① It’s 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.
② Travel on a London bus and you’ll ____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.
③ 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.
④ 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.
⑤ 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.
⑥ 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.
1.1.
A therefore
B however
C again
D moreover
解析：选B。1. B 原文首句"It's not difficult..."与后文"much harder..."形成直接对比，存在明显转折关系，因此选择表转折的however。
2.2.
A Emphasize
B Identify
C Assess
D Explain
解析：选A。2. A 后文"one and the others become distorted"表明过度关注单一成分会导致其他成分扭曲，emphasize准确体现这种"侧重强调"的含义。
3.3.
A nearly
B curiously
C eagerly
D quickly
解析：选D。3. D 根据语境，作者意在说明乘坐伦敦巴士时能"快速"观察到这一现象，quickly最能体现迅速理解的语义。
4.4.
A claim
B prove
C check
D recall
解析：选C。4. C 前文提到人们可能不买票上车，检查员的职责就是"核查"乘客是否付费，check最符合此语境。
5.5.
A threatened
B ignored
C mocked
D blamed
解析：选B。5. B 前文描述了多种违规行为都被忽视，ignored准确体现了司机对这些行为的漠视态度。
6.6.
A punctuality
B hospitality
C competition
D innovation
解析：选A。6. A 后文"according to the time they took"明确显示考核标准是时间，因此目标是"准点"。
7.7.
A Yet
B So
C Besides
D Still
解析：选B。7. B 前句是抱怨，后句是解决方案，构成明显的因果关系，so表示"因此"。
8.8.
A hired
B trained
C rewarded
D grouped
解析：选C。8. C 与punished形成完整奖惩机制，rewarded体现对按时完成的正向激励。
9.9.
A only
B rather
C once
D also
解析：选D。9. D 前句说达成目标，本句说产生负面影响，需要表示递进的副词，also体现"同时还"的含义。
10.10.
A comfort
B revenue
C efficiency
D security
解析：选B。10. B 后文"more sensitive pricing"直接指向收入目标，revenue与定价策略直接相关。
11.11.
A friendly
B quiet
C cautious
D diligent
解析：选C。11. C 遵守交通法规的司机必然更加"谨慎"，cautious符合安全驾驶的要求。
12.12.
A purpose
B problem
C prejudice
D policy
解析：选B。12. B 下文描述的是目标管理中的新问题，problem准确概括了这一负面现象。
13.13.
A reported
B revealed
C admitted
D noticed
解析：选D。13. D 作者询问读者是否"注意到"航班异常现象，noticed最符合日常观察的语境。
14.14.
A break
B trip
C departure
D transfer
解析：选B。14. B 指代飞行"旅程"的预计时长，trip准确描述航班行程。
15.15.
A moral
B background
C style
D form
解析：选A。15. A 这是总结性语句，"故事的寓意"是固定表达。
16.16.
A interpret
B criticize
C sacrifice
D tolerate
解析：选C。16. C 与前文"distorted"形成呼应，sacrifice体现为达成某一目标而"牺牲"其他的含义。
17.17.
A task
B secret
C product
D cost
解析：选D。17. D 与上文的"牺牲"形成语义关联，cost体现更快更便宜背后的"代价"。
18.18.
A leading to
B calling for
C relating to
D accounting for
解析：选C。18. C 表示目标应"关联"关键因素，relating to准确体现这种关联性。
19.19.
A specify
B predict
C restore
D create
解析：选A。19. A 与前文"multiple components"呼应，specify体现"明确指定"特定维度的含义。
20.20.
A modify
B review
C present
D achieve
解析：选D。20. D 最终目的是帮助人们"实现"目标，achieve最符合目标管理的最终目的。
