A
Employees are being flooded with too much information that has little to do with their work, according to a new survey.
On average, whitecollar workers spend 51 percent of their work time receiving and processing information. Only one third of it was relevant to their work, the survey found. Information overload for whitecollar workers has become a global issue. The huge amount of information has already affected their efficiency in management as well as their performance at work.
Buried with emails
Every morning, a secretary at the human resources department of an auto parts company opens her email box, only to find it crammed with at least 50 unread mails. For her, even scanning through these emails every day takes at least half an hour. Some of her colleagues are not so lucky—they have to read at least 100.
Bothered with calls
Telephone calls are also causing a problem. More than 40 percent whitecollar workers choose mobile phones as the preferred way to communicate important and urgent business matters. Talking saves time and energy over the clicking, reading and replying to emails, but phone calls are also more distracting (分心的). While answering a call, a clerk is likely to put away a much more important task at hand and start the business being talked about on the phone.
Solution? Not yet
Many companies start with providing staff with better computers, better Internet access and more advanced gadgets (小装置). For example, staff members above a certain level in one company will be provided with a blackberry phone for easier access to their emails. The company has also organized many lectures on efficient ways of email management. Yet most whitecollar workers think their companies can do more.
【解题导语】 白领是令人羡慕的一族，可是他们也有苦恼，与工作无关的大量信息让他们苦不堪言。
21．What does the new survey find about whitecollar workers?
A．They spend 51 percent of their work time on meetings.
B．Only half of the information they receive is useful.
C．Over 60 percent of them prefer to use the telephone.
D．Some of them have to read at least 100 emails every day.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据Buried with emails中的最后一句可知一些白领每天要阅读至少100封电子邮件。
22．Telephone calls cause a problem because ________.
A．they take up the time to receive and send emails
B．they are often not answered
C．they are mostly not about business
D．they may lead to change of work schedule
解析：选D 推理判断题。Bothered with calls中的最后一句提到员工可能要放下更加重要的工作来处理电话事务，由此可推断打电话可能会导致工作计划的改变。
23．How do some companies try to solve the problem of information overload?
A．They start to give staff a pay rise.
B．They plan to employ more people.
C．They provide employees with more advanced equipment.
D．They organize lectures on how to reduce stress.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段前半部分中的内容可知一些公司解决问题的办法是为员工提供更加先进的设备。
24．What is the major issue discussed in this text?
A．Poor management leads to inefficiency at work.
B．Junk mail is causing big trouble.
C．Whitecollar workers suffer from information overload.
D．Better computers are in need in workplaces.
解析：选C 主旨大意题。本文是一篇调查报道，结合全文尤其是文章第一段的内容可知本文的主要内容是白领深受信息泛滥之苦。
