8.One of the executives gathered at the Aspen Institute for a day-long leadership workshop using the works of Shakespeare was discussing the role of Brutus in the death of Julius Caesar."Brutus was not an honorable man,"he said."He was a traitor(叛徒).And he murdered someone in cold blood."The agreement was that Brutus had acted with cruelty when other options were available to him.He made a bad decision,they said-at least as it was presented by Shakespeare-to take the lead in murdering Julius Caesar.And though one of the executives acknowledged that Brutus had the good of the republic in mind,Caesar was nevertheless his superior."You have to endeavor,"the executives said,"our policy is to obey the chain of command."
During the last few years,business executives and book writers looking for a new way to advise corporate America have been exploiting Shakespeare's wisdom for profitable ends.None more so than husband and wife team Kenneth and Carol Adelman,well-known advisers to the White House,who started up a training company called"Movers and Shakespeares".They are amateur Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers,and they have combined their passion and their high level contacts into a management training business.They conduct between 30and 40workshops annually,focusing on half a dozen different plays,mostly for corporations,but also for government agencies.
The workshops all take the same form,focusing on a single play as a kind of case study,and using individual scenes as specific lessons.In Julius Caesar,sly provocation(狡诈的挑唆) of Brutus to take up arms against the what was a basis for a discussion of methods of team building and grass roots organism.
Although neither of the Adelmans is academically trained in literature,the programmes,contain plenty of Shakespeare tradition and background.Their workshop on Henry V,for example,includes a helpful explanation of Henry's winning strategy at the Battle of Agincourt.But they do come to the text with a few biases (偏向):their reading of Henry V minimizes his misuse of power.Instead,they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader.And at the workshop on Caesar,Mr.Adelmans had little good to say about Brutus,saying"the noblest Roman of them all"couldn't make his mind up about things.
Many of the participants pointed to very specific elements in the play that they felt related Caesar's pride,which led to his murder,and Brutus's mistakes in leading the after the murder,they said,raise vital questions for anyone serving as a business when and ho w do you resist the boss?
36.According to paragraph 1,what did all the executives think of Brutus?A
A.Cruel.B.Superior.C.Honorable.D.Bade
37.According to the passage,the Adelmans set up"Movers and Shakespeares"toB.
A.help executives to understand Shakespeare's plays better
B.give advice on leadership by analyzing Shakespeare's plays
C.provide case studies of Shakespeare's plays in literature workshops
D.guide government agencies to follow the characters in Shakespeare's plays.
38.Why do the Adelmans conduct a workshop on Henry V?A
A.To highlight the importance of catching opportunities.
B.To encourage masterful leaders to plan strategies to win.
C.To illustrate the harm of prejudices in management.
D.To warn executives against power misuse.
39.It can be inferred from the passage thatD.
A.the Adelmans'programme proves biased as the roles of characters are maximized.
B.executives feel bored with too many specific elements of Shakespeare's plays.
C.the Adelmans will make more profits if they are professional scholars.
D.Shakespeare has played an important role in the management field.
40.The best title for the passage isD.
A.Shakespeare's plays:Executives reconsider corporate culture
B.Shakespeare's plays:An essential key to business success
C.Shakespeare's plays:a lesson for business motivation
D.Shakespeare's plays:Dramatic training brings dramatic results.
分析 文章介绍了莎士比亚戏剧在商业管理方面的运用.
解答 36.A 细节理解题.根据第一段描述所用的一些词语"not an honorable man 不是一个受敬仰的人","traitor 叛徒","in cold blood 冷血"等可以得出答案为cruel 残忍的.Superior 意为较高的(级别、地位); 较好的(在质量等方面); 较多的(数量); 上等的; rude 意为粗鲁的.
37.B 细节理解题. 根据第二段的一些用词"well-known advisers to the White House 著名的白宫顾问","management training business 管理训练商业",可以知道答案是与leadership 管理有关.其中leadership(领导)和management 是同义词.
38.A 细节理解题.根据"Instead,they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader.相反,他们强调年轻人的故事.这些年轻人能够抓住机会以及成为有能力的领导"可以知道答案是强调抓住机会的重要性.其中highlight强调和emphasize 是同义词,seizes opportunity 和catch opportunities 是同义词.所以答案选A.
39.D语意推测题.A选项提到的内容在刚才讲亨利五世小说研读工坊时提到过(第四段),但语意已经被改的面目全非,说莎翁小说研读工坊的项目有失偏颇,因为主人公已经被无限放大.与原文严重不符.B选项指出工坊的企业家学员们对莎翁戏剧中的很多内容感到厌烦,这与原文不符.假若发现厌烦,就没有必要参加此研修班了.C选项指出如果Adelmans夫妇是专业学者,或许能够赚更多钱.这点原文中没有暗示.可以排除.D选项提到莎士比亚在管理领域起了重要作用.综上所述,只有D选项符合题意.故D为最佳选项.
40.D主旨大意题.需要总结一下莎士比亚戏剧在本文中究竟是什么.A.莎翁戏剧让企管人员重新思考企业文化.B.莎翁戏剧是商业成功的关键秘诀,过分夸大了戏剧的作用.C.莎翁戏剧为企业激励上了一课,涵盖面略窄.D.莎翁戏剧:戏剧训练带来戏剧化的结果,dramatic用词巧妙,双关.综合考虑,D为最佳选项.
点评 本文考查细节题为主,细节题可以在文章中直接找到与答案有关的信息?或是其变体.搜查信息在阅读中非常重要它包括理解作者在叙述某事时使用的具体事实、数据、图表等细节信息.在一篇短文里大部分篇幅都属于这类围绕主体展开的细节.做这类题一般采用寻读法?即先读题,然后带着问题快速阅读短文,找出与问题有关的词语或句子,再对相关部分进行分析对比,找出答案.