2. 外语
  3. In early April a series of reports appeared online in the United States and the United Kingdom la-menting(抱怨)the "lazy French".

In early April a series of reports appeared online in the United States and the United Kingdom la-menting(抱怨)the "lazy French".

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问题     In early April a series of reports appeared online in the United States and the United Kingdom la-menting(抱怨)the "lazy French". A new labor law in France had apparently banned organizations from e-mailing their employees after 6 p. m. In fact, it turned out to be more a case of "lazy journalists" than "lazy French" : as The Economist explained, the "law" was not a law at all but a labor agreement aimed at improving health among a specific group of professionals, and there wasn’t even a hard curfew(宵禁)for digital communication.
    Like all myths, however, this one revealed a set of abiding values subscribed to by the folk who perpetuated if. Brits and Americans have long suspected that the French(and others)are goofing off while they—the good corporate soldiers—continue to toil away. They’re proud about it too. A Gallup poll, released in May, found that most U. S. workers see their constant connection with officemates as a positive. In the age of the smartphone, there’s no such thing as "downtime" , and we profess to be happier— and more productive—for it.
    Are we, though? After reviewing thousands of books, articles and papers on the topic and interviewing dozens of experts in fields from neurobiology and psychology to education and literature, I don’t think so. When we accept this new and permanent ambient(周围的)workload—checking business news in bed or responding to coworkers’ emails during breakfast—we may believe that we are dedicated, tireless workers. But, actually, we’re mostly just getting the small, easy things done. Being busy does not equate to being effective.
    And let’s not forget about ambient play, which often distracts us from accomplishing our most important tasks. Facebook and Twitter report that their sites are most active during office hours. After all, the empioyee who’s required to respond to her boss on Sunday morning will think nothing of responding to friends on Wednesday afternoon. And research shows that these digital derailments are costly: it’s not only the minutes lost responding to a tweet but also the time and energy required to "reenter" the original task. As Douglas Gentile, a professor at Iowa State University who studies the effects of media on attention spans, explains, "Everyone who thinks they’re good at multitasking is wrong. We’re actually multi-switching and giving ourselves extra work. "
    Each shift of focus sets our brain back and creates a cumulative attention debt, resulting in a harried workforce incapable of producing sustained burst of creative energy. Constant connection means that we’re "always at work", yes, but also that we’re "never at work"—fully.
    People and organizations looking for brave new ideas or significant critical thinking need to recognize that disconnection is therefore sometimes preferable to connection. You don’t ask a jogger who just ran six miles to compete in a sprint, so why would you ask an executive who’s been answering a pinging phone all morning to deliver top-drawer content at his next meeting?
    Some parts of the workforce do rely on constant real-time communication. But others should demand and be given proper breaks from the digital maelstrom. Batch-processing email is one easy solution. Do it a few times a day and reserve the rest of your time for real work. Most colleagues and clients will survive without a response for three hours, and if it’s truly urgent, they can pick up the phone.
    The great tech historian Melvin Kranzberg said, "Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral. " That statement should become a real tenant of the information age. I don’t advocate abstinence or blanket rules like that fictional post-6 p. m. email ban.
    However, I do think our cult of connectivity has gone too far. We can’t keep falling prey to ambient work or play. Instead, we must actively decide on our level of tech engagement at different times to maximize productivity, success and happiness.
How does ambient play influence us?
选项 A、We pay more attention to Facebook than to the most important tasks.
B、We learn how to accomplish multitasks and switch flexibly from work to pleasure.
C、A shift of focus from main tasks to ambient play produces bursts of creativity.
D、The connection between work and play means we’re "always at work".
答案A
解析 推理判断题。题干问“周围的事情(ambient play)”是怎样影响我们的，第四段首句说，“我们别忽视‘周围的事情身边的故事’，他们往往在我们完成重要任务时干扰注意力”，A)选项“我们因为专注于脸谱网(Fa—cebook)这样的娱乐而忽略我们的首要任务”，符合文意，故A)选项正确。
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