【B2-Listening】10 A talk about motivation-谈谈动机

【B2-Listening】10 A talk about motivation-谈谈动机

Listen to the talk about motivation to practise and improve your listening skills.
聆听关于练习和提高听力技能的动机的演讲。

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
先做好准备工作。然后听音频并做练习。

A talk about motivation – preparation

Match the words and the definitions.

• Question

Vocabulary
1.a remote area
2.pre-approved
3.the founder
4.a predicament
5.numerous
6.obvious

Definition
a. someone who starts a business
b. many
c. already officially recognised and accepted
d. far away from towns or other populated places
e. a difficult or challenging situation
f. easy to understand or notice

• Answer

1. someone who starts a business the founder
2. many numerous
3. already officially recognised and accepted pre-approved
4. far away from towns or other populated places a remote area
5. a difficult or challenging situation a predicament
6. easy to understand or notice obvious

1. a remote area - d. far away from towns or other populated places

   • 偏远地区 - 远离城镇或其他人口稠密地区

2. pre-approved - c. already officially recognised and accepted

   • 预先批准的 - 已经正式认可和接受的

3. the founder - a. someone who starts a business

   • 创始人 - 开办企业的人

4. a predicament - e. a difficult or challenging situation

   • 困境 - 困难或具有挑战性的情况

5. numerous - b. many

   • 许多的 - 很多

6. obvious - f. easy to understand or notice

   • 明显的 - 容易理解或注意到的

Transcript

English

So, we think we know how to motivate people, right? Offer them a reward. Do this and you’ll get this. Do this faster, earn more money. Do this better than everyone else, here’s a promotion. We offer incentives when we want people to do things. We do it at work, at school, even at home with our kids. Tidy your room and you can watch TV.

But when social psychologists test whether incentives work, they get surprising results. Sam Glucksberg, from Princeton University, America, set people a problem to solve and told them he was going to time them to see how long they took. Then he put them in two groups. He offered one group a reward for finishing fast. Five dollars for anyone finishing in the top 25 per cent and 20 dollars for the person who finished the fastest of all. To the other group he offered no incentive, but he told them he was going to use their times to calculate an average time.

The first group, the ones with the reward, solved the problem faster, you’d think, right? Well, no, they actually took three and a half minutes longer than the group who just thought they were being timed. Incentive didn’t work. In fact, it made them slower. This experiment has been repeated, with the same results, many times. But in business we still offer bonuses, promotions and rewards to staff.

That’s fine if we want them to do something simple, like chop wood. We’ll pay you more if you chop the wood faster. An incentive works then. But if we want someone to do something complex, something creative, something where they have to think, rewards don’t work. They might even have the opposite result, and make people perform worse. Another study, by Dan Ariely, showed that the bigger the reward, the worse the subjects performed on a complex task. The reward made them focus so hard on the result that they couldn’t think creatively any more.

And this all matters because more and more simple jobs will become automated. We’ll be left with creative, problem-solving jobs that computers will never do. And we need to find a way to motivate people to do those jobs when we’ve proved the traditional incentives don’t work.

So what does work? Giving your workers freedom; freedom to work on the things they want to work on, freedom to choose when, where and how they work. Want to work from home three days a week, get up late and work into the night instead? Fine. Just do the job well. And evidence shows people who choose the way they work get results. Companies that give employees time during the week to work on things that interest them and are not part of their regular job achieve amazing things. Some of the big tech companies are good examples of this, with ping-pong tables and areas to relax in …

English-Chinese

So, we think we know how to motivate people, right? Offer them a reward. Do this and you’ll get this. Do this faster, earn more money. Do this better than everyone else, here’s a promotion. We offer incentives when we want people to do things. We do it at work, at school, even at home with our kids. Tidy your room and you can watch TV.
所以，我们认为我们知道如何激励人们，对吧？给他们奖励。这样做你就会得到这个。做得更快，赚更多钱。比其他人做得更好，这能晋升。当我们希望人们做某事时，我们会提供激励措施。我们在工作中、在学校，甚至在家里和孩子们一起这样做。收拾好房间，就可以看电视了。

But when social psychologists test whether incentives work, they get surprising results. Sam Glucksberg, from Princeton University, America, set people a problem to solve and told them he was going to time them to see how long they took. Then he put them in two groups. He offered one group a reward for finishing fast. Five dollars for anyone finishing in the top 25 per cent and 20 dollars for the person who finished the fastest of all. To the other group he offered no incentive, but he told them he was going to use their times to calculate an average time.
但当社会心理学家测试激励措施是否有效时，他们得到了令人惊讶的结果。美国普林斯顿大学的萨姆·格鲁克斯伯格（Sam Glucksberg）给人们设置了一个需要解决的问题，并告诉他们他将为他们计时，看看他们需要多长时间。然后他把他们分成两组。他为一组快速完成的人提供奖励。进入前 25% 的人可获得 5 美元，而完成速度最快的人可获得 20 美元。对于另一组，他没有提供任何奖励，但他告诉他们，他将利用他们的时间来计算平均时间。

The first group, the ones with the reward, solved the problem faster, you’d think, right? Well, no, they actually took three and a half minutes longer than the group who just thought they were being timed. Incentive didn’t work. In fact, it made them slower. This experiment has been repeated, with the same results, many times. But in business we still offer bonuses, promotions and rewards to staff.
第一组，即获得奖励的组，解决问题的速度更快，你会想，对吧？嗯，不，他们实际上比那些认为自己计时的小组多花了三分半钟。激励没有起到作用。事实上，这让他们变慢了。这个实验已经重复了很多次，但结果都是一样的。但在商业上，我们仍然为员工提供奖金、晋升和奖励。

That’s fine if we want them to do something simple, like chop wood. We’ll pay you more if you chop the wood faster. An incentive works then. But if we want someone to do something complex, something creative, something where they have to think, rewards don’t work. They might even have the opposite result, and make people perform worse. Another study, by Dan Ariely, showed that the bigger the reward, the worse the subjects performed on a complex task. The reward made them focus so hard on the result that they couldn’t think creatively any more.
如果我们希望他们做一些简单的事情，比如砍柴，那就没问题。如果你砍木头的速度更快，我们会付给你更多的钱。那么激励就会发挥作用。但如果我们希望某人做一些复杂的事情、一些创造性的事情、一些需要他们思考的事情，奖励就不起作用了。它们甚至可能产生相反的结果，使人们表现更差。丹·艾瑞利 (Dan Ariely) 的另一项研究表明，奖励越大，受试者在复杂任务上的表现就越差。奖励让他们过于关注结果，以至于无法再进行创造性思考。

And this all matters because more and more simple jobs will become automated. We’ll be left with creative, problem-solving jobs that computers will never do. And we need to find a way to motivate people to do those jobs when we’ve proved the traditional incentives don’t work.
这一切都很重要，因为越来越多的简单工作将变得自动化。我们将从事计算机永远无法完成的创造性、解决问题的工作。当我们证明传统的激励措施不起作用时，我们需要找到一种方法来激励人们去做这些工作。

So what does work? Giving your workers freedom; freedom to work on the things they want to work on, freedom to choose when, where and how they work. Want to work from home three days a week, get up late and work into the night instead? Fine. Just do the job well. And evidence shows people who choose the way they work get results. Companies that give employees time during the week to work on things that interest them and are not part of their regular job achieve amazing things. Some of the big tech companies are good examples of this, with ping-pong tables and areas to relax in …
那么什么有效呢？给予员工自由；自由地从事自己想做的事情，自由选择工作的时间、地点和方式。想每周在家工作三天，晚起工作到深夜吗？没问题。只要做好本职工作就可以了。证据表明，选择工作方式的人会取得成果。如果公司在一周内为员工提供时间去做他们感兴趣的、不属于日常工作的事情，就会取得惊人的成就。一些大型科技公司就是很好的例子，它们设有乒乓球桌和休闲区……

Task1

A weather forecast – 1

Put the words in the correct group.

• Question

Choose the correct answer.

1. Anna …
   a. didn’t start the company but manages it now.
   b. started the company and manages it now.
   c. started the company but doesn’t manage it any more.
2. The app …
   a. is for parents to learn from.
   b. is for students to learn from.
   c. is for students who want to find a tutor.
3. Many parents …
   a. don’t have the time or knowledge to help with their children’s homework.
   b. think that schools should help with their children’s homework.
   c. don’t want to help with their children’s homework. 
4. The app …
   a. has student exercises on it.
   b. is only for people in remote areas.
   c. offers live online support from tutors.
5. On the app, tutors who live in remote areas …
   a. often charge lower rates.
   b. often charge higher rates.
   c. don’t like to work too much.
6. The app …
   a. is new and not many people know about it.
   b. is already popular.
   c. is not very successful.

• Answer

Choose the correct answer.

1. Anna …
   a. didn’t start the company but manages it now.
   ✔b. started the company and manages it now.
   c. started the company but doesn’t manage it any more.
2. The app …
   a. is for parents to learn from.
   b. is for students to learn from.
   ✔c. is for students who want to find a tutor.
3. Many parents …
   ✔a. don’t have the time or knowledge to help with their children’s homework.
   b. think that schools should help with their children’s homework.
   c. don’t want to help with their children’s homework. 
4. The app …
   a. has student exercises on it.
   b. is only for people in remote areas.
   ✔c. offers live online support from tutors.
5. On the app, tutors who live in remote areas …
   ✔a. often charge lower rates.
   b. often charge higher rates.
   c. don’t like to work too much.
6. The app …
   a. is new and not many people know about it.
   ✔b. is already popular.
   c. is not very successful.

Task2

A weather forecast – 2

Are the sentences true or false?

• Question

Verbs

1. to solve
2. to come up with
3. to meet
4. to speak for
5. to secure
6. to expand

Nouns
a. funding
b. a need
c. a problem
d. itself
e. the range of services
f. an idea

• Answer

1. …… to solve a problem

   • 解决一个问题

2. …… to come up with an idea

   • 想出一个主意

3. …… to meet a need

   • 满足需求

4. …… to speak for itself

   • 不言自明

5. …… to secure funding

   • 获得资金

6. …… to expand the range of services

   • 扩大服务范围

Discussion

What motivates you in your job or studies?
是什么激励你工作或学习？

Vocabulary

shower

• 简易

  英/ˈʃaʊə(r)/美/ˈʃaʊər/
  n.淋浴器，花洒；淋浴间，淋浴室；淋浴，洗澡；阵雨，阵雪；（落下的东西）一大批，一阵； 流星雨；<美>（为即将结婚或分娩的女子举行的）送礼聚会；<英，非正式> 一群乌合之众，一群笨蛋

  v.淋浴，洗澡；洒落，（使）纷纷降落；朝……阵雨般地扔（大量小东西）（shower sb. with）；大量给予，慷慨给予

  初中 | 高中 | CET4 | CET6 | 考研 | TOEFL | 商务英语
  复数showers第三人称单数showers现在分词showering过去式showered过去分词showered

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

  shower/ˈʃaʊə/|CET4 TEM4
  showering showered showers

  1. N-COUNT A shower is a device for washing yourself. It consists of a pipe which ends in a flat cover with a lot of holes in it so that water comes out in a spray. 淋浴器
     • She heard him turn on the shower.
     她听见他拧开了淋浴器。

2. N-COUNT A shower is a small enclosed area containing a shower. 淋浴间
   • Do you sing in the shower?
   你在淋浴间里唱歌吗？

3. N-COUNT The showers or the shower in a place such as a gym is the area containing showers. (体育馆等的) 浴室
   • The showers are a mess.
   那些浴室一片狼藉。

4. N-COUNT If you take a shower, you wash yourself by standing under a spray of water from a shower. 淋浴
   • I think I’ll take a shower before dinner.
   我想晚饭前我要来次淋浴。

5. V-I If you shower, you wash yourself by standing under a spray of water from a shower. 洗澡
   • There wasn’t time to shower or change clothes.
   没时间洗澡或换衣服了。

6. N-COUNT A shower is a short period of rain, especially light rain. 阵雨
   • There’ll be bright or sunny spells and scattered showers this afternoon.
   今天下午将放晴，间有零星阵雨。

7. N-COUNT You can refer to a lot of things that are falling as a shower of them. 大量下落
   • Showers of sparks flew in all directions.
   无数火星儿向四处飞溅。

8. V-T If you are showered with a lot of small objects or pieces, they are scattered over you. 抛撒
   • They were showered with rice in the traditional manner.
   人们按照传统习俗朝他们抛撒大米。

9. N-COUNT A shower is a party or celebration at which the guests bring gifts. 送礼会
   • …a baby shower.
   …为婴儿举行的送礼会。

10. N a derogatory term applied to a person or group, esp to a group considered as being slack, untidy, etc 懒散邋遢鬼

11. N a large number of particles formed by the collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the atmosphere 镞射粒子

shower/ˈʃəʊə/
N a person or thing that shows 演出者; 展示物品

lunchtime

• 简易

英/ˈlʌntʃtaɪm/美/ˈlʌntʃtaɪm/
n.午餐时间

复数lunchtimes

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

lunchtime/ˈlʌntʃtaɪm/
N-VAR Lunchtime is the period of the day when people have their lunch. 午餐时间
• Could we meet at lunchtime?
我们能在午餐时间见个面吗？

drizzle

• 简易

英/ˈdrɪz(ə)l/美/ˈdrɪz(ə)l/
v.下毛毛雨，下蒙蒙细雨； （毛毛雨似的）洒落；（毛毛雨似的）洒落

n.毛毛细雨，蒙蒙细雨；（烹）（浇在食品上的）液态调料细流

GRE | GMAT
第三人称单数drizzles现在分词drizzling过去式drizzled过去分词drizzled

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

drizzle/ˈdrɪzəl/|CET6+ TEM4
drizzling drizzled drizzles

1. N-UNCOUNT Drizzle is light rain falling in fine drops. 毛毛雨
   • The drizzle had now stopped and the sun was breaking through.
   细雨已经停了，太阳露出了脸。

2. V-I If it is drizzling, it is raining very lightly. 下毛毛雨
   • Clouds had come down and it was starting to drizzle.
   云压了下来，开始下起了毛毛雨。

foggy

• 简易

英/ˈfɒɡi/美/ˈfɑːɡi/
adj.有雾的，雾气茫茫的；迷糊的，朦胧的；模糊的，糊涂的

高中 | CET4 | CET6 | SAT
比较级foggier最高级foggiest

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

foggy/ˈfɒɡɪ/|CET4 TEM4
foggier foggiest

1. ADJ When it is foggy, there is fog. 有雾的
   • It’s quite foggy now.
   现在雾很大。

2. PHRASE If you say that you haven’t the foggiest or you haven’t the foggiest idea, you are emphasizing that you do not know something. 压根儿不知道
   • I did not have the foggiest idea what he meant.
   我压根儿不知道他是什么意思。

coast

• 简易

英/kəʊst/美/koʊst/
n.海岸，海滨；（车辆的）滑行

v.（人，车辆）滑行；毫不费力地做，（尤指）轻松获胜；不够努力，应付；沿海航行

【名】 （Coast）（英、美）科斯特（人名）

初中 | 高中 | CET4 | CET6 | 考研
复数coasts第三人称单数coasts现在分词coasting过去式coasted过去分词coasted

• 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

coast/kəʊst/|CET4 TEM4
coasting coasted coasts

1. N-COUNT The coast is an area of land that is next to the sea. 海岸

   • Campsites are usually situated along the coast, close to beaches.
   宿营地通常都在海岸边，靠近沙滩的地方。

2. V-I If a vehicle coasts somewhere, it continues to move there with the motor switched off, or without being pushed or pedalled. (车辆的) 惯性滑行

   • He pushed in the clutch and coasted to a halt.
   他踩下离合器，滑行了一会儿便停下来了。