A Take some time to observe how busy is too busy. Some may consider it akin to missing one's long lunch; others may compare it with missing one's lunch altogether. For some, not being able to take a ‘sickie’ once a month is being too busy. However, there is another bunch of people for whom staying up on their toes, day and night, even on the weekends, is a norm. Notably, in the case of most senior executives, the pace of work can be awfully busy or even frantic. Neil Plumridge, the vice-president of AT Kearney (a management consultancy) and also its Asia-Pacific telecommunications head, states that his work time fluctuates between 45 hours to 80 hours every week.
B Plumridge makes use of three scales to gauge his workload; they are scheduling, sleep, and family. He knows that he has a lot on his plate when he has to reschedule his appointments continually and when he can manage less than six hours of sleep for three nights, back-to-back. He is unable to spend time with his family, considering that he has a daughter of three and another one is on the way, hopefully in October. Whenever Plumridge misses an anniversary, it is a tip-off that things are out of order.
C However subjective being too busy might be, any person can understand that being too engrossed in work can ultimately take a toll on one's health and it is the main reason behind their health problems. Visible symptoms include disrupted sleep, and a slump in physical and mental well-being. In fact, the maximum time lost in workplaces is attributed to stress rather than any other workplace injury, as per National Workers' Compensation figures. The effects are quite expensive, with workers taking off due to stress for an average of 16.6 weeks. Another 2003-2004 report by the federal government insurer Comcare asserts that claims for psychological injury accounted for 7% of all claims but their costs took up approximately 27%, which was above the average.
D According to experts, getting a break, be it through a game of golf, a massage therapy or a swimming session, is not adequate for dealing with stress; instead, there is a need to reassess one's workload. For instance, to deal with stress, Neil Plumridge identifies what needs to be changed and does something, like earmarking additional resources to a task or project，or extending the time limit or merely readjusting the final expectations, which may take him many days. His colleagues are of great help, as they coach each other with business dilemmas. A fresh pair of eyes over a subject is invariably beneficial.
E But the issue of stress is not confined to large corporations. Vanessa Stoykov, who runs her own advertising and public relations venture and holds expertise in serving financial and professional firms, is also a victim of stress. Her brand, Evolution media, registered such a quick growth that it debuted on the BRW Fast 100 list for the fastest growing businesses last year, which was immediately after she delivered her first child. Running one's own business is, every now and then, replete with moments when one feels like the head will blow up in pieces juggling various activities. To unwind and unclutter her mind, she makes regular trips to the mountains whenever possible. These short doses of relief were helpful for her since her company was on a constant roll：hiring new workers, training them, guiding them about the work culture, clients, and a lot more.
F Jan Elsner, a Melbourne-based psychologist that specialises in executive coaching, offers a reprieve from such stressful situations. She states that it is typical of senior executives and business people to flourish in demanding work engagements. She also suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, as some may perform their best during the days of acute stress, while others may prefer a sustained pressure level for optimal performance. While a psychologist may consider hormonal standards to pass the verdict for a patient being stressed or not, it is hard to gauge if the same level of stress is having an equal (emotional or cognitive) impact on any two individuals, or their experiences.
G Elsner's practice revolves around the school of thought called positive psychology, according to which, feeling positive, engaged, challenged or contributive towards a cause does not reduce one's stress but is effective in building one's resilience to deal with stress over time. Therefore, the good stress which brings about the feeling to face it all with courage and willingness is as cumulative as bad stress. She also reveals that most of her corporate clients rely on yoga and meditation to keep a check on their bad stress. Elsner also points to a study which concluded that meditation has the power to modify the brain's biochemistry, rewiring the brain and the body to respond to stress distinctively. Both meditation and yoga can help you reconfigure your mind and body's reaction, and if people master it, they are in full control.
H Coming back to Neil Plumridge, he affirms that our unrealistic goal setting precipitates stress. For instance, when someone promises a client that he will deliver task A tomorrow, then promises another client that he will deliver task B tomorrow, at a time when he is aware that he can deliver only one task in a day, he puts himself under extreme pressure to stay true to his words. The fact is that he could have easily told one of the clients to give him additional time. Over-commitments like these are stress incubators. He further explains it with reference to procrastination — that work expands to fill the available time. And some researches signify that many humans may be hard-wired to do this.
I Another study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology's February edition, finds that most of us tend to believe that we will be less busy in the future than we are now. This is, though, a fallacy, according to Professor Gal Zauberman from the University of North Carolina and Professor John Lynch of Duke University, Who are authors of the report. They make it clear that, on average, a person will be simply as busy as he or she is right now in a couple of weeks or a month in the future. But in routine life, things are a tad different. Many people make commitments to tasks long in advance, which they will otherwise avoid or deny if they have to work on them immediately. In other words, it means that people view future time investments with relative clumsiness. It is fascinating that we generally perceive that there will be more ‘surplus’ time in the future than in the present. While it is a question to ponder over, researchers suggest that one major cause of stress is that we underestimate the time required to complete a prospective task, and fail to gauge competition of our own time in the future effectively.
Questions 1-5
Look at the following statements (Questions 1-5) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A-D.
Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1 Coping mechanisms can vary according to an individual's condition. 1
2 Spending time in nature is an excellent antidote to feeling overwhelmed. 2
3 People need to maintain a realistic expectation of their pace of life. 3
4 To cope with stress, it is sometimes necessary to amend the current arrangements. 4
5 Meditation is a common method for managing stress. 5
List of People
A Neil Plumridge
B Vanessa Stoykov
C Jan Elsner
D Gal Zauberman and John Lynch
Questions 6-8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet.
- What is the primary cause of poor health for employees?
[ ] They could not sleep well at night.
[ ] They may commit excessively to their jobs.
[ ] They lack solutions to mental illnesses.
[ ] They constantly work under great pressure.
- The writer refers to positive psychology in order to suggest that
[ ] we should keep pushing ourselves till our brain can respond to stress positively.
[ ] courage and willingness are the keys to controlling stress.
[ ] our ability to tackle stress can be strengthened by confronting it with the right mentality.
[ ] stress would never be reduced if we do not face it.
- What point does the writer make in paragraph I?
[ ] People are not as busy as they think in the present.
[ ] People may lack objectivity when evaluating the amount of time available in the future.
[ ] People will have more available time in the future.
[ ] People will avoid tasks in the future to allow for more availability.
Questions 9-13
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
According to a report from early this century, [ ] resulting from stress may account for over a quarter of all insurance claims' costs. While finding a good work-life balance is essential for reducing stress, it may not be enough. Although scientists can measure stress levels quantifiably with [ ] , these measurements only help identify stress, and do not help us determine the [ ] or intellectual effects of stress. Positive psychologists try to support people by strengthening their [ ] to stress through practices such as meditation. In terms of over-commitments, the problem can be related to [ ] . After all, it is well known that when we put off working, stress increases. An article from the Journal of Experimental Psychology supports this commonly held belief and argues that time management is essential for reducing stress.
第一篇： Stress of Workplace
Questions 1-5 (人物匹配)
1. Coping mechanisms can vary according to an individual's condition.答案：C (Jan Elsner)原文（F段）：She also suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, as some may perform their best during the days of acute stress, while others may prefer a sustained pressure level for optimal performance.解析：应对机制因人而异。同义替换：no one-size-fits-all = vary according to individual's condition。
2. Spending time in nature is an excellent antidote to feeling overwhelmed.答案：B (Vanessa Stoykov)原文（E段）：To unwind and unclutter her mind, she makes regular trips to the mountains whenever possible.解析：去山区（自然）缓解压力。同义替换：trips to the mountains = spending time in nature；unwind = antidote to feeling overwhelmed。
3. People need to maintain a realistic expectation of their pace of life.答案：D (Gal Zauberman and John Lynch)原文（I段）：researchers suggest that one major cause of stress is that we underestimate the time required to complete a prospective task, and fail to gauge competition of our own time in the future effectively.解析：需要现实地预期生活节奏。同义替换：underestimate time = unrealistic expectation；fail to gauge competition = need realistic expectation。
4. To cope with stress, it is sometimes necessary to amend the current arrangements.答案：A (Neil Plumridge)原文（D段）：Neil Plumridge identifies what needs to be changed and does something, like earmarking additional resources to a task or project, or extending the time limit or merely readjusting the final expectations...解析：改变当前安排以应对压力。同义替换：change what needs to be changed = amend current arrangements。
5. Meditation is a common method for managing stress.答案：C (Jan Elsner)原文（G段）：She also reveals that most of her corporate clients rely on yoga and meditation to keep a check on their bad stress.解析：冥想是常见压力管理方法。同义替换：rely on meditation = meditation is a common method。
Questions 6-8 (单选题)
6. What is the primary cause of poor health for employees?答案：B (They may commit excessively to their jobs.)原文（C段）：being too engrossed in work can ultimately take a toll on one's health and it is the main reason behind their health problems.解析：过度投入工作是健康问题的主要原因。同义替换：too engrossed in work = commit excessively to jobs。
7. The writer refers to positive psychology in order to suggest that答案：C (our ability to tackle stress can be strengthened by confronting it with the right mentality)原文（G段）：feeling positive, engaged, challenged or contributive towards a cause does not reduce one's stress but is effective in building one's resilience to deal with stress over time.解析：积极心态增强抗压能力。同义替换：building resilience = ability to tackle stress strengthened。
8. What point does the writer make in paragraph I?答案：B (People may lack objectivity when evaluating the amount of time available in the future)原文（I段）：we generally perceive that there will be more 'surplus' time in the future than in the present... we underestimate the time required to complete a prospective task解析：人们对未来可用时间的评估缺乏客观性。同义替换：perceive more surplus time but underestimate = lack objectivity。
Questions 9-13 (摘要填空)
9. ... resulting from stress may account for over a quarter of all insurance claims' costs.答案：psychological injury原文（C段）：claims for psychological injury accounted for 7% of all claims but their costs took up approximately 27%同义替换：27% = over a quarter。
10. Although scientists can measure stress levels quantifiably with ______答案：hormonal standards原文（F段）：While a psychologist may consider hormonal standards to pass the verdict for a patient being stressed or not...同义替换：measure stress levels = pass verdict using hormonal standards。
11. ...do not help us determine the ______ or intellectual effects of stress.答案：emotional原文（F段）：it is hard to gauge if the same level of stress is having an equal (emotional or cognitive) impact on any two individuals同义替换：emotional or cognitive = emotional and intellectual。
12. Positive psychologists try to support people by strengthening their ______ to stress答案：resilience原文（G段）：effective in building one's resilience to deal with stress over time同义替换：strengthening resilience = building resilience。
13. ...the problem can be related to ______答案：procrastination原文（H段）：He further explains it with reference to procrastination同义替换：related to = reference to。
