| [理解题]判断对错：根据短文内容判断给出的语句是否正确，正确的选“T”，错误的选“F”。
Who Killed Nokia?
Nokia executives attempted to explain its fall from the top of the smartphone pyramid with three factors: 1) that Nokia was technically inferior to Apple, 2) that the company was complacent and 3) that its leaders didn’t see the disruptive iPhone coming.
It has also been argued that it was none of the above. Nokia lost the smartphone battle because of divergent shared fears among the company’s middle and top managers which led to company-wide inertia that left it powerless to respond to Apple’s game.
Based on the findings of an in-depth investigation and 76 interviews with top and middle managers, engineers and external experts, the researchers discovered a culture of fear due to temperamental leaders and that frightened middle managers were scared of telling the truth.
The fear that froze the company came from two places. First, the company’s top managers had a terrifying reputation. Some members of Nokia’s board and top management were described as "extremely temperamental" and they regularly shouted at people "at the top of their lungs". It was very difficult to tell them things they didn’t want to hear. Second, top managers were afraid of the external environment and not meeting their quarterly targets, which also impacted how they treated middle managers.
Top managers thus made middle managers afraid of disappointing them. Middle managers were told that they were not ambitious enough to meet top managers’ goals.
Fearing the reactions of top managers, middle managers remained silent or provided optimistic, filtered information. Thus, middle managers directly lied to top management.
What was worse, a culture of status inside Nokia made everyone want to hold onto vested power for fear of resources being allocated elsewhere if they delivered bad news or showed
that they were not bold or ambitious enough to undertake challenging assignments.
Beyond verbal pressure, top managers also applied pressure for faster performance in personnel selection. This led middle managers to over promise and under deliver. One middle manager told us that "you can get resources by promising something earlier, or promising a lot. It’s sales work."
While modest fear might be healthy for motivation, abusing it can be like overusing a drug, which risks generating harmful side effects. To reduce this risk, leaders should coordinate with the varied emotions of the staff. Nokia’s top managers should have encouraged safe dialog, internal coordination and feedback to understand the true emotion in the organization. |
| [问答题]作文：根据写作要求，写出一篇作文。
Write about an event based on the following information. You may need the 5Ws and 1H elements.
（图1） |
| [理解题]阅读理解：阅读短文，从A、B、C三个选项中选出一个正确答案。
Communication Failure
The meaning of "communication" goes a lot deeper than people often think. Communication is about conceiving, sending, receiving, and interpreting messages as well as confirming reception of these messages. A failure at any point in this chain can result in ineffective communication.
Ineffective communication can be disastrous. There is a famous story of a British Army Commander who sent the message “Send reinforcements, we’re going to advance. ” back to his Command Center, through a long chain of subordinates. When the message finally reached the Command Center, it had "mutated" to become "Send three and four pence, we’re going to a dance." The reinforcements never arrived.
You can demonstrate this same principle, although on a less dramatic scale, by trying to play Chinese Whispers with more than 20 people. It is highly unlikely the same message you started with will be the one you end with.
In a business, there are three main types of communication failure. Each has its own indicative signs.
The first type is known as allocative failure. This occurs when a firm is not gathering enough intelligence about its market or (most often), the information is not reaching the right points. The firm will not be allocating resources in step with the shifts in demand. If demand is rising but the firm is suffering from allocative communication failure, then stocks will fall and there will be understaffing. If the inverse happens, there will be a surplus of stocks and overstaffing.
The second type is executive failure, where communication to trigger specific events / actions is either late, lacking or in error. The symptoms of this are a general loss of direction in the company or departments, a loss of coordination and an increase in complaints from customers as things happen late or not at all.
The final type is human failure. This occurs when the general culture of a business or the relationships between particular individuals or departments do not foster effective communication. This leads to alienated staff, an increase in staff turnover, an increase in absenteeism and general frustration among staff. Creativity, especially that which takes place across departmental boundaries, is likely to suffer hugely as team synergy slips. |
| [理解题]阅读理解：根据文章内容，判断正误。
Vision and Execution: Two Sides of a Successful Strategy
A strategic plan is not the end goal of the strategic planning process – it is the framework for successfully implementing a strategy. Until a strategic plan is put into effect, it has no real value.
There are several keys to successful implementation. First, people directly involved in executing the strategy must be included in the planning process. Strategic planning is no longer a top-down directive. Without the input and feedback of the people responsible for executing on the strategy, a seemingly solid strategy is likely to fall apart when implementation is attempted.
The next key to successful implementation is clearly communicating the strategy to the whole company. The communication should ensure that everyone in the company understands and accepts the strategy as the best path forward, and not simply the leadership's latest idea. Without clear communication, employees lack a sense of ownership and clarity of purpose. When a strategy is not understood or embraced, it usually results in misunderstanding and uneven commitments to implementation.
Another key to the successful execution of a strategic plan is the clear and straightforward description of the plan and its operations. Even the most brilliant strategy faces failure if it cannot be explained clearly and concisely. |
| [单选题]词汇与结构：
On hearing the news of （ ） the major exam again, the girl burst into tears. |
| [单选题]词汇与结构：
Without human resources, no organization can（ ）the ground, let alone do business and make profits. |
| [单选题]交际用语：
—The trip ought not to take more than an hour.
—______ It is at least two hours. |
| [单选题]选择填空：Self-esteem needs might include the________ from a workplace. |
| [单选题]词汇与结构：
On hearing the news of （ ） the major exam again, the girl burst into tears. |
| [单选题]词汇与语法：The Human Resource Managing Department at Honda is given specific instructions ______ employ the best possible workers. |
| [单选题]选择填空：The key ______successful implementation is clearly communicating the strategy to the whole company. |
| [单选题]词汇与语法：Companies are ______ interested in your soft skills ______ they are in your hard skills. |
| [单选题]选择填空：________ on the hilltop, you could enjoy the scenery of the city bathed in the sun. |
| [单选题]选择填空：We need_______ communication skills: listen carefully, think before you speak and manage conflicts diplomatically. |
| [单选题]选择填空：Team members are ________as unique people with irreplaceable experiences, points of view, and knowledge to contribute. |
| [单选题]词汇与语法：Wendy suggests that we ________ tomorrow. |
| [单选题]选择填空：________ his anger, the employees called him Mr. Thunder, but they loved him. |
| [单选题]交际用语：
—Terribly sorry to interrupt, but may I use your dictionary?
—Yes,___________. |
| [单选题]交际用语：
—It’s about a successful businessman’s management experience, isn’t it?
—____________ |
| [单选题]词汇语法：All the _____ guests are seated in the front row. |
| [单选题]选择填空：________there is smoke, there is fire. |
| [单选题]选择填空：I think a big part of it is ________we know how to have fun on the job. |
| [单选题]词汇语法：In high school, I am equally comfortable______ as a member of a team and independently. |
| [单选题]选择填空：The demands and requirements placed on the CEO of Sony are different from ________ on the manager of your local Wendy’s restaurant. |
| [单选题]词汇与语法：Learning new things has always been a great ______ for me. |
| [单选题]选择填空：An appreciated gift and the gesture of providing it will ________your coworker’s day. |
| [单选题]词汇语法：Please ______ your hand if you have any question at all. |
| [单选题]交际用语：— I think things have been a bit difficult for us the last couple of months.
—________ We’ve been working hard, but still getting behind. |
| [单选题]交际用语：
— Have you already paid? What’s my share of the bill？
— _________. It wasn’t very much. |
| [单选题]选择填空：It is through enthusiasm and quiet intensity_________ we transform creativity and vision into the technologies. |
