02专八阅读.docx

1、02专八阅读PART READING COMPREHENSION 40 minSECTION A READING COMPREHENSION 30minIn this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of fifteen multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your COLOURED ANSWER SHEET.TEXT ADo you ever feel as though you spend

2、all your time in meetings?Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Managerial Work, found that in large organizations managers spent 22 per cent of their time at their desk, 6 per cent on the telephone, 3 per cent on other activities, but a whopping 69 per cent in meetings. There is a widely-held

3、but mistaken belief that meetings are for solving problems and making decisions. For a start, the number of people attending a meeting tends to be inversely proportional to their collective ability to reach conclusions and make decisions. And these are the least important elements. Instead hours are

4、 devoted to side issues, playing elaborate games with one another. It seems, therefore, that meetings serve some purpose other than just making decisions. All meetings have one thing in common: role-playing. The most formal role is that of chairman. He sets the agenda, and a good chairman will keep

5、the meeting running on time and to the point. Sadly, the other, informal, role-players are often able to gain the upper hand. Chief is the constant talker, who just loves to hear his or her own voice. Then there are the can t do types who want to maintain the status quo. Since they have often been i

6、n the organization for a long time, they frequently quote historical experience as an excuse to block change: It won t work, we tried that last year and it was a disaster. A more subtle version of the cant do type, the yes, but , has emerged recently. They have learnt about the need to sound positiv

7、e, but they still can t bear to have things change. Another whole sub-set of characters are people who love meetings and want them to continue until 530 pm or beyond. Irrelevant issues are their speciality. They need to call or attend meetings, either to avoid work, or to justify their lack of perfo

8、rmance, or simply because they do not have enough to do. Then there are the counter-dependents, those who usually disagree with everything that is said, particularly if it comes from the chairman or through consensus from the group. These people need to fight authority in whatever form. Meetings can

9、 also provide attenders with a sense of identification of their status and power. In this case, managers arrange meetings as a means of communicating to others the boundaries of their exclusive club: who is in, and who is not. Because so many meetings end in confusion and without a decision, another

10、 game is played at the end of meetings, called reaching a false consensus. Since it is important for the chairman to appear successful in problem solving and making a decision, the group reaches a false consensus. Everyone is happy, having spent their time productively. The reality is that the decis

11、ion is so ambiguous that it is never acted upon, or, if it is, there is continuing conflict, for which another meeting is necessary. In the end, meetings provide the opportunity for social intercourse, to engage in battle in front of our bosses, to avoid unpleasant or unsatisfying work to highlight

12、our social status and identity. They are, in fact, a necessary though not necessarily productive psychological sideshow. Perhaps it is our civilized way to moderating, if not preventing, change.16. On role-playing, the passage seems to indicate that chairman _.Atalks as much as participantsBis usual

13、ly a constant talkerCprefers to take the role of an observerDis frequently outshone by participants17. Which of the following is NOT a distinct characteristic of the three types of participants?ASubmissiveness.BStubbornness.CDisobedience.DLack of focus.18. The passage suggests that a false consensus

14、 was reached at the end of a meeting in order to _.Amake room for another meetingBbring an illusory sense of achievementChighlight the importance of a meetingDgo ahead with the agreed programmeTEXT BCooperative competition. Competitive cooperation. Confused? Airline alliances have travellers scratch

15、ing their heads over what s going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travellers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big businesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whateve

16、r your opinion, theres no escaping airline alliances: the marketing hype is unrelenting, with each of the two mega-groupings, Oneworld and Star Alliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travellers. And, even if you turn away from their ads, chances are they will figure in any of your tra

17、vel plans. By the end of the year, Oneworld and Star Alliance will between them control more than 40% of the traffic in the sky. Some pundits predict that figure will be more like 75% in 10 years.But why, after years of often ferocious competition, have airlines decided to band together? Lets just s

18、ay the timing is mutually convenient. North American airlines, having exhausted all means of earning customer loyalty at home, have been looking for ways to reach out to foreign flyers. Asian carriers are still hurting from the region-wide economic downturn that began two years ago-just when some of

19、 the airlines were taking delivery of new aircraft. Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by pooling manpower resources on the ground （rather than each airline maintaining its own ground crew）and code-sharing-the practice of two partners selling tickets and operating only o

20、ne aircraft.So alliances are terrific for airlines-but are they good for the passenger? Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP（frequent flyer programme）benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then theres the promise of seamless travel: the abi

21、lity to, say, travel from Singapore to Rome to New York to Rio de Janeiro, all on one ticket, without having to wait hours for connections or worry about your bags. Sounds utopian? Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacifics director of sales and marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. Its fai

22、r to say that these links are only in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. Were working on this. Henry Ma, spokesperson for Star Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for consumers: Global travellers have an easier time making conn

23、ections and planning their itineraries. Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistent service standards.Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and runnin

24、g joint marketing programmes. Jeff Blyskal, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, says the promotional ballyhoo over alliances is much ado about nothing. I dont see much of a gain for consumers: alliances are just a marketing gimmick. And as far as seamless travel goes, Ill believe it when

25、I see it. Most airlines cant even get their own connections under control, let alone coordinate with another airline.Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the s

26、ame route at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets.The truth about alliances and their merits probably lies somewhere between the travel utopia presented by the players and t

27、he evil empires portrayed by their critics. And how much they affect you depends on what kind of traveller you are.Those whove already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airline stand to benefit the most when it joins an alliance: then they enjoy the FFP perks and advantages on any and all o

28、f the member carriers. For example, if you re a Marco Polo Club gold member of Cathay Pacific s Asia Miles FFP, you will automatically be treated as a valuable customer by all members of Oneworld, of which Cathay Pacific is a member-even if youve never flown with them before.For those who haven t ma

29、de the top grade in any FFP, alliances might be a way of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. For example, I belong to United Airline s Mileage Plus and generally fly less than 25, 000 miles a year. But I earn miles with every flight I take on Star Alliance member-All Nippon Airways and

30、Thai Airways.If you fly less than I do, you might be smarter to stay out of the FFP game altogether. Hunt for bargains when booking flights and you might be able to save enough to take that extra trip anyway. The only real benefit infrequent flyers can draw from an alliance is an inexpensive round-t

31、he-world fare.The bottom line: for all the marketing hype, alliances arent all things to all people-but everybody can get some benefit out of them.19. Which is the best word to describe air travellers reaction to airline alliances?ADelight.BIndifference.CObjection.DPuzzlement.20. According to the pa

32、ssage, setting up airline alliances will chiefly benefit _.ANorth American airlines and their domestic travellersBNorth American airlines and their foreign counterpartsCAsian airlines and their foreign travellersDAsian airlines and their domestic travellers21. Which of the following is NOT a perceived advantage of alliances?ABaggage allowance.BPassenger comfort.CConvenience.DQuality.22. One disadvantage of alliances foreseen by the critics is that air travel may be more expensive as a