Read the article below about stress management, and answer questions -考呗网

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填空题Read the article below about stress management, and answer questions 13-20 on the opposite page.
A Lesson In Stress Management
Demands placed on us at work can often lead to considerable worry and discomfort. There are, however, ways of protecting ourselves from the stress we face at work. We interviewed Jane Collard, a consultant in stress management.
1. In Jane Collard's opinion, stress is becoming an increasingly common feature of the workplace. Stress is a highly individual reaction, which varies considerably from person to person, and it is difficult for some employees to avoid it. Indeed, stress is regarded by many as part of the organizational culture of our institutions: it comes with the job. Recent figures indicate that time taken off work because of stress has increased by 500 per cent since the 1950s. Undoubtedly, changes in working conditions have led to greater pressure at work at all levels. With reductions in staffing, workloads for individual employees have increased. In addition, many employees are left worrying about the security of their jobs.
2. On the stress management courses that she runs, Jane Collard tries to make the trainees realise that stress in itself is not harmful. Everyone needs a certain level of stress to enable them to feel motivated and to perform effectively. A complete absence of stress can be as damaging as overstress, since it can make people lose interest in their work, and even lead to depression. The difficulties occur when the amount of stress rises above a level which is healthy for a particular individual. If this happens, the effects are very obvious and the trainees are taught to recognize the signs. Stress may be expressed physically, for example through headaches and tiredness, or through emotional problems such as depression. A person suffering from stress may also start to behave differently, and can be difficult to deal with.
3. While it may not always be possible to prevent stress, there are a number of ways in which it can be controlled. The first thing that the trainees learn is how to manage their time effectively. This involves, first of all, setting realistic goals for both the short and long term. Once this framework has been established, tasks are then prioritised on a daily basis. The trainees are also reminded that when they are under pressure the less important items should be left, and they should never hesitate to delegate. Everyone is encouraged to look at ways of reducing 'wasted time ', for example by grouping similar tasks together or dealing with items immedkiately.
4. Jane feels that one of the most useful features of the course is that it enables trainees to deal with those demands or deadlines that they regard as unreasonable. They are encouraged to avoid being defensive, but at the same time they are advised not to be afraid of saying 'no'. They are asked to give reasons only if necessary. The training helps them to foresee difficult situations or unwanted demands, and they learn how to prepare themselves mentally. Everyone is encouraged not to get stuck in negative thought patterns, where stress can feed a circular sense of helplessness. One solution they discuss is to think of a more encouraging alternative for each negative message. They learn, for example, to remind themselves that nothing terrible happens when a demand is refused or a deadline missed. Life goes on.
Questions 13-16
For questions 13-16, choose the best title for each numbered paragraph from the list below.
For each numbered paragraph 1-4, mark one letter (A-G) on your Answer Sheet.
Do not use any letter more than once.
13 Paragraph 1 ______
14 Paragraph 2 ______
15 Paragraph 3 ______
16 Paragraph 4 ______
A Higher stress levels among top managers
B Coping with stress through a positive attitude
C Time lost at work through sickness
D Causes of increased stress in the work environment
E Explanations for missed deadlines
F Stress reduction through better organisation
G Typical problems associated with stress

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13.D
14.G
15.F
16.B

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1A Lesson In Stress Management
Demands placed on us at work can often lead to considerable worry and discomfort. There are, however, ways of protecting ourselves from the stress we face at work. We interviewed Jane Collard, a consultant in stress management.
1. In Jane Collard's opinion, stress is becoming an increasingly common feature of the workplace. Stress is a highly individual reaction, which varies considerably from person to person, and it is difficult for some employees to avoid it. Indeed, stress is regarded by many as part of the organizational culture of our institutions: it comes with the job. Recent figures indicate that time taken off work because of stress has increased by 500 per cent since the 1950s. Undoubtedly, changes in working conditions have led to greater pressure at work at all levels. With reductions in staffing, workloads for individual employees have increased. In addition, many employees are left worrying about the security of their jobs.
2. On the stress management courses that she runs, Jane Collard tries to make the trainees realise that stress in itself is not harmful. Everyone needs a certain level of stress to enable them to feel motivated and to perform effectively. A complete absence of stress can be as damaging as overstress, since it can make people lose interest in their work, and even lead to depression. The difficulties occur when the amount of stress rises above a level which is healthy for a particular individual. If this happens, the effects are very obvious and the trainees are taught to recognize the signs. Stress may be expressed physically, for example through headaches and tiredness, or through emotional problems such as depression. A person suffering from stress may also start to behave differently, and can be difficult to deal with.
3. While it may not always be possible to prevent stress, there are a number of ways in which it can be controlled. The first thing that the trainees learn is how to manage their time effectively. This involves, first of all, setting realistic goals for both the short and long term. Once this framework has been established, tasks are then prioritised on a daily basis. The trainees are also reminded that when they are under pressure the less important items should be left, and they should never hesitate to delegate. Everyone is encouraged to look at ways of reducing 'wasted time ', for example by grouping similar tasks together or dealing with items immedkiately.
4. Jane feels that one of the most useful features of the course is that it enables trainees to deal with those demands or deadlines that they regard as unreasonable. They are encouraged to avoid being defensive, but at the same time they are advised not to be afraid of saying 'no'. They are asked to give reasons only if necessary. The training helps them to foresee difficult situations or unwanted demands, and they learn how to prepare themselves mentally. Everyone is encouraged not to get stuck in negative thought patterns, where stress can feed a circular sense of helplessness. One solution they discuss is to think of a more encouraging alternative for each negative message. They learn, for example, to remind themselves that nothing terrible happens when a demand is refused or a deadline missed. Life goes on.
17 Most people agree that the recent increase in stress is due to changes in ____________.
18 The trainees are taught that the right level of stress at work is important for good.
19 Trainees learn that one way of limiting stress is by deciding upon.
20 One of the most important parts of the course is learning how to react to___
A levels of performance
B shorter deadlines
C employment practices
D higher levels of sickness
E unfair demands
F successful management structure
G practical targets

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21 . Others in his field think very highly of him.
2 . His ideas have spread beyond the business world.
3 . He felt that people should be able to enjoy their work.
4 . His ideas are more complex than they seem.
5 . He did a variety of interesting things before writing his books.
6 . His most successful book was written with a colleague.
7 . He is particularly skilled at forecasting important developments.
8 . Contact with the military was an early influence on his thinking.
A John Adair
Adair is the pioneering British thinker in the theory of leadership. He was the first person in the UK to hold a professorship in Business Leadership and has published a series of influential books on the subject.
Despite his quiet appearance, Adair has had a colourful life, serving in a Bedouin regiment and working on an Arctic fishing boat! His initial interest in leadership came from his army experience and he used to lecture at the highly prestigious academy where British army offices are trained. He now works as an international consultant.
B Edward de Bono
De Bono is unusual among major gurus for two reasons: firstly, he was born not in one of the great industrial nations but on the tiny island of Malta. Secondly, his ideas have reached a wider audience than just managers, so that his books have become essential rending in many different disciplines.
Most of de Bono s work has been concerned with the way human beings can train themselves to think more creatively. This apparently simple idea has resulted in 37 books and a highly successful career as a lecturer and consultant.
C Peter Drucker
Probably no other single thinker has done as much as Drucker to establish management as a serious area of study. Certainly, his fellow management thinkers consider him one of the founding fathers of the discipline, and his books and articles are quoted more than those of any other management writer.
His first book was published as far back as 1939, yet he is still writing and teaching. His greatest distinction has been his ability to predict coming trends in business and economics. As a result, his ideas are treated with the greatest respect and interest.
D Frederick Herzberg
Although relatively few contemporary management students will have read his books, Herzberg s name is instantly recognisable to anyone who has studied industrial organisations. This is because the American psychologist was responsible for introducing the concept of motivation into management thinking.
As a young man, Herzberg became deeply interested in mental illness and the human need for mental and emotional satisfaction. This led him to criticise the approach of many companies to job design, and to argue for the need for job enrichment to stimulate employees efforts.
E Tom Peters
The American s reputation was created in the I 980s by the spectacular success of one book, In Search of Excellence, co-written with Robert Waterman. The two were working together as management consultants and no-one expected their first (and only) book to end up selling 5 million copies worldwide!
Although his ideas have been criticised, Peters popularity as a speaker and writer has continued to grow. So much so that Peters has created his own business to market books, videos and consultancy based on his work.

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31. Genuine feedback would release resources to be used elsewhere.
2. Managers are expected to enable their staff to work effectively.
3. Experts are unlikely to facilitate a move to genuine feedback.
4. There are benefits when methods of evaluating performance have been negotiated.
5. Appraisals tend to focus on the nature of the face-to-face relationship between employees and their line managers.
6. The idea that employees are responsible for what they do seems reasonable.
7. Despite experts’ assertion, management structures prevent genuine feedback
8. An increasing amount of effort is being dedicated to the appraisal process.
A
Performance appraisal is on the up and up. It used to represent the one time of year when getting on with the work was put on hold while enormous quantities of management hours were spent in the earnest ritual of rating and ranking performance. Now the practice is even more frequent. This of course makes it all the more important how appraisal is conducted. Human resources professionals claim that managers should strive for objectivity and thus for feedback rather than judgement. But the simple fact of the matter is that the nature of hierarchy distorts the concept of feedback because performance measure are conceived hierarchically. Unfortunately, all too many workers suffer from the injustices that this generates.
B
The notion behind performance appraisal- that workers should be held accountable for their performance-is plausible. However, the evidence suggests that the premise is wrong. Contrary to assumptions appraisal is not an effective means of performance improvement- it is judgement imposed rather than feedback, a judgement imposed by the hierarchy. Useful feedback , on the other hand, would be information that told both the manager and worker how well the work system functioned, and suggested ways to make it better.
C
Within the production system at the car manufacturer Toyota, there is nothing that is recognizable as performance appraisal. Every operation in the system has an associated measure. The measure has been worked out between the operators and their manager. In every case, the measure is related to the purpose of the work. That measure is the basis of feedback to the manager and worker alike. Toyota’s basic idea is expressed in the axiom “bad news first” . Both managers and workers are psychologically safe in the knowledge that it is the system- not the worker –that is the primary influence on performance. It is management’s responsibility to ensure that the workers operate in a system that facilitates their performance.
D
In many companies , performance appraisal springs from misguided as assumptions. To judge achievement, managers use date about each worker’s activity, not an evaluation of the process or system’s achievement of purpose. The result is that performance appraisal involves managers’ judgement overruling their staff’s, ignoring the true influences on performance. Thus the appraisal experience becomes a question of pleasing the boss, particularly in meetings, which is psychologically unsafe and socially driven, determining who is “in” and who is “ out”.
E
When judgement is replaced by feedback in the true sense, organizations will have a lot more time to devote to their customers and their business. No time will be wasted in appraisal . This requires a fundamental shift in the way we think about the organization of performance appraisals, which almost certainly will not be forthcoming from the human resources profession.

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