考研英语一真题阅读部分答案及解析(2011年)

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　　When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the usual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving “to pursue my goal of running a company。” Broadcasting his ambition was “very much my decision,” McGee says. Within two weeks, he was talking for the first time with the board of Hartford Financial Services Group, which named him CEO and chairman on September 29.

　　McGee says leaving without a position lined up gave him time to reflect on what kind of company he wanted to run. It also sent a clear message to the outside world about his aspirations. And McGee isn’t alone. In recent weeks the No.2 executives at Avon and American Express quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post. As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don’t get the nod also may wish to move on. A turbulent business environment also has senior managers cautious of letting vague pronouncements cloud their reputations。

　　As the first signs of recovery begin to take hold, deputy chiefs may be more willing to make the jump without a net. In the third quarter, CEO turnover was down 23% from a year ago as nervous boards stuck with the leaders they had, according to Liberum Research. As the economy picks up, opportunities will abound for aspiring leaders。

　　The decision to quit a senior position to look for a better one is unconventional. For years executives and headhunters have adhered to the rule that the most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be poached. Says Korn Ferry， senior partner Dennis Carey :“I can’t think of a single search I’ve done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first。”

　　Those who jumped without a job haven’t always landed in top positions quickly. Ellen Marram quit as chief of Tropicana when the business became part of PepsiCo (PEP) a decade ago, saying she wanted to be a CEO. It was a year before she became head of a tiny Internet-based commodities exchange. Robert Willumstad left Citigroup in 2005 with ambitions to be a CEO. He finally took that post at a major financial institution three years later。

　　Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one. “The traditional rule was it’s safer to stay where you are, but that’s been fundamentally inverted,” says one headhunter. “The people who’ve been hurt the worst are those who’ve stayed too long。”

　　译文：

　　当八月份，Liam McGee以总裁的身份从美国银行离职的时候，他的解释出人意料的直白。他没有忸怩的用平常的模糊的理由来遮掩他的离开，他很坦诚的讲他离开就是为了去追求他经营一家公司的目标。McGee说宣扬自己的目标就是自己的决定。两周后，他第一次和Hartford Financial Services Group的董事会第一次会谈，这家公司在9月29日提名他为董事会主席和CEO。

　　他说在离开的时候并没有找好后面的职位(下家)，使他有时间去反思他到底想去经营一家什么样的公司。这同时也就他的激情和决心，给了外界一个清晰的信号。这样做的并不只是McGee一个人。最近几周，Avon and American Express的一些高级经理离职并解释说想需找一个CEO的职位。当董事会迫于股东的压力对一系列的计划进行审查的时候，那些计划被否定掉的经理们也会想离开。激烈的商业环境同样使得高级经理很小心，模糊的表态可能会破坏他们的声誉。

　　当经济复苏的标志开始确定的时候，二把手们可能更愿意在没有网(新的工作)情况下换工作。第三季度，根据Liberum的调查，CEO的更迭和一年前相比减少了23%，这是由于紧张的董事会紧盯着他们的CEO们。随着经济的复苏和好转，对有理想的头儿们，机会是很多的。

　　离开高管的职位去寻找一个更好的职位，并不是传统的做法。多年以来，经理们和猎头们都认同这样一个原则：最有吸引力的CEO的竞争是那些需要去挖来的人。Korn Ferry， senior partner Dennis Carey说道：我所做的每一次的招聘中，董事会都要求我从那些在任的CEO中寻找人选。

　　那些没有找到工作就离开的人并不是很快就能找到顶级的职位。10年前，Tropicana被PepsiCo (PEP)收购了，她以经理的身份离职了，她说他想当CEO。但是花了一年的时间她才成为一家小型互联网交换公司的头。2005年Robert Willumstad带着想成为CEO的梦想离开了Citigroup。可是三年后他才成为了一家主要的金融机构的CEO。

　　很多招聘的人都说对于高管而言，过去认为的丢脸的感觉(没有工作)已经慢慢消失了。金融危机已经使得跳槽，离开一个不好的工作变得更加可以接受了。一个猎头就说到： “传统的规则是待在你原来的地方会更加安全，但是现在已经彻底改变了. 那些受伤最厉害的就是那里在一个地方待太久的人。”

　　文章分析：

　　这篇文章来自：Business Week 商业周刊 2009年11月5日，Top Managers Are Quitting, Without a New Job by Jena McGregor：顶级经理人在离职，新工作还没着落。

　　文章从Liam McGee的跳槽为引子开始，引出第二段中跳槽的人很多。第三段进一步的讲金融危机会引起更多的人跳槽。四段和五段回顾过去。六段回到现在。借别人的嘴强化观点：就是该跳，并且要“裸跳”，在没有找到下家就跳。“裸跳”不丢人。

　　26. When McGee announced his departure, his manner can best be described as being

　　[A]arrogant. [B]frank。

　　[C]self-centered. [D]impulsive。

　　解析：根据题干中的McGee announced his departure定位到这两句：When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the usual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving “to pursue my goal of running a company。” straight up是第一个线索，Rather than vague excuses答案直接可以锁定：B. frank。

　　27. According to Paragraph 2, senior executives’ quitting may be spurred by

　　[A]their expectation of better financial status。

　　[B]their need to reflect on their private life。

　　[C]their strained relations with the boards。

　　[D]their pursuit of new career goals。

　　解析：根据题干中的关键词senior executives’ quitting，寻找原因：文章中很明确的with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post。答案和原文使用了上下义词的替换;new career goals= CEO post;也是上下义词的替换。有干扰性最大的就是C了，后文确实提到了和board 之间的关系，但是是讲在计划不被批准的时候，并不是和董事会关系紧张。并且董事会的审查是在股东的压力下才执行的。

　　28. The word “poached” (Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably means

　　[A]approved of. [B]attended to。

　　[C]hunted for [D]guarded against。

　　解析：理解这句话：I can’t think of a single search I’ve done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first。我所做的每一次的招聘中，董事会都要求我从那些在任的CEO中寻找人选。这说明那些人都是要去挖的，那么对应的单词就是hunt for 了。

　　29. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that

　　[A]top performers used to cling to their posts。

　　[B]loyalty of top performers is getting out-dated。

　　[C]top performers care more about reputations。

　　[D]it’s safer to stick to the traditional rules。

　　解析：段落推理题。通过文章的这句话The traditional rule was it’s safer to stay where you are, but that’s been fundamentally inverted。我们可以直接得出答案A。

　　30. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

　　[A]CEOs: Where to Go? [B]CEOs: All the Way Up?

　　[C]Top Managers Jump without a Net [D]The Only Way Out for Top Performers

　　解析：强烈的干扰项是：[A]CEOs: Where to Go? [B]CEOs: All the Way Up?原因在于CEO在文中出现了很多次，同学们把CEO成了主体词。这也是反反命题的一个体现。文章的主体词其实是：top manager, CEO只是他们想去成为，而不是现在就是。不是主题词。这给了我们一个启示，要从文章的大意找结构。不要被其他的所谓技巧所迷惑。去掉A和B以后，c和d 相比答案就比较容易了。只是要理解net 就是替换了new job。而原文的标题就是这样的top Managers Are Quitting, Without a New Job。