Text 1
The more women and minorities make their way into the ranks of management, the more they seem to want to talk about things formerly judged to be best left unsaid. The newcomers also tend to see office matters with a fresh eye, in the process sometimes coming up with critical analyses of the forces that shape everyone’s experience in the organization.
Consider the novel view of ’Harvey Coleman of Atlanta on the subject of getting ahead. Coleman is black. He spent 11 years with IBM, half of them working in management development, and now serves as a consultant to the likes of AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Merth. Coleman says that based on what he’s seen at big companies, he weighs the different elements that make for long-term career success as follows: performance counts a mere 10%, image, 30%, and exposure, a full 60%. Coleman concludes that excellent performance is so common these days that while doing your work well may win you pay inc
A. a lamp
B. a beam of light
C. image
D. public attention
Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.
The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)
The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century’ s culture machine.
But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also tread with
Directions:
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.
Passage One
America’s economic recovery remains uncomfortably weak. The latest data show industrial production falling while the trade deficit soars to record levels. To round off a dismal week for economic statistics, the Fed (美联储) announced that industrial production fell by 0.2% in December compared with the previous month. That came as a disappointment to economists who had been expecting a small rise. Monthly data are always unreliable, of course; there is always a plausible explanation for unexpectedly bad (or good) news. But nearly all recent economic statistics point to the same conclusion--that America’s recovery remains sluggish and erratic. It could put pressure on the Fed to consider cutting interest rates again when its policymaking committee meets at the end of the month
A. America’s economic recovery is still shaky.
B. Economists are disappointed at the future economy.
C. It is a bad sign for America’s economic recovery.
D. The biggest obstacle to healthier economic performance is political.
我来回答:
