1 . 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 excuse, 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 kinds 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 Willemstad 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.”

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

A．arrogant.

B．frank.

C．self-centered.

D．impulsive.

2. According to Paragraph 2, senior executives’ quitting may be encouraged 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

3. 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

4. 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

2 .

A．Boss and secretary.	B．Interviewer and interviewee.
C．Manager and clerk.	D．Teacher and student.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

After graduation, Susan was asked to become the executive director of the Floating Hospital. She hesitated at first, as it was a demanding job and she wondered whether she could handle it. But on second thoughts, she agreed to take the job.     1     this job turned out rewarding, she soon got tired of it.     2     (seat) at her desk one day, she wanted to go down to the New School for Social Research all of a sudden. Since she always believed intuition（直觉） was an advantage she     3     trust, she decided to have a go.

Without any plan, she titled the course ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’. Susan was nervous as she faced the first session of the twelve-week course. The two hours went on smoothly, but she then     4     (challenge) with a new fear, for she didn’t know what to present the next week. But surprisingly, every week she found she had more to say. Her confidence level growing, she realized. She had equipped     5     so much over the years about getting over fear and her students were drinking it up. At the end of the course, they were amazed at     6     shifting their thinking really changed their lives.

Susan eventually decided to write a book based on the course she had taught. She faced many obstacles. And after     7     (reject) by four agents and various publishers, she unwillingly put the proposal in a drawer.

After three years of writing, one day she went through the drawer     8     she held her much-rejected book proposal. Picking it up, she had a sharp sense that she held something in her hands many people needed to read. Therefore she set out with much determination     9    (find) a publisher who believed in her book the same way she did. This time, she succeeded. She succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

She was so happy that she followed her heart and never gave up overcoming fears which stood     10     her way.

4 .

A．John will deliver a presentation tomorrow about a new electronic device.

B．The clients are very nervous about the quality of the new car.

C．Tracy’s presentation is about a type of new electric car.

D．Tracy is nervous because this electric car hasn’t received positive feedback before.

5 .

A．Mr. White’s new appointment.	B．Mr. White’s vacation.
C．An important vacant position.	D．How to apply for a job.

6 .

A．Because her boss will return her the money after seeing the receipt.

B．Because her boss asks her to buy a lot of things.

C．Because she wants to establish a standard procedure in her company.

D．Because she wants to check everything she has bought.

7 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Quiet Virtue: The Conscientious

The everyday signs of conscientiousness(认真尽责)—being punctual,, careful in doing work, sef- disciplined. and scrupulous(一丝不苟的) in attending to responsibilities—are typical characteristics of the model organizational citizen, the people who keep things running as they should. They follow the rules, help out, and are concerned about the people they work with. It's the conscientious worker who helps newcomers or updates people who return after an absence, who gets to work on time and never abuses sick leaves, who always gets things done on deadline.

Conscientiousness is a key to success in any field. In studies of job performance, outstanding effectiveness for almost all jobs, from semi-skilled labor to sales and management, depends on conscientiousness. Among sales representatives for a large American car manufacturer, those who were most conscientious had the largest volume of sales.

Conscientiousness also offers a buffer(缓冲) against the threat of job loss in today's constantly changing market, because employees with this quality are among the most valued. For the sales representatives, their level of conscientiousness mattered almost as much as their sales in determining who stayed on.

But conscientiousness in the absence of social skills can lead to problems. Since conscientious people demand so much of themselves, they can hold other people to their own standards, and so be overly judgmental when others don't show the same high levels of model behavior. Factory workers who were extremely conscientious, for example, tended to criticize co-workers even about failures that seemed unimportant to those they criticized, which damaged their relationships.

When conscientiousness takes the form of living up to expectations, it can discourage creativity. Success in creative professions like art or advertising calls for a balance between wild ideas and conscientiousness. Without enough conscientiousness to follow through, people become mere dreamers, with nothing to show for their imaginativeness.

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8 .

A．She works in a very nice restaurant.

B．The restaurant food made her ill.

C．Her job involves a lot of business dinners.

D．She feels tired when preparing meals at home.

9 . Questions are based on the following news.1.

A．In a studio.	B．In a clothing store.
C．At a beach resort.	D．At a fashion show.

2.

A．To live there permanently.	B．To stay there for half a year.
C．To find a better job to support herself.	D．To sell leather goods for a British company.

3.

A．Designing fashion items for several companies.

B．Modeling for a world-famous Italian company.

C．Working as an employee for Ferragamo.

D．Serving as a sales agent for Burberry.

4.

A．It has seen a steady decline in its profits.

B．It has become much more competitive.

C．It has lost many customers to foreign competitors.

D．It has attracted a lot of more designers from abroad.