|
Passage 2
Sometimes the U.S．government goes out of its way to prove it can be an absolute nuisance．Take the case of Southern Clay，Inc.，which has a factory at Paris，Tennessee，putting out a clay product for cat boxes best known as“Kitty Litter”．It’s a simple enough process，but the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration insists that since clay comes from the ground — an excavation half a mile from the Kitty Litter plant — the company actually is engaged in mining and milling．Therefore，says MSHA，Southern Clay is subject to all the rules that govern，say，coal miners working in shafts several hundred feet down．
The company has been told to devise an escape system and fire fighting procedure in case there is a fire in its“mine”．Southern Clay estimates it will lose 6,000 man hours in production time giving its 250 factory workers special training in how to escape from a mine disaster．
One thing that has always impressed us about cats，in addition to their tidiness，is that they seem to watch the human world with a sense of wise and detached superiority，as though they wondered what the hustle and bustle is all about．If they grin from time to time，as some people insist，it’s no wonder．
6．The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to _____．
A．explain how Kitty Litter is produced
B．describe the Mine Safety and Health Administration
C．show how tidy cats are
D．show that the government can sometimes be a nuisance
7．The clay excavation is _____．
A．half a mile underground
B．several miles from Paris，Tennessee
C．worked by miners in shafts several hundred feet down
D．half a mile from the Kitty Litter plant
8．What is the meaning of“man hour”？_____
A．The time needed in finishing the work by one man．
B．The work done by one man in one hour．
C．The man needed in finishing the work in one hour．
D．The work done by one man．
9．Judging from the passage，has the company devised an escape system and fire fighting procedure？_____
A．Yes，the company has done so because it is an order．
B．Of course，the company has done so although the company is reluctant．
C．No，the company has not done so．
D．We could not judge from the passage．
10．What does the author mean by the passage’s last sentence？_____
A．Cats sometimes seem to be amused by human antics．
B．People sometimes appear to be laughing at the antics of cats．
C．Some people think cats are laughing at the Kitty Litter plant．
D．Some people think cats are laughing at the futility of fire fighting procedures．
Passage 3
In 1985 when a Japan Air Lines（JAL）jet crashed，its president，Yasumoto Takagi，called each victim’s family to apologize，and then promptly resigned．And in 1987，when a subsidiary of Toshiba sold sensitive military technology to the former Soviet Union，the chairman of Toshiba gave up his post．
These executive actions，which Toshiba calls“the highest form of apology，”may seem bizarre to US managers．No one at Boeing resigned after the JAL crash，which may have been caused by a faulty Boeing repair．
The difference between the two business cultures centers around different definitions of delegation．While US executives give both responsibility and authority to their employees，Japanese executives delegate only authority — the responsibility is still theirs．Although the subsidiary that sold the sensitive technology to the Soviets had its own management，the Toshiba top executives said they“must take personal responsibility for not creating an atmosphere throughout the Toshiba group that would make such activity unthinkable，even in an independently run subsidiary．”
Such acceptance of community responsibility is not unique to businesses in Japan．School principals in Japan have resigned when their students committed major crimes after school hours．Even if they do not quit，Japanese executives will often accept primary responsibility in other ways，such as taking the first pay cut when a company gets into financial trouble．Such personal sacrifices，even if they are largely symbolic，help to create the sense of community and employee loyalty that is crucial to the Japanese way of doing business．
Harvard Business School professor George Lodge calls the ritual acceptance of blame“almost a feudal（封建的）way of purging（清除）the community of dishonor，”and to some in the United States，such resignations look cowardly．However，in an era in which both business and governmental leaders seem particularly good at evading responsibility，many US managers would probably welcome an infusion（灌输）of the Japanese sense of responsibility. If，for instance，US automobile company executives offered to reduce their own salaries before they asked their workers to take pay cuts，negotiations would probably take on a very different character．
11．Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987？_____
A．In Japan，the leakage of a slate secret to Russians is a grave came．
B．He had been under attack for shifting responsibility to his subordinates．
C．In Japan，the chief executive of a corporation is held responsible for the mistake made by its subsidiaries．
D．He had been accused of being cowardly towards crises that were taking place in his corporation．
12．According to the passage if you want to be a good manager in Japan，you have to _____．
A．apologize promptly for your subordinates’ mistakes
B．be skillful in accepting blames from customers
C．make symbolic sacrifices whenever necessary
D．create a strong sense of company loyalty
13．What’s Professor George Lodge’s attitude towards the resignations of Japanese corporate leaders？_____
A．Sympathetic．
B．Biased．
C．Critical．
D．Approving．
14．Which of the following statements is TRUE？_____
A．Boeing had nothing to do with the JAL air crash in 1985．
B．American executives consider authority and responsibility inseparable．
C．School principals bear legal responsibility for students’ crimes．
D．Persuading employees to take pay cuts doesn’t help solve corporate crises．
15．The passage is mainly about _____．
A．resignation as an effective way of dealing with business crises
B．the importance of delegating responsibility to employees
C．ways of evading responsibility in times of crises
D．the difference between two business cultures | 
发表于 2008-9-2 10:12:36
