Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
It is not difficult to set targets for staff. It is much harder, ___1___, to understand their negative consequences. Most work-related behaviors have multiple components. ___2___ one and the others become distorted.
Travel on a London bus and you will ___3___ see how this works with drivers. Watch people get on and show their tickets. Are they carefully inspected? Never. Do people get on without paying? Of course! Are there inspectors to ___4___ that people have paid? Possibly, but very few. And people who run for the bus? They are ___5___. How about jumping lights? Buses do so almost as frequently as cyclists.
Why? Because the target is ___6___. People complained that buses were late and infrequent. ___7___, the number of buses and bus lanes were increased, and drivers were ___8___ or punished according to the time they took. And drivers hit these targets. But they ___9___ hit cyclists. If the target was changed to ___10___, you would have more inspectors and more sensitive pricing. If the criterion changed to safety, you would get more ___11___ drivers who obeyed traffic laws. But both these criteria would be at the expense of time.
There is another ___12___: people became immensely inventive in hitting targets. Have you ___13___ that you can leave on a flight an hour late but still arrive on time? Tailwinds? Of course not! Airlines have simply changed the time a ___14___ is meant to take. A one-hour flight is now billed as a two-hour flight.
The ___15___ of the story is simple. Most jobs are multidimensional, with multiple criteria. Choose one criterion and you may well ___16___ others. Everything can be done faster and made cheaper, but there is a ___17___. Setting targets can and does have unforeseen negative consequences.
This is not an argument against target-setting. But it is an argument for exploring consequences first. All good targets should have multiple criteria ___18___ critical factors such as time, money, quality and customer feedback. The trick is not only to ___19___ just one or even two dimensions of the objective, but also to understand how to help people better ___20___ the objective.
解析语义推断。本句“Emphasize one and the others become distorted”——只强调多组成部分中的一项，其余会被扭曲，与全文“盯一个目标会牺牲其它”一脉相承，故选 A。Identify“识别”、Assess“评估”、Explain“解释”均不会导致“其它部分被扭曲”。
解析近义复现。前文“buses were late and infrequent”，下文“drivers were rewarded or punished according to the time they took”——核心 KPI 是“准点”，punctuality 最贴切，故选 A。hospitality“热情服务”、competition“竞争”、innovation“创新”均不切。
解析并列动词。drivers were ___ or punished——“受奖励或受罚”，rewarded 与 punished 构成自然反义并列，故选 C。hired“被雇用”、trained“被培训”、grouped“被分组”均不与 punished 形成对照。
9.
A) only
B) rather
C) once
D) also
答案 D
解析语义推断。前句“司机达成了准点目标”，本句“But they ___ hit cyclists”——“同时（也）撞了骑行者”，构成‘达成 KPI + 附带恶果’的对照，also 最贴切，故选 D。only“仅仅”、rather“相当”、once“一次”均与“双重影响”不符。
10.
A) comfort
B) revenue
C) efficiency
D) security
答案 B
解析语义推断。下句“more inspectors and more sensitive pricing”——更多稽查员与更灵活的定价，目的在收入，revenue“收入”最贴切，故选 B。comfort“舒适”、efficiency“效率”、security“安全”均不与“稽查员+定价”绑定。
11.
A) friendly
B) quiet
C) cautious
D) diligent
答案 C
解析形容词搭配。本句“If the criterion changed to safety, you would get more ___ drivers who obeyed traffic laws”——以安全为指标，司机会更“谨慎”守规，cautious 最贴切，故选 C。friendly“友善”、quiet“安静”、diligent“勤奋”均与“守交规”关联不直接。
12.
A) purpose
B) problem
C) prejudice
D) policy
答案 B
解析语义推断。本句“There is another ___ : people became immensely inventive in hitting targets”——“另一个问题”再次引出 KPI 的副作用，problem 最贴切，故选 B。purpose“目的”、prejudice“偏见”、policy“政策”均与“KPI 弊端”不构成话题延续。
13.
A) reported
B) revealed
C) admitted
D) noticed
答案 D
解析动宾搭配。Have you ___ that you can leave on a flight an hour late but still arrive on time?——“你是否注意到这种现象？”，noticed“注意到”最贴切，故选 D。reported“报告”、revealed“揭示”、admitted“承认”均不合“你日常观察到了吗”的语气。
14.
A) break
B) trip
C) departure
D) transfer
答案 B
解析搭配。航空公司改了“一次航行/旅程”的预计时长，trip“一次行程”最贴切，与“A one-hour flight is now billed as a two-hour flight”一致，故选 B。break“休息”、departure“出发”、transfer“中转”均不指“整段航程”。
15.
A) moral
B) background
C) style
D) form
答案 A
解析搭配。The moral of the story is simple“故事的寓意/教训显而易见”是地道短语，故选 A。background“背景”、style“风格”、form“形式”均不与 of the story 搭配“寓意”一义。
16.
A) interpret
B) criticize
C) sacrifice
D) tolerate
答案 C
解析语义推断。“choose one criterion and you may well ___ others”——只盯一项指标，往往“牺牲”其它指标，sacrifice 最贴切，故选 C。interpret“解释”、criticize“批评”、tolerate“容忍”均与“以一换多”这一“代价”不符。
17.
A) task
B) secret
C) product
D) cost
答案 D
解析近义复现。“Everything can be done faster and made cheaper, but there is a ___ ”——更快更省必有代价，cost“代价”最贴切，故选 D。task“任务”、secret“秘密”、product“产品”均不与“the price you pay”一义。
18.
A) leading to
B) calling for
C) relating to
D) accounting for
答案 D
解析短语搭配。multiple criteria accounting for critical factors such as time, money, quality and customer feedback——“多指标需把时间/金钱/质量/客户反馈等关键因素都考虑进来”，account for“涵盖、考虑”最贴切，故选 D。leading to“导致”、calling for“需要”、relating to“与…相关”均不能精准表达“纳入考量”的多维度评估。
19.
A) specify
B) predict
C) restore
D) create
答案 A
解析动宾搭配。“not only to ___ just one or even two dimensions of the objective, but also to understand how to help people better achieve the objective”——“明确指定目标的若干维度”，specify“明确规定”最贴切，故选 A。predict“预测”、restore“恢复”、create“创建”均与“明确目标维度”不符。
20.
A) modify
B) review
C) present
D) achieve
答案 D
解析动宾搭配。achieve the objective“达成目标”是固定搭配，全文落点也在“帮助员工真正达成目标”，故选 D。modify“修改”、review“回顾”、present“展示”均不与 objective 形成“实现”一义。