Question

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That's partly because most people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and put more effort, to achieve those goals.

What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting. Newspapers convey daily accounts of goal-setting widespread in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-advocated practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and immoral behavior in general.

"Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to put more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in immoral behaviors," says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn's Wharton School. His paper, entitled "'Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Praised Goal Setting," appears in the February issue of the Academy of Management Perspectives.

"It turns out there's no financial benefit to just having a goal-you just get a psychological benefit." Schweitzer says. "But in many cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful." A major example Schweitzer and his colleagues give is the 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron(德国安然公司), where managers used financial rewards to motivate salesmen to meet specific goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is that the actual trades were not profitable.

Other studies have shown that burdening employees with unrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears (西尔斯公司) placed a sales quota (销售限额) on its auto repair staff. It inspired employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.

Schweitzer admits his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have argued with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.

In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: "Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot grow without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose." But Schweitzer argues the "evidence" linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help draw attention to issues that deserve attention and further investigation. "Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects," he says.

The debate is likely to get heated on in future papers, and the practice of setting goals no doubt will continue. For now, though, the lesson seems to be to put more thought into setting goals.

"Goal-setting does help motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful management, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harmful to the organization," Schweitzer says.

1.What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by mentioning the example of Enron?

A. Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.

B. Businesses are likely to succeed without realistic goals.

C. Companies are certain to meet specific goals with financial rewards.

D. Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.

2.How did Sears' goal-setting affect its employees?

A. They had to work more hours to increase their sales.

B. They competed with one another to attract more customers.

C. They turned to immoral practice to reach their goals.

D. They improved their customer service on a companywide basis.

3.The underlined words "runs counter to" (Paragraph 6) can be replaced by ________.

A. agrees with    B. goes against

C. fits in with    D. applies to

4.What is Edwin Locke's argument against Schweitzer?

A. The practice of setting goals only helps people to develop.

B. Goal-setting is of no use motivating people to accomplish their tasks.

C. The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.

D. Studying goal-setting can contribute to successful business practices.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】作者运用具体实例分析了设定目标的优缺点以及引发的争论。

1.D

推理判断题。根据第四段the 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial rewards to motivate salesmen to meet specific goals.可知，2004年破产的能源贸易公司——安然的经理们利用财务奖励来激励销售人员达到特定的目标，可见财务奖励的目标具有很强的激励作用。故选D。

2.C

推理判断题。根据第五段Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears placed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It inspired employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.可知，西尔斯公司给其汽车修理人员设置销售定额，这造成了员工过度收费，并在公司范围内完成不必要的维修。这样造成了为达到目标而做出不道德的行为，故选C。

3.B

猜测词义题。根据后一句Advocates of the practice have argued with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.可知，实践已经证明目标设定对这种方法被过誉了，故推断前一句讲“Schweitzer承认他的研究与大量赞美目标设定的好处的文献背道而驰”，故runs counter to意为“违背”，与goes against同义，故选B。

4.D

推理判断题。根据倒数第三段Dr. Edwin Locke writes: "Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot grow without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose.可知，目标设定不会消失，组织是在关注他们期望结果的情况下发展的。可见设定目标能促进商业的成功。故选D。

【名师点睛】

词义猜测题要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境上下文来判断其意义。因此熟练掌握一些猜词技巧是做好这类题的关键。命题者在出这类题时惯用常规词义来麻痹考生，我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境主观臆断。

下面结合文本及近几年高考试题，对词义猜测的技巧加以解读。

1.根据定义或上下文解释进行猜测

有时短文中出现一个需要猜测其意义的词或短语，下面接着出现其定义或解释，这就是判断该词或短语意义的主要依据。例如：It will be very hard but also very brittle—that is, it will break easily.从后面that is(也就是说)的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是“脆”的意思。小题3根据后一句Advocates of the practice have argued with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.可知，实践已经证明目标设定对这种方法被过誉了，故推断前一句讲“Schweitzer承认他的研究与大量赞美目标设定的好处的文献背道而驰”，故runs counter to意为“违背”，与goes against同义，故选B。

2.根据同位关系进行猜测

阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：The “Chunnel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.此句中a tunnel connecting England and France是Chunnel的同位语。因此，The “Chunnel”就是英法之间的海底隧道。

3.根据构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)进行猜测

在英语中，有很多词可以在前面加前缀，在后面加后缀，从而构成一个词，乍看起来，这个词可能是新词，但掌握了一定的构词知识，就不难猜出它的词义。例如：“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive and creative in that they built a sense of drama based on a subject.”文中interactive是由前缀inter-(相互的)和active(活动的，活跃的)而构成的，同时根据上下文的意思可以判断，该词的含义应是“互动的”。

4.根据转折或对比关系进行猜测

根据上下句的连接词，如but, however, otherwise等就可以看到前后句在意义上的差别，从而依据某一句的含义，来确定另一句的含义。另外，分号也可以表示转折、对比或不相干的意义。例如：A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.从前后两句的意思可以看出，hassle和a basket of fun肯定是近乎相反的意义。所以不难判断hassle的意思是“困难，麻烦”。