IELTS Reading 練習 3 遠距工作的興起（含題目+詳解）

The Rise of Remote Work

IELTS · 雅思備考 · 10 min read · 2026-04-25

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

主題: The history and future of remote work
文章重點: Remote work was proposed in 1973 but stayed marginal until the COVID-19 pandemic forced a mass experiment, after which a hybrid pattern of two or three office days per week has reshaped cities and may or may not endure.
難度: 中等 · Intermediate
建議時間: 17 分鐘

重要單字

telecommuting — working from home using computers and phones / 遠距上班
congestion — overcrowding, especially of traffic / 壅塞、堵塞
broadband — fast, always-on internet / 寬頻
unprecedented — never seen or done before / 史無前例的
productivity — amount of useful work produced / 生產力
hybrid — a mixture of two systems / 混合的

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

American engineer Jack Nilles coined "telecommuting" in 1973, but the technology to make it normal arrived only in the 1990s, and adoption stayed low until 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic forced more than 40 per cent of US employees to work from home and produced productivity gains of about 13 per cent. A hybrid pattern has since emerged, weakening city-centre property markets while reviving suburbs and small commuter towns.

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — A 1970s idea ahead of its time

Working from home is frequently described as a twenty-first-century phenomenon, but the idea is considerably older. The American engineer Jack Nilles is generally credited with coining the term "telecommuting" in 1973. Writing during the oil crisis, Nilles argued that moving workers to information rather than information to workers would reduce congestion, fuel consumption and urban sprawl. His proposals attracted academic attention but little immediate change: the required technology — affordable personal computers, reliable long-distance data links — simply did not yet exist for most employers.

本段重要單字 (3)

telecommuting — working from home using technology / 遠距上班
congestion — traffic jams / 壅塞
sprawl — uncontrolled spread of cities / 蔓延

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

According to the writer, why did Nilles's 1973 proposal not lead to immediate change?

A. Most employers strongly disliked the idea.
B. The necessary technology was not yet available.
C. The oil crisis made transport too expensive.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. The necessary technology was not yet available.

The text says the required technology — affordable PCs and reliable long-distance data links — "simply did not yet exist for most employers".

2 段落 2 — The 1990s: technology arrives, take-up lags

The 1990s altered this landscape dramatically. The spread of email, followed by broadband internet and video-conferencing software, made coordinated work across distances practical. Even so, adoption remained modest. By 2019, only about 5 per cent of full-time employees in the United States and around 3 per cent in the United Kingdom worked primarily from home. Managers often cited concerns about productivity and company culture, while employees worried about being overlooked for promotion.

本段重要單字 (3)

broadband — fast internet / 寬頻
productivity — output of useful work / 生產力
overlooked — not noticed or considered / 被忽視

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

In 2019, the proportion of full-time US employees working mainly from home was approximately:

A. 3 per cent.
B. 5 per cent.
C. 13 per cent.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. 5 per cent.

The paragraph states "about 5 per cent of full-time employees in the United States" — 3 per cent was the UK figure, and 13 per cent appears later as a productivity gain.

3 段落 3 — A pandemic-sized experiment

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-22 forced a rapid, involuntary experiment on an unprecedented scale. At the peak of restrictions, more than 40 per cent of employed Americans worked from home full-time. Studies conducted afterwards — including a large survey by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom — reported productivity gains of roughly 13 per cent for fully remote workers, although the effect varied significantly by industry and by individual.

本段重要單字 (3)

unprecedented — never seen before / 史無前例的
involuntary — not chosen freely / 非自願的
survey — a study collecting opinions or data / 調查

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

What was distinctive about remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic?

A. It produced lower productivity in every industry studied.
B. It happened on a scale never seen before.
C. It was chosen voluntarily by most workers.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：B — B. It happened on a scale never seen before.

The text describes the pandemic shift as "a rapid, involuntary experiment on an unprecedented scale" — i.e. unmatched in scale. It was specifically involuntary, not voluntary.

4 段落 4 — A hybrid future, still uncertain

The post-pandemic settlement has been described as "hybrid": most office workers now attend the workplace two or three days per week rather than five. This shift has visible consequences beyond the office itself. Demand for central-city commercial property has weakened, suburban coffee shops report higher weekday trade, and small towns within commuting distance of major cities have seen renewed interest from younger residents. Whether the hybrid model will endure or be eroded by managerial pressure to return to the office remains an open question.

本段重要單字 (3)

hybrid — mixing two systems / 混合的
commercial — used for business / 商業的
erode — to wear away gradually / 侵蝕、削弱

Quick Check · 隨堂小測

How would you describe the writer's view of the future of hybrid work?

A. Confidently optimistic that it will continue.
B. Clearly negative — it will soon disappear.
C. Uncertain — it could either last or fade.

看答案 · Show answer

答案：C — C. Uncertain — it could either last or fade.

The closing line — "remains an open question" — signals genuine uncertainty about whether hybrid will endure or be eroded.

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閱讀前先看 Before you read

30 秒快速理解 30-second summary

逐段練習 Read paragraph by paragraph

1 段落 1 — A 1970s idea ahead of its time

2 段落 2 — The 1990s: technology arrives, take-up lags

3 段落 3 — A pandemic-sized experiment

4 段落 4 — A hybrid future, still uncertain

每天 5 分鐘的系統練習

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