考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇【社會文化類】

考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇unit29
Unit 29
Tanna Oldfield's software company needed to establish rapport between some new hires and the firm's old guard. She says the company, which is based in Austin, Texas, wanted to do something different--to "step out of the box." So she asked her employees to step out of a plane. At 14,000 feet. Oldfield says the sky-high bonding exercise left the workers "exhilarated" and "more confident" in just one day. "If they could conquer fears about sky diving," she says, "they could overcome work issues."

Even in a climate of corporate cost-cutting, Oldfield's company (she prefers that it remain unidentified) and many other New Economy survivors continue to invest money in training sessions that do not involve blackboards, computers or conference rooms. Instead, they send their employees on increasingly elaborate, and even risky, "team-building" trips. From white-water rafting to caving and rock climbing, corporate trainers are raising the difficulty level on challenges for the cubicle set.

Hard times may even persuade some companies to loosen their purse strings. Diane Katz, who has a doctoral degree in conflict resolution, says half the clients who go on her year-old Working Circle team-building exercises in Arizona are there because bosses want to reward them for good work. "People need to let off steam in harder times," says Katz, who uses horse whisperers--who claim to speak to the animals, a practice popularized by Robert Redford's movie "The Horse Whisperer"--as facilitators on singing trail rides in the Sonoran desert (the people sing, not the horses).

After an office shake-up, Elizabeth Burg, a project coordinator for Visa U.S.A. in Foster City., Calif., staged a regatta to help employees learn how to work together in a new environment. A corporate training firm, Adventure Associates of El Cerrito, Calif., taught boating basics to Burg and 20 landlubber co-workers and then set them loose on 34-foot sailboats for a race on San Francisco Bay (with a professional skipper aboard each yacht, just in case). "As adults, we don't usually get to play in areas where we're not experts," Burg says. "People cooperated and interacted differently."

After a reorganization last fall, DMR, a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm, flew more than 100 employees of various ages to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a four-and-a-half-day program run by the Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School. "I expected a total disaster," recalls John Tedesco, a fiftysomething sales executive. But after dangling 90 feet above the ground in a rope harness on a granite rock face, Tedesco learned to rely on much younger colleagues. "You're taking risks you usually don't deal with, and suddenly your co-workers are helping you," he recalls. "Nothing has been the same since." That's because rugged outdoor challenges can topple rigid office hierarchies and encourage the sort of camaraderie often missing from traditional off-site work events. "You see people in a different light," says Tedesco. And when the most junior employee turns out to be more wilderness-savvy than the CEO, everyone relaxes--except possibly the CEO.

注（1）：本文選自Newsweek; 04/16/2001, p61;
注（2）：本文習題命題模仿對象2004年Text 1;

1.What does Oldfield expect her software company to be rewarded by the trip?

[A]A good spirit of confidence.
[B]The ability to overcome difficulties.
[C]A good relationship among the employees.
[D]The courage to jump at a high height.

2.Which of the following is not the advantage of team-building excursions?

[A]A good place to know your strong points compared with the CEO.
[B]A good place to vent one’s feelings.
[C]A good place to learn how to work together.
[D]A good place to improve your exchange with colleagues.

3.The expression “l(fā)et off steam”(Line 4, Paragraph 3) most probably means _________.

[A]solving the problems
[B]saving themselves
[C]getting out of the difficulty
[D]releasing one’s offensive feelings

4.What effect does a four-and-a-half-day program bring to John Tedesco ?

[A]A total disaster fell on him.
[B]His ideas have been totally changed.
[C]He cares about his colleagues.
[D]He is dependant on his colleagues.

5.What can we infer from the text?

[A]Team-building trips can solve the employee’s problems.
[B]Team-building trips are popular with many companies.
[C]There are risks, as well as rewards in the team-building trips.
[D]Employees are able to overcome the difficulty after the trips.

答案：CADBC

篇章剖析
本文采用提出問題——分析問題的模式，指出“團隊建設”旅行豐富的旅行項目盡管有一定的危險，但是帶給旅行者的收益卻很大。第一段和第二段指出奧德菲爾德軟件公司和其它新經濟的興存者進行的形式多樣的旅行項目；第三段、四段和五段分別指出旅行者在不同形式的旅行中的收獲和啟示。

詞匯注釋
cubicle [] n. 隔間，小臥室
rapport [] n. 友好；和睦；友善，友好關系；和睦
be on [in] rapport with 跟...和睦相處
sky-high adv. 非常高地，極高地；高入云霄地
sky diving n.<美俚> 盡量延緩張傘的跳傘運動；天空蹦極
skydiving跳傘運動，高空跳傘特技表演(從飛機上跳下來并自由降落，在拉降落傘傘繩之前表演各種動作)
white-water rafting急流漂筏運動；滑水
caving n. 洞穴探險
purse string  n. 系錢袋口上的細繩；金錢
hold (control, tighten) the purse strings 控制[節(jié)省](家庭、公司等的)開支
loosen the purse strings 放松對錢的控制
hard times 市況蕭條，市面蕭條，不景氣
working circle 施業(yè)區(qū), 事業(yè)區(qū)，林區(qū)(按照特別經營計劃經營的森林區(qū)域)
let off steam散發(fā)多余的精力; 發(fā)牢騷; 發(fā)泄郁積的情感
shake-up [] n. [俚]機構的大改組; 人員大變動
regatta[] n. 賽船大會，劃船比賽，賽舟會
landlubber [] n. “旱鴨子”(指新水手, 不習慣航海、乘船的人)
set loose v. 出發(fā), 使爆炸, 引起, 招致；(使)開始(做某事)
skipper [5skIpE(r)] n. 船長；運動隊隊長
run （take） a risk(s) 冒險
topple [] vi.,vt. (高的東西)搖晃, 搖搖欲墜, 向前倒；推翻, 顛覆
camaraderie [] n. [法]同志間的友誼與忠誠，同志情誼；友愛
off-site adj.不在現場的，離開事發(fā)地點的
light n. 見解，見識，眼光
Savvy [] n. [俚]見識; 處世才能, 機智; 本領, 專門技能；adj. 精明的; 能干的; 有見識的

Notes:
Visa U.S.A (維薩美國)：Visa U.S.A是一家業(yè)界領先的支付公司，擁有美國最大的支付系統，在發(fā)展新的支付手段和技術方面起著至關重要的作用，為14000家成員金融機構和持卡人提供服務，并為電子商務提供安全的在線處理方式。

難句突破
After a reorganization last fall, DMR, a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm, flew more than 100 employees of various ages to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a four-and-a-half-day program run by the Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School.
主體句式：DMR flew …employees…
結構分析：“DMR”是本句的主語，“a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm”是“DMR”的同位語；“flew”是句子的謂語，需要注意的是“flew”在句子里用做及物動詞，意思是“用飛機或飛行器運載、運輸、運送”；“run”之前省去了“which is”。
句子譯文：在去年秋天公司重組以后，總部設在新澤西州的電信咨詢公司——DMR公司——安排100 多名不同年齡的員工乘飛機到弗吉尼亞蘭嶺山參加由野外領導能力培訓學校開辦的為期四天半培訓課程。

題目分析
1.答案為C, 屬事實細節(jié)題。作者在文章開頭就提出“Tanna Oldfield's software company needed to establish rapport between some new hires and the firm's old guard.”，正是出于想要融洽新、老員工之間的關系的原因，奧德菲爾德才做出這件與眾不同的事情。至于員工們感到“exhilarated and more confident”，那是這次旅行所帶來的意想不到的收獲。
2.答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題。選項B在文中對應的信息是“People need to let off steam in harder times”；選項C對應的信息是“…staged a regatta to help employees learn how to work together in a new environment.”；選項D在文中對應的信息是“That's because rugged outdoor challenges can topple rigid office hierarchies and encourage the sort of camaraderie often missing from traditional off-site work events.”選項A與文中對應信息“And when the most junior employee turns out to be more wilderness-savvy than the CEO, everyone relaxes--except possibly the CEO.”蘊涵意思不相符合。
3.答案為D，屬猜詞題。本題主要是考察對習語“l(fā)et off steam”的掌握。時世艱難，市況蕭條，人們進行“singing trail rides”是要來“發(fā)泄他們郁積的情感”。
4.答案為B，屬事實細節(jié)題。原文對應信息是“Nothing has been the same since.”
5.答案為C，屬推理判斷題。文中提到旅游探險公司帶領新經濟的員工在曠野中進行艱難的“團隊建設”旅行。旅行中不乏危險，但是員工在旅行中收獲很大。

參考譯文
塔納•奧德菲爾德的軟件公司需要在新雇員工和老員工之間建立和睦融洽的關系。她說她設在德克薩斯州奧斯汀的公司想要做些與眾不同的事情——“走出小隔間”。因此她要求員工走出飛機。奧德菲爾德說，在14,000英尺的高度進行這種高空蹦極，只需一天時間就能使員工“精神振奮”，“倍感自信”。她說，“如果他們能征服高空跳傘的恐懼，那么，他們也就能夠克服工作中的難題。”

即使在公司削減費用的大環(huán)境下，奧德菲爾德的公司(她希望不透漏公司名稱)和其他許多新經濟的幸存者還繼續(xù)在一些不用黑板、計算機或會議室的培訓課程上投資。他們寧愿派員工進行精心安排的、有時甚至具有危險性的“團隊建設”旅行。從急流漂筏到洞穴探險、攀巖，公司培訓人員正在給這些在小隔間工作的人逐漸增加訓練難度。

市況蕭條也使得一些公司對錢財的控制有所松動。持有解決沖突博士學位的黛安•卡茨說，她的“事業(yè)區(qū)”團隊建設訓練項目設在亞利桑那州，至今已運行了一年時間。在她的客戶當中，有一半的人來這兒參加培訓是因為他們的老板以此作為對他們出色工作的獎賞�！霸谑袥r蕭條時期，人們需要發(fā)泄郁積的情感�！笨ù娜缡钦f。在培訓中，她利用馬語者——這些人宣稱能同動物交流，羅伯特•里德福德的電影《馬語者》使這一行為廣為流行——來推動索諾蘭沙漠騎馬游歌唱活動的進行（當然是人唱，不是馬唱）。

在辦公室人員進行大的變動以后，維薩美國(Visa U.S.A.)公司加州福斯特城項目協調員伊麗莎白•伯格發(fā)起了一次賽舟會，以幫助公司員工學會如何在一個新環(huán)境里合作共事。一家培訓公司——設在加州埃爾塞里托的冒險聯合公司——對伯格和另外20名“旱鴨子”同事進行了劃船基本知識教練，然后讓他們分乘34英尺長的帆船(每艘船上配一名專業(yè)船長，以防萬一)參加在舊金山海灣舉行的賽艇比賽�！白鳛槌赡耆�，我們一般不習慣在我們不懂行的領域里玩”，伯格說，“每個人的合作和反應方式也都不一樣�！�

在去年秋天公司重組以后，總部設在新澤西州的電信咨詢公司——DMR公司——安排100 多名不同年齡的員工乘飛機到弗吉尼亞蘭嶺山參加由野外領導能力培訓學校開辦的為期四天半培訓課程。“我當時認為這絕對是一場災難。”年逾半百的銷售經理約翰•特戴斯克回憶道，但自從有了在花崗巖上方離地面90 英尺高的繩索上晃來晃去的經歷后，特戴斯克學會了如何依靠年輕的同事�！巴蝗婚g，你遇到了你從未經歷過的風險，而恰在此時，你的同事及時來幫你�！彼�回憶說，“打那以后一切都改變了。這是因為艱難的野外挑戰(zhàn)可以消除嚴格的辦公室等級制度，鼓勵那種經常在傳統的辦公室以外工作現場所缺乏的同事友情。特戴斯克說：“通常你都是以不同的眼光看待別人。”而當得知大多數低級員工原來比首席執(zhí)行官更精于野外生存，每個人——可能除了首席執(zhí)行官以外——都感到輕松了許多。

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