2012年6月英语六级真题阅读理解答案解析_大学英语阅读

2012年6月英语六级真题阅读理解答案解析

Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. Thats partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.

Whats far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.

Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street , yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis , and unethical (不道德的)behavior in general.

Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors, says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penns Wharton School.

It turns out theres no economic benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit Schweitzer says. But in many cases, goals have economic rewards that make them more powerful.

A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specificrevenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.