Question

It is often said that politeness costs nothing. In fact, it seems that a little more courtesy could save businesses ￡5 billion every year.

Frequently hearing the phrase “thank you” or “well done” means the same to staff as a modest pay rise, researchers say. Praise and encouragement also makes employees more likely to work hard and stay in their jobs, saving on the cost of finding replacements.

A third of 1,000 workers surveyed by the famous firm White Water Strategies said they did not get thanked at all when they did well——and a further third said they were not thanked enough, meaning they were less likely to put themselves into work and were more likely to look for employment elsewhere.

The final result is around ￡5.2 billion in lost productivity from employees who would raise their interests in work if they felt more appreciated, White Water claimed. According to the company, praising staff has the same motivational kick as a 1 per cent pay rise – and works out much cheaper for bosses.

Three out of four employees said that regular acknowledgement(认可) by their bosses was important to them, but only a quarter said they were actually given as much praise as they felt they needed. The survey found that those blue-collar and manual(体力的)workers were less likely to be given any recognition for doing well.

In regional terms, Scottish staff felt most undervalued. Four out of ten workers said they were never thanked and eight out of ten said they would like more praise. However, workers in the North-East are less impressed by being praised by the boss, as only 69 per cent said they felt the need to be told “well done” regularly. Older employees and women need the most praise, according to psychologist Averill Lemmon.

The underlined word “courtesy” (in Paragraph1) probably means “    ”.

A. politeness      B. authority    C. pay rise      D. replacement

The survey done by White Water Strategies shows that     .

A. giving workers a pay rise can’t make them work hard

B. most workers not praised have no interest in their work

C. workers who got few praise are more likely to change their jobs

D. sometimes politeness and encouragement cost nothing

Which of the following statements agrees with the passage?

A. Scottish bosses don’t like praising their workers very much.

B. Older workers and women need more pay rise.

C. Most workers don’t need any praise.

D. Blue collar workers get more praise.

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Politeness is very important in our daily life

B. The words “well done” are useful as a pay rise

C. Several ways to make workers work hard

D. Workers and their bosses

Answer 1

【小题1】A

【小题2】C

【小题3】A

【小题4】B

解析:

略