2014北京卷C
【语篇解读】文章通过讲述人们总是为减肥设立目标却又无法成功的事例告诉人们，凡事只关注“输出”即结果而不注重输入过程的重要性，是错误的。借此告诉人们要养成采取实际行动的习惯。 Choosing the Right Resolution (决定) Millions of Americans began 2014 with the same resolution they started 2013 with, a goal of losing weight. However, setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake. To reach our goal of losing weight --- the output, we need to control what we eat --- the input (输入). That is, we tend to care about the output but not to control the input. This is a bad way to construct goals. The alternative is to focus your resolution on the input. Instead of resolving to lose weight, try an actionable resolution: “I’ll stop having desert for lunch,” or “I’ll walk every day for 20 minutes.” Creating a goal that focuses on a well-specified input will likely be more effective than concentrating on the outcome. Recently a new science behind incentives (激励), including in education, has been discussed. For example, researcher Roland Fryer wanted to see what works best in motivating children to do better in school. In some cases, he gave students incentives based on input, like reading certain books, while in others, the incentives were based on output, like results on exams. His main finding was that incentives increased achievement when based on input but had no effect on output. Fryer’s conclusion was that the intensives for inputs might be more effective because do not know how to do better on exam, aside from general rules like “study harder”. Reading certain books, on the other hand, is a well-set task over which they have much more control. As long as you have direct control over your goal, you have a much higher chance of success. And it’s easier to start again if you fail, because you know exactly what you need to do. If you want to cut down on your spending, a good goal would be making morning coffee at home instead of going to a cafe, for example. This is a well-specified action-based goal for which you can measure your success easily. Spending less money isn’t a goal because it’s too general. Similarly, if you want to spend more time with your family, don’t stop with this general wish. Think about an actionable habit that you could adopt and stick to, like a family movie night every Wednesday. In the long run, these new goals could become a habit.
