02专八阅读.docx

02专八阅读.docx

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02专八阅读

PARTⅢREADINGCOMPREHENSION［40min］

SECTIONAREADINGCOMPREHENSION［30min］

Inthissectiontherearefourreadingpassagesfollowedbyatotaloffifteenmultiple-choicequestions.ReadthepassagesandthenmarkyouranswersonyourCOLOUREDANSWERSHEET.

TEXTA

Doyoueverfeelasthoughyouspendallyourtimeinmeetings?

HenryMintzberg,inhisbookTheNatureofManagerialWork,foundthatinlargeorganizationsmanagersspent22percentoftheirtimeattheirdesk,6percentonthetelephone,3percentonotheractivities,butawhopping69percentinmeetings.Thereisawidely-heldbutmistakenbeliefthatmeetingsarefor"solvingproblems"and"makingdecisions".Forastart,thenumberofpeopleattendingameetingtendstobeinverselyproportionaltotheircollectiveabilitytoreachconclusionsandmakedecisions.Andthesearetheleastimportantelements.Insteadhoursaredevotedtosideissues,playingelaborategameswithoneanother.Itseems,therefore,thatmeetingsservesomepurposeotherthanjustmakingdecisions.Allmeetingshaveonethingincommon:

role-playing.Themostformalroleisthatofchairman.Hesetstheagenda,andagoodchairmanwillkeepthemeetingrunningontimeandtothepoint.Sadly,theother,informal,role-playersareoftenabletogaintheupperhand.Chiefisthe"constanttalker",whojustlovestohearhisorherownvoice.Thentherearethe"cantdo"typeswhowanttomaintainthestatusquo.Sincetheyhaveoftenbeenintheorganizationforalongtime,theyfrequentlyquotehistoricalexperienceasanexcusetoblockchange:

"Itwontwork,wetriedthatlastyearanditwasadisaster."Amoresubtleversionofthe"can'tdo"type,the"yes,but……",hasemergedrecently.Theyhavelearntabouttheneedtosoundpositive,buttheystillcantbeartohavethingschange.Anotherwholesub-setofcharactersarepeoplewholovemeetingsandwantthemtocontinueuntil5∶30pmorbeyond.Irrelevantissuesaretheirspeciality.Theyneedtocallorattendmeetings,eithertoavoidwork,ortojustifytheirlackofperformance,orsimplybecausetheydonothaveenoughtodo.Thentherearethe"counter-dependents",thosewhousuallydisagreewitheverythingthatissaid,particularlyifitcomesfromthechairmanorthroughconsensusfromthegroup.Thesepeopleneedtofightauthorityinwhateverform.Meetingscanalsoprovideattenderswithasenseofidentificationoftheirstatusandpower.Inthiscase,managersarrangemeetingsasameansofcommunicatingtootherstheboundariesoftheirexclusiveclub:

whois"in",andwhoisnot.Becausesomanymeetingsendinconfusionandwithoutadecision,anothergameisplayedattheendofmeetings,calledreachingafalseconsensus.Sinceitisimportantforthechairmantoappearsuccessfulinproblemsolvingandmakingadecision,thegroupreachesafalseconsensus.Everyoneishappy,havingspenttheirtimeproductively.Therealityisthatthedecisionissoambiguousthatitisneveractedupon,or,ifitis,thereiscontinuingconflict,forwhichanothermeetingisnecessary.Intheend,meetingsprovidetheopportunityforsocialintercourse,toengageinbattleinfrontofourbosses,toavoidunpleasantorunsatisfyingworktohighlightoursocialstatusandidentity.Theyare,infact,anecessarythoughnotnecessarilyproductivepsychologicalsideshow.Perhapsitisourcivilizedwaytomoderating,ifnotpreventing,change.

16.Onrole-playing,thepassageseemstoindicatethatchairman______.

〔A〕talksasmuchasparticipants

〔B〕isusuallya"constanttalker"

〔C〕preferstotaketheroleofanobserver

〔D〕isfrequentlyoutshonebyparticipants

17.WhichofthefollowingisNOTadistinctcharacteristicofthethreetypesofparticipants?

〔A〕Submissiveness.

〔B〕Stubbornness.

〔C〕Disobedience.

〔D〕Lackoffocus.

18.Thepassagesuggeststhatafalseconsensuswasreachedattheendofameetinginorderto______.

〔A〕makeroomforanothermeeting

〔B〕bringanillusorysenseofachievement

〔C〕highlighttheimportanceofameeting

〔D〕goaheadwiththeagreedprogramme

TEXTB

Cooperativecompetition.Competitivecooperation.Confused?

Airlineallianceshavetravellersscratchingtheirheadsoverwhatsgoingonintheskies.Somefolksviewalliancesasablessingtotravellers,offeringseamlesstravel,reducedfaresandenhancedfrequent-flyerbenefits.Othersseeaconspiracyofbigbusinesses,causingdecreasedcompetition,increasedfaresandfewerchoices.Whateveryouropinion,there'snoescapingairlinealliances:

themarketinghypeisunrelenting,witheachofthetwomega-groupings,OneworldandStarAlliance,promotingitselfasthebestchoiceforalltravellers.And,evenifyouturnawayfromtheirads,chancesaretheywillfigureinanyofyourtravelplans.Bytheendoftheyear,OneworldandStarAlliancewillbetweenthemcontrolmorethan40%ofthetrafficinthesky.Somepunditspredictthatfigurewillbemorelike75%in10years.

Butwhy,afteryearsofoftenferociouscompetition,haveairlinesdecidedtobandtogether?

Let'sjustsaythetimingismutuallyconvenient.NorthAmericanairlines,havingexhaustedallmeansofearningcustomerloyaltyathome,havebeenlookingforwaystoreachouttoforeignflyers.Asiancarriersarestillhurtingfromtheregion-wideeconomicdownturnthatbegantwoyearsago-justwhensomeoftheairlinesweretakingdeliveryofnewaircraft.Alliancesalsoallowcarrierstocutcostsandincreaseprofitsbypoolingmanpowerresourcesontheground（ratherthaneachairlinemaintainingitsowngroundcrew）andcode-sharing-thepracticeoftwopartnerssellingticketsandoperatingonlyoneaircraft.

Soalliancesareterrificforairlines-butaretheygoodforthepassenger?

Absolutely,saytheairlines:

thinkofthelounges,thejointFFP（frequentflyerprogramme）benefits,theround-the-worldfares,andtheglobalservicenetworks.Thenthere'sthepromiseof"seamless"travel:

theabilityto,say,travelfromSingaporetoRometoNewYorktoRiodeJaneiro,allononeticket,withouthavingtowaithoursforconnectionsorworryaboutyourbags.Soundsutopian?

PeterBuecking,CathayPacific'sdirectorofsalesandmarketing,thinksthatseamlesstravelisstillevolving."It'sfairtosaythattheselinksareonlyintheirinfancy.Thekeytoseamlessnessrestsininfrastructureandinformationsharing.We'reworkingonthis."HenryMa,spokespersonforStarAllianceinHongKong,listssomeoftheotherbenefitsforconsumers:

"Globaltravellershaveaneasiertimemakingconnectionsandplanningtheiritineraries."Maclaimsalliancesalsoassurepassengersconsistentservicestandards.

Criticsofalliancessaythemuch-toutedbenefitstotheconsumeraremostlypieinthesky,thatalliancesareallaboutreducingcostsfortheairlines,rationalizingservicesandrunningjointmarketingprogrammes.JeffBlyskal,associateeditorofConsumerReportsmagazine,saysthepromotionalballyhoooveralliancesismuchadoaboutnothing."Idon'tseemuchofagainforconsumers:

alliancesarejustamarketinggimmick.Andasfarasseamlesstravelgoes,I'llbelieveitwhenIseeit.Mostairlinescan'tevengettheirownconnectionsundercontrol,letalonecoordinatewithanotherairline."

Blyskalbelievesallianceswillultimatelyresultindecreasedflightchoicesandincreasedcostsforconsumers.Insteadoftwoairlinescompetingandeachoperatingaflightonthesamerouteat70%capacity,thealliedpairwillsharetherouteandrunonefullflight.Sincefewerseatswillbeavailable,passengerswillbeobligedtopaymorefortickets.

Thetruthaboutalliancesandtheirmeritsprobablyliessomewherebetweenthetravelutopiapresentedbytheplayersandtheevilempiresportrayedbytheircritics.Andhowmuchtheyaffectyoudependsonwhatkindoftravelleryouare.

Thosewho'vealreadymadetheelitegradeintheFFPofamajorairlinestandtobenefitthemostwhenitjoinsanalliance:

thentheyenjoytheFFPperksandadvantagesonanyandallofthemembercarriers.Forexample,ifyoureaMarcoPoloClub"gold"memberofCathayPacificsAsiaMilesFFP,youwillautomaticallybetreatedasavaluablecustomerbyallmembersofOneworld,ofwhichCathayPacificisamember-evenifyou'veneverflownwiththembefore.

ForthosewhohaventmadethetopgradeinanyFFP,alliancesmightbeawayofsimplifyingtheearningoffrequentflyermiles.Forexample,IbelongtoUnitedAirlinesMileagePlusandgenerallyflylessthan25,000milesayear.ButIearnmileswitheveryflightItakeonStarAlliancemember-AllNipponAirwaysandThaiAirways.

IfyouflylessthanIdo,youmightbesmartertostayoutoftheFFPgamealtogether.Huntforbargainswhenbookingflightsandyoumightbeabletosaveenoughtotakethatextratripanyway.Theonlyrealbenefitinfrequentflyerscandrawfromanallianceisaninexpensiveround-the-worldfare.

Thebottomline:

forallthemarketinghype,alliancesaren'tallthingstoallpeople-buteverybodycangetsomebenefitoutofthem.

19.Whichisthebestwordtodescribeairtravellersreactiontoairlinealliances?

〔A〕Delight.

〔B〕Indifference.

〔C〕Objection.

〔D〕Puzzlement.

20.Accordingtothepassage,settingupairlineallianceswillchieflybenefit______.

〔A〕NorthAmericanairlinesandtheirdomestictravellers

〔B〕NorthAmericanairlinesandtheirforeigncounterparts

〔C〕Asianairlinesandtheirforeigntravellers

〔D〕Asianairlinesandtheirdomestictravellers

21.WhichofthefollowingisNOTaperceivedadvantageofalliances?

〔A〕Baggageallowance.

〔B〕Passengercomfort.

〔C〕Convenience.

〔D〕Quality.

22.Onedisadvantageofalliancesforeseenbythecriticsisthatairtravelmaybemoreexpensiveasa