Question

Digital technology — email and smart phones especially — have vastly improved workers' ability to be productive outside of a traditional office. Even so, most white-collar work still happens in an office. One reason is that, according to findings of a new survey (调查) of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT company Citrix, most bosses are doubtful about remote working. Half of the workers say their boss doesn't accept it and only 35 percent say it’s tolerated.

Skeptical bosses will likely have their doubts reinforced (加深) by the same survey, which shows that 43 percent of workers say they’ve watched TV or a movie while “working” remotely, while 35 percent have done housework，and 28 percent have cooked dinner.

It is true, however，that working at home makes people much more efficient (高效的)， because it allows workers to take care of annoying housework while still getting their jobs done. It’s much faster, for example, to shop for groceries at a quarter to three than to stand in line during the after-work rush.

The fact that such practices remain officially unaccepted reflects how far we haven't come as a society from the days when we expected every full-time worker to be supported by a full-time homemaker.

More broadly the Wakefield survey suggests that employers may be missing a low-cost way to give workers something of value. Sixty-four percent of those survey participants who have worked remotely would rather give up some bonus in order to get even one day a week working from home. Under such circumstances, smart firms need to find ways to let their employees have enough flexibility to manage their time efficiently.

1.Why do some employers hesitate to allow remote working?

A. They fear losing control of their workers.

B. They want to stick to their routine practice.

C. They have little trust in modem technology.

D. They are used to face-to-face communication.

2.What seems to be most workers’ attitude toward remote working?

A. Doubtful.B. Favorable.C. Reserved.D. Disapproving.

3.What does the author suggest smart firms do?

A. Shorten their office hours.

B. Give employees a pay raise.

C. Adopt flexible work patterns.

D. Reduce their staff’s workload.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍数字技术——电子邮件和智能手机大大提高了工人们的工作能力，使得他们可以在家办公。但老板们害怕失去对工人的控制，并不太赞成在家办公。但作者建议小公司可以采取灵活的工作模式。

1. 细节理解题。根据第一段第三句One reason is that, according to findings of a new survey (调查) of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT company Citrix, most bosses are doubtful about remote working.可知，大多数老板对远程工作是怀疑的。也就是他们害怕失去工人。故选A。

2. 推理判断题。根据第三段第一句that working at home makes people much more efficient (高效的), because it allows workers to take care of annoying housework while still getting their jobs done.(在家里的工作使人们更高效，因为在做工作期间，允许工人们照顾烦心的家务事。)，故可知工人是赞成的。故选B。

3. 细节理解题。根据最后一段最后一句smart firms need to find ways to let their employees have enough flexibility to manage their time efficiently.可知，作者建议小公司要采取灵活的工作模式。故选C。

【学法指导】

推理题的解题思路

1.要求考生在阅读时，要抓住文章的主题和细节，分析文章结构，根据上下文内在联系，挖掘文章的深层含义。在进行推理时，考生一定要仔细阅读短文，千万不可脱离原文而仅凭个人的看法，主观臆断。

2.对于暗含在文章中的人物的行为动机、事件的因果关系及作者未言明的倾向、意图、态度、观点等要进行合乎逻辑的判断、推理、分析，进一步增强理解能力，抓住材料实质性的东西。

3.在解答推理性问题时，应清楚所要解答的问题是针对某个细节进行推断，还是针对主题 思想 、作者的意图进行推断。

29.4.

考点：考查社会现象类阅读