1、MBA（英语）阅读理解练习试卷 27 及答案与解析一、Section III Reading ComprehensionDirections: Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.0 Marriage guidance counsellors never stop hearing it. “He (or she) never listens,“ warring
2、couples complain, again and again, as if they were chanting a mantra(吟颂祷文) . And it is the same at work. Bosses say it of executives they are displeased with, and the executives return the compliment with interest when complaining about their bosses. Customers say it about suppliers who have cocked
3、up, and suppliershaving patiently explained why on this occasion they cannot provide exactly what is wantedsay the same about their customers. Like married couples, we all shout the accusation at others, pretending that we ourselves are faultless.Yet in our hearts we know many of the mistakes we mak
4、e come about because we havent listened sufficiently carefully. We get things wrong because we havent quite understood what was wanted, or havent sussed out(推断出) the implications of what we were told. Anyone who has ever written the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remembereven
5、with the benefit of notesexactly what everyone said and, more importantly, exactly what everyone meant. But success depends on getting things right and that means listening; listening, listening, listening.Hearing is not listening. Listening is not a passive activity. It is hard work. It demands att
6、ention and concentration. It may mean probing the speaker for additional information. If you allow your mind to wander, even for a few minutes, youll naturally miss what the speaker is sayingprobably at the very moment when the speaker is saying something crucial. But not having heard, you wont know
7、 youve missed. Until too late.The most common bad habit we all have is to start thinking of what we are going to say long before the other speaker has finished. Then we stop listening.Worse still, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have determined what you intend to say there i
8、s a fair chance you will rudely butt in on the other person to say it. The American wit Letitia Baldridge quipped: “Good listeners dont interrupt everunless the buildings on fire.“ Its a good rule of thumb.One of the key ways to improve your listening ability is by learning to keep a wary eye on the
9、 speakers body language. The ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Being a good listener involves being a good watcher: eyes and ears must go hand in hand.For example, people who cover up their mouths with their hands whi
10、le they are speaking are usually betraying insecurity, and may well be lying. When people rub their noses, it generally indicates they are puzzled; when they shrug their shoulders they are indifferent; when they hug themselves they are feeling threatened. If they are smiling as they speak they want
11、you to feel the message is friendly, even if its content sounds hostile. On the other hand, if they are clenching their fists and drumming their fingers they may be restraining their anger, and may be much more furious than their words suggest.The American psychologist Robert C. Beck, who has specia
12、lized in research into how people can teach themselves to be better listeners, offers the following half-dozen rules for self-improvement.Be patientaccept that many people are not very good communicators, encourage them to make things crystal clear, and dont interrupt impatiently or jump to conclusi
13、ons.Be empatheticput yourself in the other persons shoes, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you understand what they are getting at.Dont be too cleverfaced with a know-all, many people become silent, either because they dont want to look foolish .or because they see no point in bothe
14、ring to continue.Use self-disclosureadmitting to your own problems and difficulties, and to your own mistakes, will encourage people to speak openly and honestly about theirs.Ask for explanationsget people to explain points or words you have not fully understood; it is always better to ask than to p
15、ress on regardlessand then get things wrong.Ask “opening up“ questionsthese are gentle, unthreatening and open-ended; they cannot be answered with a mere “yes“ or “no“ and should provide no clues as to the answer the questioner might want to hear.Finally, it is almost always worth summing up the gis
16、t of what you have just been told, as quickly and briefly as you can, before the discussion ends. Nobody is ever offended by having what they have just said repeated to them. It ensures you have listened accurately and grasped the correct messages. If things go pear-shaped thereafter, at least the p
17、ears cant be dumped on your doorstep.1 When people say “He (or She) never listens,“ they _.（A）mean they cannot obtain what they want（B） mean that he/she should take the blame（C） are really displeased with him/her（D）feel regretful at his/her behaviour 2 According to the author, listening is different
18、 from hearing in that it _.（A）may well mean hard work（B） demands more additional information（C） requires attention and concentration（D）helps get things right 3 One of the essential ways to develop your listening ability is _.（A）not to interrupt speakers no matter whatever happens（B） not to be furiou
19、s with whatever a speaker says（C） to observe the speaker carefully（D）to watch the speakers body language carefully 4 By saying “put yourself in the other persons shoes“ the author means that when you listen_.（A）take control over the speakers remarks（B） understand the speakers situation and feelings（
20、C） take over the speakers job and do it well（D）say something that never embarrasses the speaker 5 What does the last sentence of the passage most probably mean?（A）Even if something goes wrong, its not at all your fault.（B） When pears get rotting, they will pile up on your doorstep.（C） If something g
21、oes wrong, you will take the blame.（D）If pears are decaying, not all of them will fall onto your door step. 5 It has been said that management is a science and that leadership is an art. Management is comprised of concrete, measurable skills: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Thumb t
22、hrough any management textbook and youll see specific models, formulas, procedures, or techniques for monitoring and Controlling performance Output. Controlling productivity through adherence to standards is the stock-in-trade of the effective manager. Its not always an easy task, and talented manag
23、ers should be given the credit they deserve in helping their organizations succeed. No organization can survive for very long, let alone earn any sort of substantial profits, without sound management. But management alone is not enough in todays marketplace. It is the right balance, a combination of
24、 efficient management and leadership, that every organization is seeking.Just what is the new model of leadership for the 21st century? It revolves around five abstract qualities. Managers may possess some or all of these abilities to one degree or another, but these skills are distinct from the par
25、ticular qualities that define management. To better understand how leadership and management differ, lets review the five leadership competencies.Self-mastery is the foundation upon which a leaders credibility is built and from which a leaders image will evolve. Self-mastery involves awareness, ackn
26、owledgment, and acceptance. Its about discovering the qualities that make you special and unique. Its about your own talents and abilities-your personal areas of excellence. Effective leaders create opportunities to showcase their natural abilities. They uncover their potential talents by continuall
27、y stretching themselves and pushing themselves to their limits. At the same time, however, the successful leader acknowledges his or her limitations. To achieve true self-mastery you must accept yourself, including your faults, totally and unconditionally.Vision is in many ways the heart and soul of
28、 leadership. While the manager must deal with issues and produce results on a day-to-day basis, a leader must focus on both the present and the future. The managers concern is today; the leader has a vision for tomorrow. But simply having a vision is not enough: you must make others believe in it, t
29、oo. Put your plans for the future before the eyes and ears of the people around you. When other people begin to buy into your vision and make it their own, good things start to happenand happen quickly. Leaders turn their vision into reality by constantly letting others know whats in it for them.“Pe
30、rsonal power“ is the ability to influence and persuade others. It is not to be confused with “position power”. Position power is embedded in hierarchical, organizational structure. Personal power is earned. You do not necessarily need to have direct authority over others to display personal power. I
31、n fact, in the most successful companies, leadership exists at all levels. Develop personal power by being dependable, following through on commitments, and demonstrating concern for the welfare of others. People will recognize your personal power and look to you for direction.Empowerment completes
32、the set of leadership skills. Although it has become a buzz word in the 90s, leaders have been aware of the concept of empowerment throughout the ages. Empowerment is the process by which a leader enables other individuals to successfully complete a certain job or task. It is a technique that allows
33、 you to delegate responsibility for tasks throughout your organization, even at the lowest levels. As a leader, it is in your interest to nurture and develop individuals who will one day take your place, so make empowerment a top priority. Empowerment involves three critical ingredients: skills, con
34、fidence, and authority. Evaluate your followers skills and provide training to improve or enhance their abilities. Instill confidence in others and raise their self-esteem by maintaining face-to-face contact and offering praise for a job well done. Furthermore, bestow authority onto other people, gi
35、ving them the right to exercise their best personal judgment. True leaders are always willing to give credit to others and accept responsibility for failure, while simultaneously supporting, encouraging, and empowering their followers. If you do so, you will develop an unshakable trust bond with oth
36、ers in your organization, establishing your own credibility while ensuring results. No one can deny the importance of good management in a successful organization. But good management alone is no longer enough. Recognizing the difference between management and leadership, and striking the correct ba
37、lance between the two, will provide substantial dividends in the long run. Management will get you through today; leadership will ensure a better tomorrow.After reading the passage, please make the best choice from the options given for each item below.6 The passage is mainly about _.（A）management s
38、kills（B） leadership principles（C） the qualities that define management（D）the distinction between management and leadership 7 What is the heart and soul of leadership according to the passage?（A）Personal Power.（B） Self-mastery.（C） Vision.（D）Empowerment. 8 In paragraph 1“stock-in-trade” means _.（A）qua
39、lity（B） usual tactics（C） credibility（D）responsibility 9 According to the four leadership competencies, which of the following is not the skill of a leader?（A）Dealing with daily issues and producing results.（B） Recognizing the talents of others and giving them the knowledge and the tools they need to
40、 succeed.（C） Nurturing and developing successors.（D）Making macro-plans and ensuring results. 10 From this passage, we learn that _.（A）leadership is more important than management（B） a good manager must have leadership competencies（C） leading and managing involve distinctly different sets of skills（D
41、）people with exceptional leadership qualities are usually undeveloped 10 What do the extraordinarily successful companies have in common? To find out, we looked for correlations. We know that correlations are not always reliable; nevertheless, in the 27 survivors, our group saw four shared personali
42、ty traits that could explain their longevity.Conservatism in financing. The companies did not risk their capital gratuitously. They understood the meaning of money in an old-fashioned way; they knew the usefulness of spare cash in the kitty. Money in hand allowed them to snap up options when their c
43、ompetitors could not. They did not have to convince third-party financiers of the attractiveness of opportunities they wanted to pursue. Money in the kitty allowed them to govern their growth and evolution.Sensitivity to the world around them. Whether they had built their fortunes on knowledge (such
44、 as Duponts technological innovations) or on natural resources (such as the Hudsons Bay Companys access to the furs of Canadian forests), the living companies in our study were able to adapt themselves to changes in the world around them. As wars, depressions, technologies, and politics surged and e
45、bbed, they always seemed to excel at keeping their feelers out, staying attuned to whatever was going on. For information, they sometimes relied on packets carried over vast distances by portage and ship, yet they managed to react in a timely fashion to whatever news they received. They were good at
46、 learning and adapting.Awareness of their identity. No matter how broadly diversified the companies were, their employees all felt like parts of a whole. Lord Cole, chairman of Unilever in the 1960s, for example, saw the company as a fleet of ships. Each ship was independent, but the whole fleet was
47、 greater than the sum of its parts. The feeling of belonging to an organization and identifying with its achievements is often dismissed as soft. But case histories repeatedly show that a sense of community is essential for long-term survival. Managers in the living companies we studied were chosen
48、mostly from within, and all considered themselves to be stewards of a longstanding enterprise. Their top priority was keeping the institution at least as healthy as it had been when they took over.Tolerance of new ideas. The long-lived companies in our study tolerated activities in the margin: exper
49、iments and eccentricities that stretched their understanding. They recognized that new businesses may be entirely unrelated to existing businesses and that the act of starting a business need not be centrally controlled. W.R. Grace, from its very beginning, encouraged autonomous experimentation. The company was founded in 1854 by an Irish immigrant in Peru and traded in guano, a natural fertilizer, before it moved into sugar and tin. Eventually, the company established Pan American Airways. Today it is
