Question

【题目】Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

A Workaholic Economy

Although the output per hour of work has more than doubled since 1945, leisure seems reserved largely for the unemployed and underemployed. Those who work full-time spend as much time on the job as they did at the end of World War Ⅱ. In fact, working hours have increased noticeably since 1970. Bookstores now abound with manuals describing how to manage time and cope with stress.

There are mainly two reasons for lost leisure.

Since 1970, companies have responded to improvements in the business climate by having employees work overtime rather than by hiring extra personnel. Some firms are even downsizing as their profits climb. A host of factors pushes employers to hire fewer workers for more hours and, at the same time, compels workers to spend more time on the job. Most of those incentives(诱因) involve the structure of compensation(报酬). The way salaries and benefits are organized makes it more profitable to ask 40 employees to labor an extra hour each than to hire one more worker to do the same 40-hour job. Once people are on salary, their cost to a firm is the same whether they spend 35 hours a week in the office or 70. Therefore, it is more profitable for employers to work their existing employees harder.

For all that employees complain about long hours, they, too, have reasons not to trade money for leisure. “People who work reduced hours pay a huge penalty in career terms,” Bailyn of Massachusetts Institute of Technology maintains. “It’s taken as a negative signal about their commitment to the firm.” He adds that many corporate managers find it difficult to measure the contribution of their employees to a firm’s well-being, so they estimate staff productivity in terms of hours worked. Employees know this, and they adjust their behavior accordingly.

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Answer 1

【答案】People actually work more hours than before despite the increased productivity. On one hand, it’s because the payment distribution system makes it economical for companies to have employees work overtime than hiring more people. On the other hand, employees tend to work long hours because their working time is linked to their contribution to the firm.

【解析】

本篇书面表达是概要写作，要求概括尽管生产力提高了，但人们实际工作的时间比以前多了。一方面，这是因为薪酬分配制度使得公司让员工加班比雇佣更多的人更经济；另一方面，员工倾向于长时间工作，因为他们的工作时间与他们对公司的贡献有关，注意词数要求和使用自己的语言。

1、写之前，需要认真仔细地读几遍原文材料，让理解更深刻。

2、遵循原文的逻辑顺序，对重要部分的主题、标题、细节进行概括，全面清晰地表明原文信息。

3、给摘要起一个好标题，比如：可以采用文中的主题句。

4、尽量使用自己的话完成，不要引用原文的句子，篇幅控制在原文的三分之一或四分之一长。