雅思阅读真题（Part 2）
压力更少：工作压力与过度承诺
本篇也叫：压力更少、工作压力、过度承诺、压力管理、职场压力
Part 2 · 考频：中频 · 最近考试：2026.2.6广州BC雅思
本篇为雅思阅读真题（Part 2）《Stress less》，共 13 题，2026.2.6广州BC雅思雅思考试真题回忆，页面提供完整原文、题目、答案与解析，并支持在线机考模式免费练习。本页同时提供 Markdown 版本 供 AI 助手与搜索引擎直接读取。
文章探讨工作压力与过度承诺现象，以管理咨询公司副总裁Neil Plumridge为例，描述其每周45至80小时的工作量及睡眠、日程、家庭三个压力预警信号，并引用心理学研究解释人们总误以为未来会更闲而过度承诺，指出压力导致缺勤等职场问题。
A
How busy is too busy? For some, it means sometimes having to have a short lunch; for others, it may mean missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a day off once a month. Then there is a group of people for whom working every evening and weekend is normal, and feeling stressed is taken for granted. For most senior executives, workloads swing between extremely busy and frenzied. Neil Plumridge, vice-president of a management consultancy company, says that his weeks vary from a 'manageable 45 hours to 80 hours, but average 60 hours.'
B
Three signs warn Plumridge about his workload: sleep, scheduling, and family. He knows he is doing too much when he gets less than six hours' sleep for three consecutive nights, when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments, and when he misses a family birthday or anniversary. Then, he says, "I know things are out of control." Plumridge states that stress is often caused by his having unrealistic expectations of himself. "I'll promise a client that I'll do something tomorrow, and then I'll promise another client that I'll do the same thing when I know it's not going to happen. I could have said: 'Why don't I give that to you in 48 hours?' The client wouldn't care."
C
Over-committing is something people experience as an individual problem. However, new research indicates that people may be designed to over-commit. A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that people always believe that they will be less busy in the future. This is a misapprehension, according to the authors of the report, Gal Zauberman of the University of North Carolina and John Lynch of Duke University. On average, an individual will be just as busy two weeks or a month from now as he or she is today. But that is not how it appears in everyday life, they say. "People make commitments long in advance that they would never make if the same commitments required immediate action. They discount future time investments relatively steeply."
D
Being too busy is highly subjective, but for any individual, there are some concrete signs of stress—disturbed sleep and declining mental and physical health are the most common examples. Figures for National Workers' Compensation (insurance against injury caused by work) show that stress causes the most lost time of any workplace injury: employees suffering stress are absent from work for an average of 16.6 weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. The Australian Government insurer reports that in 2003-2004, claims for stress-related psychological injury accounted for 7% of insurance claims but almost 27% of the amount paid out in claim payments.
Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief-a game of golf or a massage- but to reassess workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change: that might mean allocating extra staff to a job, allowing more time, or changing expectations. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying that his peers coach each other on business problems: "Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help," he states.
E
Executive stress is not confined to big organisations. Vanessa Stoykov has been running her own advertising agency and public relations business for seven years. Her company has grown so fast that it appeared on the Business Review Weekly 'Fast 100' list of fastest-growing small enterprises in 2004, just after Stoykov had her first child. In 2005, revenue was projected to double to $2.4 million. She had just had her second child. With a fast-growing business and two small children, Stoykov says she has mastered the art of caring for children, typing, and talking on the phone at the same time. But, unlike many others, she appears to thrive on the mental stimulation of running her own business, despite the stress.
F
Jan Elsner, a psychologist who specialises in executive coaching, says that doing well on a demanding workload is typical of senior executives. Some people work best with high-adrenaline periods followed by quieter times, while others thrive under sustained pressure. Elsner's practice is based on a movement known as positive psychology, a school of thought that argues that positive experiences-feeling engaged and challenged, for example-do not balance out negative experiences such as stress; instead, they help people increase their resilience over time. Elsner says that many of the senior business people she coaches are increasingly relying more on regulating stress through methods such as meditation. She points to research showing that meditation can alter the biochemistry of the brain and the way that brains and bodies react to stress.
G
Some experts believe there is too much emphasis on treating job stress as an individual problem. Tony LaMontagne, of the University of Melbourne, says that while personality traits do have some effect on stress, it is systemic stressors-qualities of job roles and organisations themselves-that have a far greater effect. His recent research shows that the major predictor of stress is the level of job control a person has. The best type of job combines challenging work with high autonomy. The worst jobs combine challenging work and low control. People with demanding jobs but little autonomy have up to four times the probability of depression and more than double the risk of heart attack.
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答案：Jan Elsner
原文定位：Jan Elsner, a psychologist who specialises in executive coaching, says that doing well on a demanding workload is typical of senior executives
同义替换：「High-level workers」↔「senior executives」，「react positively to stress」↔「doing well on a demanding workload」，「tend to」↔「is typical of」
答案：Neil Plumridge
原文定位：Plumridge states that stress is often caused by his having unrealistic expectations of himself. "I'll promise a client that I'll do something tomorrow
同义替换：「increased」↔「caused」，「trying to please」↔「promise」，「customers」↔「client」
答案：Neil Plumridge
原文定位：He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying that his peers coach each other on business problems: "Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help
同义替换：「workers」↔「colleagues」，「Support」↔「advice」，「relieve」↔「help」
答案：Tony LaMontagne
原文定位：Tony LaMontagne;recent research shows that the major predictor of stress is the level of job control a person has;The worst jobs combine challenging work and low control
同义替换：「Lack of independence」↔「low control」，「work」↔「job」，「responsible for」↔「major predictor」
答案：Gal Zauberman and John Lynch
原文定位：A study;shows that people always believe that they will be less busy in the future
同义替换：「Workers commonly expect」↔「people always believe」，「workloads to lessen」↔「less busy」，「over time」↔「in the future」
答案：a lack of concentration on a task
原文定位：Three signs warn Plumridge about his workload;sleep, scheduling, and family;He knows he is doing too much when he gets less than six hours' sleep for three consecutive nights, when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments, and when he misses a family birthday or anniversary
同义替换：「insufficient」↔「less」，「schedule」↔「appointments」，「celebrations」↔「birthday or anniversary」
答案：taking more time off for sport or other recreation
原文定位：Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change;that might mean allocating extra staff to a job, allowing more time, or changing expectations;Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief—a game of golf or a massage—but to reassess workloads
同义替换：「rethinking ideas」↔「changing expectations」，「extending deadline」↔「allowing more time」，「using more workers」↔「allocating extra staff」
答案：changing physical response to stress
原文定位：She points to research showing that meditation can alter the biochemistry of the brain and the way that brains and bodies react to stress
同义替换：「changing」↔「alter」，「physical response」↔「bodies react to」
答案：injury
原文定位：Figures for National Workers' Compensation (insurance against injury caused by work) show that stress causes the most lost time of any workplace injury
同义替换：「take more time off work due to stress than for」↔「stress causes the most lost time of any」
答案：16.6 weeks
原文定位：employees suffering stress are absent from work for an average of 16.6 weeks
同义替换：「take time off because of stress」↔「employees suffering stress are absent from work」
答案：7%
原文定位：claims for stress-related psychological injury accounted for 7% of insurance claims but almost 27% of the amount paid out in claim payments
同义替换：「amount to only」↔「accounted for」，「stress」↔「stress‑related psychological injury」
答案：massage
原文定位：Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief-a game of golf or a massage- but to reassess workloads
同义替换：「therapies」↔「relief」，「sport」↔「a game of golf」
答案：workloads
原文定位：Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief-a game of golf or a massage- but to reassess workloads
同义替换：「reviewing」↔「reassess」