1 . Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, believed that men are divided into three classes: gold, silver and bronze. Vifredo Pateto, an Italian economist, argued that “the vital few” account for most progress. In the private sector, best companies struggle relentlessly to find and keep the vital few. They offer them fat pay packets, extra training, powerful mentors and more challenging assignments.
As the competition in business is getting increasingly fierce, companies are trying harder to nurture raw talent, or to poach it from their vitals. Private-equity firms rely heavily on a few stars. High-tech firms, for all their egalitarianism (平均主义), are ruthless about recruiting the brightest. Firms in emerging markets are desperate to find young high-flyers to cope with rapid growth and fast-changing environment.
Bill Conaty and Ram Charan’s recent book The Talent Masters provides a nice mix of portraits of well-known talent factories along with sketches of more recent converts to the cause. “Talent masters” are proud of their elitism. GE divides its employees into three groups based on their promise. Hindustan Unilever compiles a list of people who show innate leadership qualities. “Talent masters” all seem to agree on the importance of two things: measurement and differentiation. The best companies routinely subject employees to various “reviews” and “assessments.” But when it comes to high-flyers they make more effort to build up a three-dimensional picture of their personalities and to provide lots of feedback.
A powerful motivator is to single out high-flyers for special training. GE spends $1 billion a year on it. Novartis sends high-flyers to regular off-site training sessions. Many companies also embrace on-job training, speaking of “stretch” assignments or “baptisms by fire.” The most coveted are foreign postings: these can help young managers understand what it is like to run an entire company with a wide range of problems.
Successful companies make sure that senior managers are involved with “talent development.” Bosses of GE and P&G spent 40% of their time on personnel. Intel obliged senior managers to spend at least a week in a year teaching high-flyers. Involving the company’s top brass (高级职员) in the process prevents lower-level managers from monopolizing high-flyers and crates dialogues between established and future leaders. Successful companies also integrate talent development with their broader strategy to ensure that companies are more than the sum of their parts. P&G likes its managers to be both innovative and worldly. Goodyear replaced 23 of its 24 senior managers in two years as it shifted its target-consumers from carmakers to motorists.
Meanwhile, in their rush to classify people, companies can miss potential stars. Those who are singled out for special treatment can become too full of themselves. But the first problem can be fixed by flexibility; people who are average in one job can become stars in another. And people who become too smug can be discarded.
1. The author mentions the needs for talent of different firms in the second paragraph to show that _________.| A．the need for talent is universal |
| B．there is a cut-throat competition among them |
| C．the economy is more prosperous than before |
| D．the need for talent is confined to high-tech firms |
| A．How the well-known talent factories classify their staff. |
| B．How the talent factories and recent converts to the cause are like. |
| C．How to identify and recruit talent. |
| D．How to keep and foster elite employees. |
| A．checking and evaluating them frequently |
| B．compelling the senior managers to instruct the high-flyers |
| C．moving them into the positions that display their strengths |
| D．providing them with training or special mentoring classes |
| A．making sure that its senior managers spend enough time on personnel |
| B．changing the company’s strategy according to the status quo of talent |
| C．replacing most of the senior managers regularly to avoid monopoly |
| D．grooming future leaders from high-flyers rather than from lower-level managers |
| A．The importance of equality. |
| B．The necessity of flexibility. |
| C．The drawbacks of elitism. |
| D．The harm of self-conceit. |
Reviews of TV science documentary series
Paul Hansen looks at the latest science programmes.
| A Science for All Fortunately for me and non-scientists everywhere, the makers of Science for All are there to plug the gaps in our knowledge. The series is rather like a knowledgeable parent who doesn’t mind being pestered by wide-eyed and curious children: It takes the time to explain all those fascinating mysteries of nature in an entertaining and understandable way. The last series opened my eyes to all manner of interesting facts and demystified some of the problems faced by modern physics. And the new series show no lack of inspiration for subjects to tackle: everything from the existence of life on other planets to the odd properties of human memory are rightly considered suitable subjects. So, while it’s a shame that factual programs are getting increasingly scarce these days, it’s a comfort that Science for All shows no signs of dipping in quality or disappearing from public view. | B Out in Space Although I wasn’t expecting much from this series, I’m pleased that the producers of Out in Space persisted with their unpromising subject. In the course of the first program we learn about hurricanes, deserts, and even how the Moon was made; a bewildering mix of phenomena that, we were assured, were all caused by events beyond our planets’ atmosphere. That’s not to say the program explored them in any great detail, preferring to skip breathlessly from one to the next. The essential logic of the series seemed to be that if you take any natural phenomenon and ask “why?” enough times, the answer will eventually be that it’s something to do with space. The two presenters attempted to get it all to fit together, by taking part in exciting activities. Sadly, these only occasionally succeeded. |
| C Stars and Planets The second series of Stars and Planets is an attempt to take advantage of the success of the first, which unexpected gained a substantial general audience. Like its predecessor, this is big on amazing photography and fabulous graphics, most of which are much less successful at communicating the immensity of the ideas involved than one human being talking to you directly. This time the scope is given wider, astronomically speaking. What we are being introduced to here are ambitious ideas about time and space, and the presenter succeeds rather better than you might expect. It helps that he doesn’t go too deep, as once you start thinking about it this is tricky stuff to get your head around. The point of such programs is less to explain every detail than to arouse a generalized sense of amazement that might lead to further thinking, and Stars and Planets is certainly good at that. | D Robot Technology This ground-breaking science documentary series follows a group of experts as they attempt to build a complete artificial human from robotic body parts. The project sees scientists use the latest technology from the world’s most renowned research centers and manufacturers. It is the realization of a long-held dream to create a human from manufactured parts, using everything from bionic arms and mechanical hearts, eye implants and microchip brains. The series explores to what extent modern technology is capable of replacing body parts—or even improving their abilities. The presenter, very appropriately, has an artificial hand himself. This ambitious series gives us a guided tour of the wonders of modern technology. Though it can be a slightly upsetting journey at times, it engages the audience in a revolution that is changing the face of medicine. |
In which review does it say that:
1. an effort was made to connect a number of unrelated issues?
2. the topics covered are well chosen?
3. viewers are shown how science can occasionally do better than nature?
4. the series deals with something people have hoped to achieve for a while?
5. the series unfortunately didn’t spend a lot of time explaining the topics covered?
6. viewers are clearly informed?
7. it’s good that viewers are not required to consider all aspects of the subject carefully?
8. the series was worth making despite the topic not appearing very interesting at first?
9. viewers may not always find the series comfortable to watch?
10. the series achieves its aims by astonishing its viewers?
3 . Dogs are often said to look like their owners, but the breed someone chooses could also reveal key aspects of their personality, psychologists claim.
They found that people
Corgi owners, such as the Queen, tend to be extroverted,
This could be because, like in a romantic relationship, we tend to
It could also
Dr. Lance Workman and Jo Fearon surveyed 1,000 dog owners via an online questionnaire on behalf of the Kennel Club.
The questions were designed to test the so-called “Big Five” traits that
Dr. Workman said there was a definite link between a dog’s
But it also has to suit your lifestyle, he added. If you’re going to get a(n)
Someone’s choice of dog could also reveal
The Queen’s
He said, “It takes a lot to get up and stand up in front of the number of people she does as often as she does, and give a good talk, and at the same time she has to be controlled as the head of state.
| A．are aware of | B．are drawn towards | C．are compared to | D．are disrespectful to |
| A．if | B．while | C．as if | D．because |
| A．confess | B．propose | C．reflect | D．announce |
| A．match | B．contrast | C．confuse | D．provide |
| A．change | B．result in | C．be down to | D．interact with |
| A．working | B．planning | C．indoors | D．outdoors |
| A．combine | B．govern | C．outweigh | D．examine |
| A．size | B．breed | C．temperament | D．origin |
| A．subconsciously | B．knowingly | C．indifferently | D．distinctively |
| A．figure out | B．team up | C．break down | D．fit in |
| A．in common | B．to offer | C．at hand | D．on hold |
| A．fashionable | B．luxurious | C．energetic | D．glamorous |
| A．hidden | B．positive | C．negative | D．evident |
| A．tolerance | B．capacity | C．talent | D．fondness |
| A．Since | B．Whereas | C．For | D．As long as |
