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 consulting 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．

In both cases，staff said they felt undervalued，meaning they were less likely to exert themselves and were more likely to look for employment elsewhere．

The net result is around ￡5.2 billion in lost productivity from employees who would raise their game 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 by their boss 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 in blue-collar and manual jobs 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 buttered up 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 reassurance，according to psychologist Averil Leimon，a director of White Water Strategies．She said that words of praise did more than create a pleasant place to work―they could even boost profits．

51．The first paragraph means that_________．

    A．employees ask for high pay instead of hearing “thank you” or “well done”

    B．bosses always think highly of their employees’ work

    C．bosses’ praise and encouragement are important to workers

    D．bosses should praise their workers from time to time

52．Why didn’t bosses give their Staff enough praise and encouragement?

    A．Most bosses feel it unnecessary

    B．Most workers didn’t work hard enough．

    C．This was not what the staff want

    D．The passage doesn’t mention it

53．According to tiffs passage，the majority of staff felt______________．

    A．there were thanked enough    B．they were undervalued

    C．they got satisfactory pay    D．they didn’t need encouragement

54．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．Blue-collar and manual workers need more regular acknowledgement by their bosses．

    B．A third of the workers surveyed by White Water Strategies never got thanked at all when they did well．

    C．Old employees and women do not need to be appreciated as much as the young．

    D．Fewer than 30％ of Scotiish felt that they never got thanked．

55．The main idea of the passage is that___________．

    A．praise and encouragement may help employees work better

    B．workers are always demanding more praise and encouragement

    C．bosses in Scotland usually praise and encourage their staff enough

    D．if undervalued employees will certainly look for employment elsewhere

In recent years many countries have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts believe that the answer is to make jobs more varied. Do more varied jobs lead to greater productivity? There is something to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker's life more enjoyable, it does not make him work harder. So variety is not important.
Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is very little that can be done to achieve this.
Another important consideration is how much each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one small part of the product. Some car factories are said to be experimenting with having many small production lines rather than a large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem then that the degree of worker contribution is important.
To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important, but perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is so boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if companies succeed in making workers' jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.
72. Which of the following things will not increase productivity?
A. Making jobs more varied.                 
B. Longer working hours.
C. Giving workers the freedom to do his jobs in their own way.
D. Increasing the workers' contribution to production.               
73. The last sentence in this passage means that if companies manage to make workers' jobs more interesting, _________.
A. they will want more money                    
B. they will demand shorter working hours
C. more money and shorter working hours are important    
D. more money and shorter working hours will not be so important to them
74. In this passage, the writer tells us _________.
A. how to make the workers more productive 
B. possible factors leading to greater productivity
C. more money leads to greater productivity
D. how to make workers' jobs more interesting
75. The writer of this passage is probably a _____________.
A. teacher            B. worker                 C. manager             D. physics

In recent years many countries have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts believe that the answer is to make jobs more varied. Do more varied jobs lead to greater productivity? There is something to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker's life more enjoyable, it does not make him work harder. So variety is not important.

Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is very little that can be done to achieve this.

Another important consideration is how much each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one small part of the product. Some car factories are said to be experimenting with having many small production lines rather than a large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem then that the degree of worker contribution is important.

To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important, but perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is so boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if companies succeed in making workers' jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.

72. Which of the following things will not increase productivity?

A. Making jobs more varied.                        

B. Longer working hours.

C. Giving workers the freedom to do his jobs in their own way.

D. Increasing the workers' contribution to production.               

73. The last sentence in this passage means that if companies manage to make workers' jobs more interesting, _________.

A. they will want more money                    

B. they will demand shorter working hours

C. more money and shorter working hours are important    

D. more money and shorter working hours will not be so important to them

74. In this passage, the writer tells us _________.

A. how to make the workers more productive 

B. possible factors leading to greater productivity

C. more money leads to greater productivity

D. how to make workers' jobs more interesting

75. The writer of this passage is probably a _____________.

   A. teacher                B. worker                        C. manager                 D. physics

In recent years many countries have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts believe that the answer is to make jobs more varied. Do more varied jobs lead to greater productivity? There is something to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker's life more enjoyable, it does not make him work harder. So variety is not important.

Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is very little that can be done to achieve this.

Another important consideration is how much each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one small part of the product. Some car factories are said to be experimenting with having many small production lines rather than a large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem then that the degree of worker contribution is important.

To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important, but perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is so boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if companies succeed in making workers' jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.

72. Which of the following things will not increase productivity?

A. Making jobs more varied.                   

B. Longer working hours.

C. Giving workers the freedom to do his jobs in their own way.

D. Increasing the workers' contribution to production.               

73. The last sentence in this passage means that if companies manage to make workers' jobs more interesting, _________.

A. they will want more money                    

B. they will demand shorter working hours

C. more money and shorter working hours are important    

D. more money and shorter working hours will not be so important to them

74. In this passage, the writer tells us _________.

A. how to make the workers more productive 

B. possible factors leading to greater productivity

C. more money leads to greater productivity

D. how to make workers' jobs more interesting

75. The writer of this passage is probably a _____________.

   A. teacher             B. worker                   C. manager              D. physics

In recent years many countries have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts believe that the answer is to make jobs more varied. Do more varied jobs lead to greater productivity? There is something to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker's life more enjoyable, it does not make him work harder. So variety is not important.

Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is very little that can be done to achieve this.

Another important consideration is how much each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one small part of the product. Some car factories are said to be experimenting with having many small production lines rather than a large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem then that the degree of worker contribution is important

To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important, but perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is so boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if companies succeed in making workers' jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.

1. Which of the following things will not increase productivity?

A. Making jobs more varied.

B. Longer working hours.

C. Giving workers the freedom to do his jobs in their own way.

D. Increasing the workers' contribution to production.

2. The last sentence in this passage means that if companies manage to make workers' jobs more interesting, _________.

A. they will want more money

B. they will demand shorter working hours

C. more money and shorter working hours are important

D. more money and shorter working hours will not be so important to them

3. In this passage, the writer tells us _________.

A. how to make the workers more productive

B. possible factors leading to greater productivity

C. more money leads to greater productivity

D. how to make workers' jobs more interesting

4. The writer of this passage is probably a _____________.

A. teacher                  B. worker                        C. manager                D. physics