Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Academic dishonesty is nothing new. As long as there have been homework assignments and tests, there have been cheaters. The way that cheating looks has changed over time, though, particularly now that technology has made it easier than ever. A study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics interviewed 23,000 high school students and asked them a variety of questions about academic ethics. Of the teens surveyed, 51 percent said that they had knowingly cheated at some point on an exam but that they did not feel uneasy about the behaviour. A Common Sense Media survey found that 35 percent of students had cheated via smartphone, though the parents surveyed in that particular study did not believe their kids had ever cheated. In many cases, students did not realize that strategies like looking up answers on a smartphone were actually cheating at all.

In today's classrooms, students who cheat are rarely caught. There are no formulas written on the insides of hands or students looking across the aisle, or whispering answers to their classmates. Today's students use smartphones, tablets or even in-class computers to aid their cheating attempts and leave no trace of their crimes. Since cheating through technology is not listed specifically as being against the rules in many school policies, students do not view the actions unethical.

The technology is being adopted so quickly that school districts cannot adequately keep up with cheating policies, or even awareness campaigns that alert students to the problem with using technology to find answers in a certain way. From a young age, students learn that answers exist conveniently at their fingertips through search engines and expert websites.

Schools must develop anti-cheating policies that include technology and these policies must be updated consistently. Teachers must stay on guard when it comes to what their students are doing in classrooms and how technology could be playing a negative role in the learning process. Parents must also talk to their kids about the appropriate ways to find academic answers and alert them to unethical behaviours that may seem innocent in their own eyes.

46. What do we learn from the study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics?

A) Over half of the students interviewed were unaware they were cheating.

B) Cheating was becoming a way of life for a majority of high school teens.

C) More than half of the interviewees felt no sense of guilt over cheating.

D) Cheating was getting more and more difficult for high school students.

47. What did the Common Sense Media survey reveal?

A) Most parents tended to overprotect their children.

B) Many students committed cheating unknowingly.

C) Students were in urgent need of ethical education.

D) Parents and kids had conflicting ideas over cheating.

48. Why do students rarely get caught cheating nowadays?

A) They copy formulas on their palms.

B) They help each other to cover up their acts.

C) They keep changing their ways of cheating.

D) They make use of modern technology.

49. What does the author think schools should do to tackle cheating?

A) Bring policies against cheating up to date.

B) Reform their exam methods constantly.

C) Take advantage of the latest technologies.

D) Alert parents to their children's behaviour.

50. What does the author suggest teachers do in the classroom?

A) Prevent students from overusing electronic devices.

B) Develop more effective anti-cheating strategies.

C) Find more ways to curb students' unethical acts.

D) Guard against students' misuse of technology.

Passage Two

Remote work is about more than just working from home—it means working differently. Organizations should reconsider the appropriateness of their performance evaluation procedures in light of the shift to remote work. This requires a fundamental rethinking of what organizations expect from employees and what companies would look for in a model employee in a remote work context.

It is likely that the “first to arrive and last to leave” mentality is no longer relevant, but should be replaced by a regard for the quality of an employee's contribution to the organization. This means that work should be measured in terms of the quality of the work, not just the quality of the process. As remote work is largely unobservable to supervisors, employers need to think about how they can objectively measure the quality of work in a way that is consistent for employees of similar rank.

Focusing on output alone can have unintended consequences. Employers should think instead about the values and soft skills they want to emphasize in a remote work environment. Qualities like flexibility and the ability to work under minimal supervision might become critical. Much has been written about the importance of timely feedback. In the context of a global pandemic, firms may want to provide additional support to employees by providing more frequent communication. This allows managers to both keep an eye on struggling employees and provide ongoing feedback on how employees are adapting to their new work environment.

Compensation also needs to be revisited. The purpose of performance evaluation is ultimately to determine how to reward employees for their work. This means that pay structures need to adapt to the reality of working from home. However, organizations also need to be honest with employees about the financial impact of COVID-19.

For organizations that have struggled to keep the lights on due to the pandemic, this might mean thinking of non-financial ways to reward employees, like unpaid time off or flexible work schedules. Employers can also consider how to bundle different types of compensation to help employees cope with their unique situations.

51. What does the author say companies should do in the context of remote work?

A) Reform performance evaluation.

B) Rethink the organizational fundamentals.

C) Reexamine its effects on employees' behaviors.

D) Reflect on its differences from working in the office.

52. What should be prioritized in assessing employees' remote work?

A) The quantity of their output.

B) The length of their work time.

C) The quality of their contribution.

D) The flexibility of their work schedules.

53. What quality in the employees would be of great importance in a remote work context?

A) The ability to produce quality work.

B) The ability to maximize work efficiency.

C) The ability to finish tasks in a timely manner.

D) The ability to work with the least supervision.

54. Why is it important for firms to provide timely feedback during the pandemic?

A) To evaluate their employees of similar rank in a consistent way.

B) To keep a watchful eye on those employees who perform poorly.

C) To help employees in need adapt to the new work environment.

D) To maintain connections with their employees away from office.

55. What is the author's suggestion to employers who experience the financial impact of the pandemic?

A) Urging their employees to adapt to the new situation.

B) Rewarding their employees in unconventional ways.

C) Identifying employees who make little contribution.

D) Allowing their employees to look for part-time jobs.

Answers & Explanations

Passage One: Academic Dishonesty in the Digital Age

46. C。解析：题干问从 Josephson 伦理研究所的研究中能了解到什么。第一段中间指出：Of the teens surveyed, 51 percent said that they had knowingly cheated... but that they did not feel uneasy about the behaviour（在受访的青少年中，51%的人说他们曾经故意在考试中作弊，但他们对这种行为并不感到不安/内疚），对应选项 C (More than half of the interviewees felt no sense of guilt over cheating 一大半受访者对作弊没有负罪感)。

47. D。解析：题干问 Common Sense Media 调查揭示了什么。第一段后半部分指出：35 percent of students had cheated... though the parents surveyed... did not believe their kids had ever cheated（35%的学生作过弊...尽管受访的父母不相信他们的孩子作过弊），这说明家长和孩子在“作弊”这个事实认知上存在严重冲突，对应选项 D (Parents and kids had conflicting ideas over cheating 父母和孩子在作弊问题上有冲突的看法)。

48. D。解析：题干问如今学生为什么很少被抓到作弊。第二段解释：不再是在手上写公式... Today's students use smartphones, tablets or even in-class computers to aid their cheating attempts and leave no trace（今天的学生使用智能手机、平板电脑甚至课堂电脑来帮助作弊，并且不留痕迹），对应选项 D (They make use of modern technology 他们利用现代科技)。

49. A。解析：题干问作者认为学校应该怎么做来解决作弊问题。第四段首句明确建议：Schools must develop anti-cheating policies that include technology and these policies must be updated consistently（学校必须制定包含技术手段的反作弊政策，并且这些政策必须不断更新），对应选项 A (Bring policies against cheating up to date 将反作弊政策更新至最新)。

50. D。解析：题干问作者建议老师在课堂上做什么。第四段第二句指出：Teachers must stay on guard when it comes to... how technology could be playing a negative role in the learning process（当涉及到...技术如何在学习过程中发挥负面作用时，教师必须保持警惕），对应选项 D (Guard against students' misuse of technology 防范学生对科技的滥用)。

Passage Two: Rethinking Performance in Remote Work

51. A。解析：题干问在远程办公的背景下，作者认为公司应该做什么。第一段第二句指出：Organizations should reconsider the appropriateness of their performance evaluation procedures in light of the shift to remote work（鉴于向远程工作的转变，组织应重新考虑其绩效评估程序的适当性），对应选项 A (Reform performance evaluation 改革绩效评估)。

52. C。解析：题干问评估员工远程工作时应该优先考虑什么。第二段首句指出：It is likely that the "first to arrive and last to leave" mentality... should be replaced by a regard for the quality of an employee's contribution（“第一个到最后一个走”的心态...应该被对员工贡献质量的关注所取代），对应选项 C (The quality of their contribution 他们的贡献的质量)。

53. D。解析：题干问在远程办公环境中，员工的什么品质非常重要。第三段中间指出：Qualities like flexibility and the ability to work under minimal supervision might become critical（像灵活性和在最少监督下工作的能力等品质可能会变得至关重要），对应选项 D (The ability to work with the least supervision 在最少监督下工作的能力)。

54. C。解析：题干问为什么在大流行期间公司提供及时反馈很重要。第三段末尾指出：This allows managers to both keep an eye on struggling employees and provide ongoing feedback on how employees are adapting to their new work environment（这使得经理既能关注挣扎中的员工，又能就在员工如何适应新工作环境提供持续的反馈），对应选项 C (To help employees in need adapt to the new work environment 帮助有需要的员工适应新工作环境)。

55. B。解析：题干问作者对经历疫情财务冲击的雇主有什么建议。最后一段指出：this might mean thinking of non-financial ways to reward employees, like unpaid time off or flexible work schedules（这可能意味着考虑非财务的方式来奖励员工，比如无薪休假或灵活的工作时间表），对应选项 B (Rewarding their employees in unconventional ways 用非传统的方式奖励他们的员工)。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• knowingly cheat：明知故犯地作弊，故意作弊
• feel uneasy about：对...感到不安/内疚（did not feel uneasy about the behaviour）
• leave no trace：不留痕迹（leave no trace of their crimes）
• keep up with：跟上...的步伐（cannot adequately keep up with cheating policies）
• stay on guard：保持警惕（Teachers must stay on guard）
• in light of：鉴于，由于（in light of the shift to remote work）
• in terms of：根据...，就...而言（measured in terms of the quality of the work）
• unintended consequences：意想不到的后果
• keep an eye on：留意，关注（keep an eye on struggling employees）
• keep the lights on：维持运营，保持开门营业（struggled to keep the lights on）

【亮点句型解析】

• As long as 引导的条件/时间状语从句：
  "As long as there have been homework assignments and tests, there have been cheaters."
  （只要有家庭作业和考试，就一直有作弊者。）`As long as` 在这里表示“只要...就...”，生动地强调了作弊现象的悠久历史。这种结构在四级作文开头引入某个长久存在的社会问题时非常有用。
• Not just... but... (不仅仅是...而且是...)：
  "This means that work should be measured in terms of the quality of the work, not just the quality of the process."
  （这意味着应该根据工作质量来衡量工作，而不仅仅是过程的质量。）这是一种强调核心论点的对比句型，在职场和议论文中常用于推翻旧有观念，提出新主张。