4 . 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

2. What does the new book The Talent Masters chiefly depict?

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.

3. The best companies usually cultivate their high-flyers by __________.

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

4. The successful companies implement the “talent development” strategy by ________.

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

5. What does the author mainly talk about in the last paragraph?

A．The importance of equality.

B．The necessity of flexibility.

C．The drawbacks of elitism.

D．The harm of self-conceit.

5 . (You are going to read four review of a science documentary series on TV. For questions 1-10, choose from the reviews (A-D). The reviews may be chosen more than once.)

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?

6 . 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 _______ different types of dog depending on their lifestyle and character, though they typically don’t realize it.

Corgi owners, such as the Queen, tend to be extroverted, _______ Sir Isaac Newton’s Pomeranian could have signaled that he was creative and intelligent, the study suggested. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s choice of a cocker spaniel puppy, Lupo, may _______ that they are agreeable and conscientious, while owners of greyhounds and beagles are more likely to be emotionally stable.

This could be because, like in a romantic relationship, we tend to _______ ourselves with pets that we feel we share something in common with, researchers from Bath Spa University found.

It could also _______ our lifestyle, with active dogs like retrievers and greyhounds appealing more to people who enjoy spending time _______, they added.

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 _______ our personality: extroversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, conscientiousness and intelligence.   

Dr. Workman said there was a definite link between a dog’s _______ and their owner’s personality. “I think when you look for a dog at some level, largely _______, you look for something that is a bit like you,” he said. “It’s a bit like a romantic partner. If they ________ they will probably last, and contrary to popular opinion, with romantic partners opposites don’t attract—you need to have a lot ________ if it’s going to last.”

But it also has to suit your lifestyle, he added. If you’re going to get a(n) ________ breed, you need to be an outdoor type person.

Someone’s choice of dog could also reveal ________ personality traits that do not immediately come across from watching them or listening to them speak.

The Queen’s ________ for corgis, for example, may signal that she is more extroverted than she appears to be, Dr. Workman explained.

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. ________ the minor royals can party, she’s never been able to do that, so I think the personality that we see appears less extroverted than she actually is.”

1.

A．are aware of

B．are drawn towards

C．are compared to

D．are disrespectful to

2.

A．if

B．while

C．as if

D．because

3.

A．confess

B．propose

C．reflect

D．announce

4.

A．match

B．contrast

C．confuse

D．provide

5.

A．change

B．result in

C．be down to

D．interact with

6.

A．working

B．planning

C．indoors

D．outdoors

7.

A．combine

B．govern

C．outweigh

D．examine

8.

A．size

B．breed

C．temperament

D．origin

9.

A．subconsciously

B．knowingly

C．indifferently

D．distinctively

10.

A．figure out

B．team up

C．break down

D．fit in

11.

A．in common

B．to offer

C．at hand

D．on hold

12.

A．fashionable

B．luxurious

C．energetic

D．glamorous

13.

A．hidden

B．positive

C．negative

D．evident

14.

A．tolerance

B．capacity

C．talent

D．fondness

15.

A．Since

B．Whereas

C．For

D．As long as

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Up to 82 percent of children with healthy mothers are not easy to be obese（肥胖的）, according to research. A mother,     1     has a healthy weight, exercises regularly, eats a healthy diet, doesn’t smoke and only     2    (drink) wine in moderation, is significantly less likely     3    (have)a fat child, scientists say.

And research suggests it could be more to do with nurture(养育)    4     nature, as a mother's lifestyle appears     5    (direct) linked to the health of her child. When both mother and child follow a healthy lifestyle, the risk of obesity     6    (reduce)even more, the study of more than 24,000 children found.

The study examined the medical history and lifestyles of more than 24,000 children aged nine     7     fourteen, born to almost 17,000 women in the US. Researchers looked at the link between overall mother health and likelihood of a child     8    (be) obese.

The mother's health was judged on her height-to-weight ratio(比例), her diet, amount of physical     9    (active), smoking status and how much alcohol she drank. A healthy weight and diet, regular exercise, no smoking and moderate drinking all reduce the chance of a woman having     10     obese child.

8 . Hollywood’s theory that machines with evil(邪恶) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a well-known mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics（控制论）, put it this way: “If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot effectively interfere(干预), we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire.”

A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things: a wish to preserve its own existence. For the machine, this quality is not in-born, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with its task. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the chessboard.

The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrate the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing them to affect the real world. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work: we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines.

Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to plan for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams—yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we can just “switch them off” as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of that possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, “Anyone who expects a source of power in the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.” However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutron-induced(中子诱导) nuclear chain reaction.

1. Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may         .

A．run out of human control

B．satisfy human’s real desires

C．command armies of killer robots

D．work faster than a mathematician

2. Machines with specific purposes are associated with living things partly because they might be able to        .

A．prevent themselves from being destroyed

B．achieve their original goals independently

C．do anything successfully with given orders

D．beat humans in international chess matches

3. According to some researchers, we can use firewalls to           .

A．help super intelligent machines work better

B．be secure against evil human beings

C．keep machines from being harmed

D．avoid robots’ affecting the world

4. What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines?

A．It will disappear with the development of AI.

B．It will get worse with human interference.

C．It will be solved but with difficulty.

D．It will stay for a decade.