That mythical beast, homo economicus, is utterly clear about the purpose of work: to get paid. He is keener on leisure than work, and if money can be got without effort, he downs tools. If real people feel the same, then plentiful out-of-work benefits should be found in the same places as work-shy citizens.
Yet a cross-country comparison of benefits and attitudes to work published on January 28th finds precisely the opposite pattern. Researchers ranked 13 countries according to their generosity (measured by comparing typical benefits to those out of work with the average wage of a production worker) and their citizens’ commitment to work (gauged by asking whether they would work if they did not need the cash, and whether they regarded a job as merely a way to earn a living). The more generous a state is, the keener on work its people are, they found. Britons, whose benefits were least after those that Americans get, were least keen of all on work.
One reason may be the skills make-up of the British workforce. The researchers found, logically enough, that professionals and graduates were more positive about work than the unskilled and non-graduates. Fewer Britons than Norwegians (who came top on work commitment) have professional jobs or degrees. But this does not entirely explain their comparative immunity to the attractions of hard work: Britons of every social class and level of education were less keen on work than their counterparts elsewhere.
Could the “dependency culture” currently excercising British politicians be solved by raising benefits? Unlikely, says Alison Park, editor of the annual British Social Attitudes Report, in which the study appeared: attitudes to work vary from country to country for many reasons. The generosity of what the report terms “encompassing” states, all Nordic with Lutheran traditions, may have been made possible by a strong work ethic, rather than a stronger commitment to work having emerged as a result of it.
And work incentives are affected by features of welfare systems other than overall generosity: “corporatist” states such as Germany, which pay higher benefits to those with a longer work history, may be encouraging positive attitudes to work by such conditionality. Britain’ s little benefits, by contrast, are largely independent of previous employment, which may mean they are seen as an alternative to work, rather than as one of the good things that flow from it.
6. “Work-shy citizens” in the last sentence of paragraph 1 probably refers to people who are( ).
7. From paragraph 2, we learn that( ).
8. Britons are unmotivated in their work mainly due to( ).
9. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
10. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
问题1选项
A.incompetent for their work
B.ashamed of their work
C.unwilling to do their work
D.irresponsible for their work
问题2选项
A.Britons’ average wage is the lowest in Europe
B.Britons rely heavily on government welfares
C.Britons prefer leisure to work
D.Britons are not enthusiastic in work
问题3选项
A.weak work ethic
B.insufficient work skills
C.lazy lifestyle
D.defective welfare system
问题4选项
A.Americans are probably less interested in their work than Britons.
B.Norwegians exceed Britons in professional education.
C.People in Nordic countries are more committed to their work than Germans.
D.The welfare of “encompassing” states might be better than that of “corporatist” states.10. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
问题5选项
A.Attitude to Work: Diligent or Idle?
B.Attitude to Work: Can’t or Won’t?
C.Welfare System: Stimulator or Inhibitor?
D.Welfare System: More Generous or More Reasonable?
第1题:C
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:B
第5题:B
1.事实细节题。题干:第一段最后一句中的“work-shy citizens”可能指的是_________的人。通过关键词“work-shy citizens”可以定位到第一段最后一句话前后内容If real people feel the same, then plentiful out-of-work benefits should be found in the same places as work-shy citizens.(如果现实中的人也一样如此,那么大量的失业福利应该在那些不愿工作的公民身上找到。),可知C选项“不愿去做他们的工作”符合题意。选项A“无法胜任他们的工作”,B选项“对自己的工作感到羞愧”,D选项“对他们的工作不负责任”。根据“失业福利”这个单词可知,Work-shy citizens指的是不愿工作而导致失业的人,所以A,B,D选项均不符合题意。综上所述,本题的正确答案是C选项。
2.推理判断题。题干:从第2段,我们可以学习到_______。根据第二段最后一句话The more generous a state is, the keener on work its people are, they found. Britons, whose benefits were least after those that Americans get, were least keen of all on work.(一个国家越慷慨,其人民就越热衷于工作。英国人紧随美国人之后,福利最微薄,他们对工作最不感兴趣。)可知,D选项“英国人对工作没有热情”,符合题意。A选项“英国人的平均工资是欧洲最低的”,文章表达的英国福利最差,并不是说平均工资最低,属于概念混淆,所以A选项不正确。B选项“英国人严重依赖政府福利”,英国人享受的福利是最差的,所以B选项的表述也不正确。C选项“比起工作,英国人更喜欢休闲”,文中并没有提及英国人喜欢休闲,属于无中生有,所以C选项也不正确。综上所述,本题的正确答案是D选项。
3.事实细节题。题干:英国人在工作中缺乏积极性主要是因为_________。由题干可以定位到文章第三段第一句话One reason may be the skills make-up of the British workforce. The researchers found, logically enough, that professionals and graduates were more positive about work than the unskilled and non-graduates.(其原因之一可能是英国劳动力的技能的构成。研究人员发现,符合逻辑的是,专业人士和大学毕业生对工作的态度比无技能和没有大学学历的人更积极。),所以B选项“工作技能不足”符合题意。A选项“薄弱的职业道德”,C选项“懒惰的生活方式”,D选项“有缺陷的福利系统”,这三个选项在此处并没有提及。综上所述,本题的正确答案为B选项。
4.推理判断题。题干:下列哪个选项可以从文章中推断出来?A选项“美国人对工作的兴趣可能不如英国人”,通过文章第二段最后一句话The more generous a state is, the keener on work its people are, they found. Britons, whose benefits were least after those that Americans get, were least keen of all on work.(一个国家越慷慨,其人民就越热衷于工作。英国人紧随美国人之后,福利最微薄,他们对工作最不感兴趣。),可知,美国人的福利待遇比英国好,所以美国人比英国人更加热爱工作,A选项不正确。通过文章第三段Fewer Britons than Norwegians (who came top on work commitment) have professional jobs or degrees.(拥有专业工作或学位的英国人少于挪威人(挪威人在工作承诺方面排名第一)),可知,B选项“挪威的职业教育超过了英国”,符合题意。通过文章第五段第二句话“corporatist” states such as Germany, which pay higher benefits to those with a longer work history, may be encouraging positive attitudes to work by such conditionality.(像德国这样的“社团主义”国家会给那些工龄较长的人更好的福利,他们可能通过这样的制约性来鼓励积极的工作态度。),所以德国人会更加投入工作,可推断出C选项“北欧国家的人比德国人对工作更投入”和D选项“包容国家的福利可能比社团主义国家更好”均不正确。综上所述,本题的正确答案为B选项。
5.主旨大意题。题干:下列哪一个是文章的最好的标题?文章第一段就指出,工作的目的就是获得报酬。第二段以英国人为例,说明人们对工作的积极性和国家的慷慨程度和福利有关。第三段指出英国人对工作不热情的另一个原因是缺乏技能。第四段指出每个国家对工作态度不同的原因有很多种,强烈的职业道德也是原因之一。第五段以德国的例子说明工作的动力还会受到福利体制的特点影响。文章主要说的是人的工作态度是积极的还是消极的受到方方面面的因素影响,所以本题选B选项“工作态度:不能还是不愿意?”正确。A选项“工作态度:勤奋还是懒惰?”对主旨的概括不够贴切,C、D选项都在说福利待遇,不能全面概括文章内容。综上所述,本题的正确答案为B选项。