請依下文回答第28題至第32題 Too many people in corporate America, working five days a week—Monday to Friday, 9 to 5—
feels as __28___ as brushing their teeth. But it wasn’t always that way. In the late 1800s, a full-time manufacturing worker could easily spend 100 hours per week on the job. It wasn’t until around 1940, after a concerted push from labor unions, that the 40-hour workweek became standard in the U.S. Now, almost a century later, there’s growing momentum for an even more __29___ schedule. Pilot studies on working four days a week have been conducted in countries including the U.K., Spain, Portugal, and South Africa.The findings suggest that shorter workweeks can help employees reduce burnout, mange stress, get more sleep and exercise, spend additional quality time with loved ones, and feel all-around happier and healthier. Employers also reap __30___ , including lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. The study in Spain even tracked a drop in fuel emissions due to fewer commuting trips.
Additional trials are underway in countries including Germany, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. Much of the research on shorter workweeks has been done by advocacy groups like 4 Day Week Global. Independent surveys, like one conducted by Gallup in 2022, sometimes show a more complex picture. In the Gallup survey, people who worked four days a week were slightly more likely to report feeling burned out, compared to those with traditional schedules—potentially because they had to __31___ the same amount of work into less time. That result is in direct __32___ with the results of pilot studies run by groups like 4 Day Week Global; in fact, the group identified burnout reduction as one of the largest benefits of a condensed schedule.
請依下文回答第33題至第37題 One of the main factors that drive the growth of e-commerce companies is efficiency at all levels of operations. Supply chain management is a big part of ensuring such efficiency. By leveraging specific aspects of the supply chain management process, e-commerce giants such as Amazon are growing even larger. First, supply chain management encourages positive customer reviews. Up to 72% of customers visit
websites and read their reviews, and as high as 93% of online shoppers admit that they make a decision based on reviews and make purchases because of positive reviews. E-commerce businesses are coming to terms with these statistics and are using positive reviews as a major marketing and selling point. But on the other end of the spectrum, E-commerce companies are also hugely affected by negative reviews and these can have a drastic effect on sales. This is why companies need to take great measures to manage the reviews they get. Effective supply chain management ensures that orders are received and delivered quickly and effectively to customers which keeps them happy and encourages them to give positive reviews. In addition, supply chain management confirms stock availability. One of the most useful pieces of
information that customers should have access to is the availability of products. Such information can
mean the difference between losing a customer and making a sale. If you have ever made a purchase online, then chances are you’ve based your decision on knowing that the product is available and that you can get it within a certain period. For instance, when there were only 5 items left, 85% of surveyed customers reported they would make the order immediately. E-commerce giants understand that
customers don’t want to be disappointed. Through effective and efficient supply chain management E-commerce businesses can ensure that stock is always available for driving sales. Therefore, a major part of every E-commercebusiness’s marketing strategy should be to ensure that products arealways available. In conclusion, if you are interested in running or joining an E-commerce business, you may want to
learn how to make the supply chain more effective and efficient. Learning more about supply chain management will help you boost the profit of your business.
Whatisthe main idea of this passage?
A
Todiscuss whyE-commerce companies are booming.
B
Toexplain how to effectively manage the inventory of a company.
C
Tohighlight the importance of positive reviews customers provide.
D
Toencourage business owners to use supply chain management.
