1
Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more
than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
A
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Are Open Offices Good for Us?
Four years ago, Chris Nagele did what many other technology executives have done before
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moved his team
into an open concept office. His staff had been entirely working from home, but he wanted everyone to be
together, to connect and cooperate more easily. It quickly became clear, though, that Nagele had made a huge
mistake. Everyone was distracted and productivity suffered and nine employees were unhappy, not to mention
Nagele himself. About three years after moving into the open office, Nagele moved the company into a
10,000-square foot office where everyone now has their own space
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complete with closing doors.
Numerous companies have held the open office
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about 70% of US offices are open concept
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and very
few have moved back into traditional spaces with offices and doors. But research t
hat we鈥檙e 15% less productive,
we have huge trouble concentrating in open working spaces, has contributed to a growing criticism against open
offices.
Beside the cheaper cost, one main argument for the open workspace is that it increases teamwork. However,
it鈥檚 well documented that we rarely brainstorm brilliant ideas when we鈥檙e just shooting the breeze in a crowd.
Instead, as many of us know, we鈥檙e more likely to hear about the Christmas gift a colleague is buying for a family
member, or problems with yo
ur deskmate鈥檚 spouse.
For jobs that require focus, like writing, advertising, financial planning and computer programming, some
companies that aren鈥檛 ready to abandon open plans are experimenting with quiet and closed spaces. The trouble
with that, is some
of us don鈥檛 feel comfortable leaving the team to go off on our own鈥攊t can feel as if we鈥檙e not
pulling our weight if we鈥檙e not present. That鈥檚 particularly true in high
-pressure environments. Some of us even
feel that escaping to a quiet room is a sign of weakness.
B
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When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins,
do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money? What should
our attitude to beggars be? There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories. It must be terrible
to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from. It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars.
Certainly, most of the world's great religions order us to be open hearted and share what we have with
those less fortunate than ourselves. But has the world changed? Maybe what was morally right in the old days,
when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer the best idea.
Quite a few people will not give to beggars. Let us look at their arguments.