
56 58 46 43 30 30 85 58 43 10 |
70 68 65 56 47 43 54 42 17 6 |
67. The pupils’ evaluation（评价）can be said to rise at a steady rate（比率）as their teachers’ experience increases in Question Items______.
A. I and 4 B. 3 and 5 C. 6 and 8 D. 9 and 10
68. In contrast（对比）to the new teachers, the middle-standing and veteran teachers seem to have made a remarkable（显著的）improvement in their ability to _______.
A. be fair to any pupil B. evaluate pupils’ progress
C. present materials clearly D. understand and play with pupils
69. Pupils seem to regard the new and the middle-standing teachers as being more_____.
relaxed in class than the veterans
interested in pupils’ ideas than the veterans
neat in appearance than the veterans
skilful at explaining than the veterans
70. Which of the following statements is true according to the table?
In the new teachers’ classes, pupils seem to ask questions more freely.
Pupils seem to be quite satisfied with the amount（量）of time their teachers spend with them between classes.
The evaluation of the middle-standing teachers is lower than that of the veterans in seven items.
Though veterans do not play games with pupils during breaks, their teaching is rated highly.