Section B: Information Matching
Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
A Behavior Change Guide: The Habit Pitfalls You Need to Avoid
Blame your worthless workdays on meeting recovery syndrome
[A] Phyllis Hartman knows what it is like to make one's way through the depths of office meeting hell. Managers at one of her former human resources jobs arranged so many meetings that attendees would fall asleep at the table or intentionally arrive late. With hours of her day blocked up with unnecessary meetings, she was often forced to make up her work during overtime. “I was actually working more hours than I probably would have needed to get the work done,” says Hartman, who is founder and president of PGHR Consulting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
[B] She isn't alone in her frustration. Between 11 million and 55 million meetings are held each day in the United States, costing most organizations between 7% and 15% of their personnel budgets. Every week, employees spend about six hours in meetings, while the average manager meets for a staggering 23 hours.
[C] And though experts agree that traditional meetings are essential for making certain decisions and developing strategy, some employees view them as one of the most unnecessary parts of the workday. The result is not only hundreds of billions of wasted dollars, but an annoyance of what organizational psychologists call “meeting recovery syndrome” (MRS): time spent cooling off and regaining focus after a useless meeting. If you run to the office kitchen to get some relief with colleagues after a frustrating meeting, you're likely experiencing meeting recovery syndrome.
[D] Meeting recovery syndrome is a concept that should be familiar to almost anyone who has held a formal job. It isn't ground-breaking to say workers feel fatigued after a meeting, but only in recent decades have scientists deemed the condition worthy of further investigation. With its links to organizational efficiency and employee wellbeing, MRS has attracted the attention of psychologists aware of the need to understand its precise causes and cures.
[E] Today, in so far as researchers can hypothesis, MRS is most easily understood as a slow renewal of finite mental and physical resources. When an employee sits through an ineffective meeting their brain power is essentially being drained away. Meetings drain vitality if they last too long, fail to engage employees or turn into one-sided lectures. The conservation of resources theory, originally proposed in 1989 by Dr Stevan Hobfoll, states that psychological stress occurs when a person's resources are threatened or lost. When resources are low, a person will shift into defence to conserve their remaining supply. In the case of office meetings, where some of employees’ most valuable resources are their focus, alertness and motivation, this can mean an abrupt halt in productivity as they take time to recover.
[F] As humans, when we transition from one task to another on the job—say from sitting in a meeting to doing normal work—it takes an effortful cognitive switch. We must detach ourselves from the previous task and expend significant mental energy to move on. If we are already drained to dangerous levels, then making the mental switch to the next thing is extra tough. It’s common to see people cyber-loafing after a frustrating meeting, going and getting coffee interrupting a colleague and telling them about the meeting, and so on.
[G] Each person's ability to recover from horrible meetings is different. Some can bounce back quickly, while others carry their fatigue until the end of the workday. Yet while no formal MRS studies are currently underway, one can loosely speculate on the length of an average employee's lag time. Switching tasks in a non-MRS condition takes about 10 to 15 minutes. With MRS, it may take as long as 45 minutes on average. It's even worse when a worker has several meetings that are separated by 30 minutes. “Not enough time to transition in a non-MRS situation to get anything done, and in an MRS situation, not quite enough time to recover for the next meeting.” Says researcher Joseph Allen, “Then, add the compounding of back-to-back bad meetings and we may have an epidemic on our hands.”
[H] In an effort to combat the side effects of MRS, Allen, along with researcher Joseph Mroz and colleagues at the University of Nebraska-Omaha has published a study detailing the best ways to avoid common traps including a concise checklist of do's and don’ts applicable to any workplace. Drawing from around 200 papers to compile their comprehensive list. Mroz and his team may now hold a remedy to the largely undefined problem of MRS.
[I] Mroz says a good place to start is asking ourselves if our meetings are even necessary in the first place. If all that’s on the agenda is a quick catch-up, or some non-urgent information sharing, it may better suit the group to send around an email instead. “The second thing I would always recommend is keep the meeting as small as possible.” says Mroz, “If they don't actually have some kind of immediate input then they can follow up later. They don’t need to be sitting in this hour-long meeting.” Less time in meetings would ultimately lead to more employee engagement in the meetings they do attend, which experts agree is a proven remedy for MRS.
[J] Employees also feel taxed when they are invited together to meetings that don’t inspire participation, says Cliff Scott, professor of organizational science. It takes precious time for them to vent their emotions, complain and try to regain focus after a pointless meeting — one of the main traps of MRS. Over time as employees find themselves tied up in more and more unnecessary meetings — and thus dealing with increasing lag times from MRS — the waste of workday hours can feel insulting.
[K] Despite the relative scarcity of research behind the subject. Hartman has taught herself many of the same tricks suggested in Mroz's study and has come a long way since her days of being stuck with unnecessary meetings. The people she invites to meetings today include not just the essential employees but also representatives from every department that might have a stake in the issue at hand. Managers like her, who seek input even from non-experts to shape their decisions, can find greater support and cooperation from their workforce, she says.
[L] If an organization were to apply all 22 suggestions from Mroz and Allen’s findings, the most noticeable difference would be a stark decrease in the total number of meetings on the schedule, Mroz says. Less time in meetings would ultimately lead to increased productivity, which is the ultimate objective of convening a meeting. While none of the counter-MRS ideas have been tested empirically yet, Allen says one trick with promise is for employees to identify things that quickly change their mood from negative to positive. As simple as it sounds, finding a personal happy place, going there and then coming straight back to work might be key to facilitating recovery.
[M] Leaders should see also themselves as “stewards of everyone else’s valuable time”, adds Steven Rogelberg, author of The Surprising Science of Meetings. Having the skills to foresee potential traps and treat employees’ endurance with care allows leaders to provide effective short-term deterrents to MRS.
[N] Most important, however, is for organizations to awaken to the concept of meetings being flexible, says Allen. By reshaping the way they prioritise employees' time, companies can eliminate the very sources of MRS in their tracks.
36. Although employees are said to be fatigued by meetings, the condition has not been considered worthy of further research until recently.
37. Mroz and his team compiled a list of what to do and what not to do to remedy the problem of MRS.
38. Companies can get rid of the root cause of MRS if they give priority to workers' time.
39. If workers are exhausted to a dangerous degree, it is extremely hard for them to transition to the next task.
40. Employees in America spend a lot of time attending meetings while the number of hours managers meet is several times more.
41. Phyllis Hartman has learned by herself many of the ways Mroz suggested in his study and made remarkable success in freeing herself from unnecessary meetings.
42. When meetings continue too long or don't engage employees, they deplete vitality.
43. When the time of meetings is reduced, employees will be more engaged in the meetings they do participate in.
44. Some employees consider meetings one of the most dispensable parts of the workday.
45. According to Mroz, if all his suggestions were applied, a very obvious change would be a steep decrease in the number of meetings scheduled.
Answers & Explanations
36. D。解析：题干中 fatigued by meetings... not been considered worthy of further research until recently 对应 [D] 段 workers feel fatigued after a meeting, but only in recent decades have scientists deemed the condition worthy of further investigation。recently 对应 recent decades，further research 对应 further investigation。
37. H。解析：题干中 compiled a list of what to do and what not to do to remedy the problem of MRS 对应 [H] 段 including a concise checklist of do's and don’ts... to compile their comprehensive list. Mroz and his team may now hold a remedy...。what to do and what not to do 对应 do's and don’ts。
38. N。解析：题干中 get rid of the root cause of MRS if they give priority to workers' time 对应 [N] 段 By reshaping the way they prioritise employees' time, companies can eliminate the very sources of MRS in their tracks. get rid of the root cause 对应 eliminate the very sources。
39. F。解析：题干中 exhausted to a dangerous degree, it is extremely hard for them to transition 对应 [F] 段 If we are already drained to dangerous levels, then making the mental switch to the next thing is extra tough. exhausted 对应 drained，extremely hard 对应 extra tough。
40. B。解析：题干中 spend a lot of time... number of hours managers meet is several times more 对应 [B] 段 employees spend about six hours in meetings, while the average manager meets for a staggering 23 hours. 23小时是6小时的好几倍（several times more）。
41. K。解析：题干中 Phyllis Hartman has learned by herself many of the ways... freeing herself from unnecessary meetings 对应 [K] 段 Hartman has taught herself many of the same tricks suggested in Mroz's study and has come a long way since her days of being stuck with unnecessary meetings. learned by herself 对应 taught herself。
42. E。解析：题干中 continue too long or don't engage employees, they deplete vitality 对应 [E] 段 Meetings drain vitality if they last too long, fail to engage employees... deplete vitality 对应 drain vitality。
43. I。解析：题干中 time of meetings is reduced, employees will be more engaged 对应 [I] 段 Less time in meetings would ultimately lead to more employee engagement in the meetings they do attend... reduced 对应 less，participate in 对应 attend。
44. C。解析：题干中 consider meetings one of the most dispensable parts of the workday 对应 [C] 段 some employees view them as one of the most unnecessary parts of the workday. consider 对应 view，dispensable（可有可无的）对应 unnecessary。
45. L。解析：题干中 if all his suggestions were applied, a very obvious change would be a steep decrease in the number of meetings 对应 [L] 段 If an organization were to apply all 22 suggestions... the most noticeable difference would be a stark decrease in the total number of meetings... obvious 对应 noticeable，steep decrease 对应 stark decrease。
全文翻译
[A] 菲利斯·哈特曼知道在办公室会议地狱的深渊中挣扎是什么感觉。她在之前的一份人力资源工作中，经理们安排了如此多的会议，以至于与会者会在桌旁睡着或故意迟到。由于一天中的数小时被不必要的会议占满，她常常被迫在加班时间补上工作。"我实际上工作的小时数比我完成工作可能需要的还要多，"哈特曼说，她是宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡PGHR咨询公司的创始人兼总裁。
[B] 她不是唯一感到沮丧的人。美国每天举行1100万到5500万场会议，耗费大多数组织7%到15%的人事预算。每周，员工花费约六小时在会议上，而普通经理的会议时间高达惊人的23小时。
[C] 尽管专家们同意传统会议对于做出某些决策和制定战略至关重要，但一些员工将其视为工作日中最不必要的部分之一。结果不仅是数千亿美元的浪费，还有一种被组织心理学家称为"会议恢复综合症"（MRS）的烦恼：在一场无用的会议后花时间冷静下来并重新集中注意力。如果你在经历了一场令人沮丧的会议后跑到办公室厨房和同事一起寻求慰藉，你可能正在经历会议恢复综合症。
[D] 会议恢复综合症是一个对于几乎任何持有正式工作的人来说都应该熟悉的概念。说员工在会议后感到疲倦并不是什么突破性的说法，但直到最近几十年，科学家们才认为这种情况值得进一步研究。由于与组织效率和员工福祉的关联，MRS吸引了那些意识到需要理解其确切原因和解决方法的心理学家的注意。
[E] 今天，就研究人员能够假设的而言，MRS最容易理解为有限身心资源的缓慢恢复。当一名员工坐在一场无效的会议中时，他们的脑力基本上正在被消耗。如果会议持续时间过长、未能吸引员工参与或变成单向讲座，会议就会耗尽活力。资源保存理论最初由史蒂文·霍布福尔博士于1989年提出，它指出当一个人的资源受到威胁或丧失时，心理压力就会发生。当资源低时，一个人会转入防御模式以保存剩余的供应。就办公室会议而言，员工最宝贵的资源包括他们的注意力、警觉性和动力，这可能意味着生产力的突然停止，因为他们需要时间恢复。
[F] 作为人类，当我们在工作中从一个任务过渡到另一个任务——比如从坐在会议中到做正常工作——需要进行费力的认知转换。我们必须从之前的任务中脱离出来，并消耗大量精神能量才能继续。如果我们已经被消耗到危险水平，那么进行心理转换到下一件事就格外困难。常见的是看到人们在令人沮丧的会议后网络摸鱼，去喝杯咖啡，打断同事并向他们诉说会议情况，等等。
[G] 每个人从糟糕会议中恢复的能力不同。有些人可以迅速反弹，而另一些人把疲劳带到工作日结束。然而，虽然没有正式的MRS研究正在进行，我们可以粗略推测普通员工滞后时间的长度。在非MRS条件下切换任务大约需要10到15分钟。在有MRS的情况下，平均可能需要长达45分钟。当一名员工有几个间隔30分钟的会议时，情况更糟。"在非MRS情况下没有足够的时间过渡来完成任何事情，在MRS情况下，没有足够的时间为下一次会议恢复。"研究人员约瑟夫·艾伦说，"然后，加上连续糟糕会议的复合效应，我们手上可能就有了一个流行病。"
[H] 为了对抗MRS的副作用，艾伦与约瑟夫·莫罗兹及内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校的同事一起发表了一项研究，详细说明了避免常见陷阱的最佳方法，包括一份简洁的适用于任何工作场所的注意事项清单。从大约200篇论文中整理出他们全面的列表，莫罗兹和他的团队现在可能掌握了针对MRS这个在很大程度上未定义问题的补救方法。
[I] 莫罗兹说一个好的起点是首先问自己我们的会议是否真的有必要。如果议程上只是快速碰头或一些非紧急的信息分享，可能更适合向团队发送一封电子邮件。"我始终建议的第二件事是尽量保持会议规模尽可能小，"莫罗兹说，"如果他们实际上没有什么即时贡献，他们可以之后跟进。他们不需要坐在这长达一小时的会议中。"更少的会议时间最终会导致员工在他们确实参加的会议中有更多的参与度，专家们同意这是MRS的一种经过验证的补救措施。
[J] 当员工被一起邀请参加不鼓励参与的会议时，他们也会感到压力，组织科学教授克利夫·斯科特说。他们需要宝贵的时间来发泄情绪、抱怨，并在一场毫无意义的会议后试图重新集中注意力——这是MRS的主要陷阱之一。随着时间的推移，当员工发现自己被越来越多不必要的会议束缚——因而要应对日益增加的MRS滞后时间——工作时间的浪费会让人感觉受到侮辱。
[K] 尽管该主题背后的研究相对稀缺，哈特曼已经自学了许多莫罗兹研究建议的相同技巧，并且自她被困在不必要会议中的日子以来已经走了很远。她今天邀请参加会议的人不仅包括必要的员工，还包括来自每个可能在手头问题中有利益的部门的代表。像她这样甚至寻求非专家意见以塑造决策的经理，可以发现来自其员工的更大支持和合作，她说。
[L] 如果一个组织要应用莫罗兹和艾伦发现的所有22条建议，最明显的不同将是日程表上会议总数的显著减少，莫罗兹说。更少的会议时间最终会导致生产力提高，这是召集会议的最终目标。虽然这些反MRS的想法都还没有经过实证测试，艾伦说一个有望的方法是为员工识别能迅速将他们的情绪从消极变为积极的事情。听起来很简单，找到一个私人的快乐之地，去那里然后直接回来工作可能是促进恢复的关键。
[M] 领导者也应该将自己视为"其他人宝贵时间的管理者"，《会议的科学：惊人的发现》一书作者史蒂文·罗格伯格补充说。拥有预见潜在陷阱并以谨慎对待员工耐力的技能，使领导者能够提供有效的短期MRS威慑。
[N] 然而，最重要的是组织要意识到会议是灵活的这一概念，艾伦说。通过重新塑造他们优先安排员工时间的方式，公司可以从根本上消除MRS的源头。
核心搭配与高分句型
【核心搭配与高频短语】
blocked up with：被...塞满/占据（With hours of her day blocked up with unnecessary meetings）
make up：弥补（forced to make up her work during overtime）
cooling off：冷静下来，平静下来（time spent cooling off and regaining focus）
drained away：被抽干，耗尽（their brain power is essentially being drained away）
bounce back：恢复，反弹（Some can bounce back quickly）
in the first place：首先，起初（are even necessary in the first place）
tied up in：被...束缚，忙于（tied up in more and more unnecessary meetings）
【亮点句型解析】
With 复合结构作伴随状语：
"With hours of her day blocked up with unnecessary meetings, she was often forced to make up her work during overtime."
（由于一天中有数小时被不必要的会议所占据，她经常被迫在加班期间弥补她的工作。）`With + 名词/代词 + 过去分词` 构成独立主格结构，生动地交代了被迫加班的原因背景。
"With hours of her day blocked up with unnecessary meetings, she was often forced to make up her work during overtime."
（由于一天中有数小时被不必要的会议所占据，她经常被迫在加班期间弥补她的工作。）`With + 名词/代词 + 过去分词` 构成独立主格结构，生动地交代了被迫加班的原因背景。
倒装句与强调结构的结合：
"It isn't ground-breaking to say workers feel fatigued after a meeting, but only in recent decades have scientists deemed the condition worthy of further investigation."
（说员工在会议后感到疲劳并不是什么开创性的说法，但直到近几十年来，科学家们才认为这种情况值得进一步调查。）`only + 状语` 位于句首时，主句必须进行部分倒装（`have scientists deemed`），极大地增强了语气的强调作用。
"It isn't ground-breaking to say workers feel fatigued after a meeting, but only in recent decades have scientists deemed the condition worthy of further investigation."
（说员工在会议后感到疲劳并不是什么开创性的说法，但直到近几十年来，科学家们才认为这种情况值得进一步调查。）`only + 状语` 位于句首时，主句必须进行部分倒装（`have scientists deemed`），极大地增强了语气的强调作用。