六级考试阅读技巧
As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results.
任何试图减肥的人都知道，设定现实的目标会产生好的结果。
That's partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.
这部分是因为那些设定现实主义目标的人实际上能更有效的工作，并投入更多的努力以实现那些目标。
What's far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.
然而，科学家们对于目标设定的潜在危害性却知之甚少。
NewSPAper relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Streat 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 unthical behavior in general.
报纸每天充斥着关于华尔街和主街上各行各业普遍设定业绩目标的报道。然而，长期鼓吹的目标设定法是怎样促成时下的经济危机以及普遍的不道德行为，相关研究出奇的少。
“Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects.
宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院的副教授莫里斯.思维策尔说：目标设定的方法因其有利的影响而被广泛应用和提倡。
And yet, the same motivition 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 Penn's Wharton School.
能推动人们建设性的付出更多努力的动机同样能刺激人们从事不道德的行为。
“it turns out there's 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."
事实证明，仅仅设定目标并不会产生经济效益-你获得只是心理上的安慰，Schweitzer说，在很多情况下，目标具有经济回报是其更加强大的原因所在。
A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of enerage-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.
S和他的同事们引用的一个典型例子是2004年能源贸易巨头安然公司的倒闭，公司的经理们用财务奖励来激励销售人员达到特定的销售目标，他指出，问题在于这些交易实际上无利可图。
Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat, or steal. a
其他研究表明让员工背负不切实际的目标会迫使他们说谎，欺骗或者盗窃。
such was the case in the early 1990's when Sears imposed a sale quota on its auto repair staff. it prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.
Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting.
Schweitzer承认他的研究与大量称赞目标设定有诸多益处的文献箱抵触
。Advocates of practice have taken issue with his team's use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal setting is widely over-prescribed.
对于Schweitzer的团队仅仅使用新闻报道作为证据来支持自己的结论--目标设定普遍被滥用 ，目标设定行为的支持者们提出了质疑。
In a rebuttal paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes :"Goal setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their disired end results any more than an individual can thrive without goal to provide a sense of purpose."
在一篇反驳Schweitzer的文章中，Dr. Edwin Locke 写到：“目标设定的行为不会消失，不能集中精力朝着期望的最终目标前进的组织不能繁荣发展，就像没有带给自己使命感个人不能茁壮成长一样。
But Schweitzer contends the "mounting causal evidence" linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. "Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects," he syas.
但是， Schweitzer 主张应该研究联系目标设定和有害行为之间的”越来越多的因果证据“，以凸显那些应该值得警觉和进一步研究的问题。他说道，即使少量的负面影响也可能盖过其正面影响。
”Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goal that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization,“ Schweitzer says.
Schweitzer 表示：”目标设定却是有助于协调和激励人。我的观点是将其与仔细的监督和一个强大的组织文化结合起来，并且确保你的目标具有建设性，不会给组织带来巨大危害。“