PARTVREADINGCOMPREHENSION

PASSAGEONE

(1)TheearliestsettlerscametotheNorthAmericancontinenttoestablishcoloniesthatwerefreefromthecontrolsthatexistedinEuropeansocieties.Theywantedtoescapethecontrolsplacedontheirlivesbykingsandgovernments,priestsandchurches,noblemenandaristocrats.ThehistoricdecisionsmadebythosefirstsettlershavehadaprofoundeffectontheshapingoftheAmerican

character.Bylimitingthepowerofthegovernmentandthechurchesandeliminatingaformalaristocracy,theycreatedaclimateoffreedomwheretheemphasiswasontheindividual.IndividualfreedomisprobablythemostbasicofalltheAmericanvalues.Byfreedom,Americansmeanthedesireandtheabilityofallindividualstocontroltheirowndestinywithoutoutsideinterferencefromthegovernment,arulingnobleclass,thechurch,oranyotherorganizedauthority.

(2)Thereis,however,apricetobepaidforthisindividualfreedom:self-reliance.ItmeansthatAmericansbelievetheyshouldstandontheirownfeet,achievingbothfinancialandemotionalindependencefromtheirparentsasearlyaspossible,usuallybyage18or21.

(3)AsecondimportantreasonwhyimmigrantshavetraditionallybeendrawntotheUnitedStatesisthebeliefthateveryonehasaequalchancetoenteraraceandsucceedinthegame.BecausetitlesofnobilitywereforbiddenintheConstitution,noformalclasssystemdevelopedintheU.S.

(4)Thereis,however,apricetobepaidforthisequalityofopportunity:competition.Ifmuchoflifeisseenasrace,thenapersonmustruntheraceinordertosucceed;apersonmustcompetewithothers.ThepressuresofcompetitioninthelifeofanAmericanbegininchildhoodandcontinueuntilretirementfromwork.Infact,anygroupofpeoplewhodoesnotcompetesuccessfullydoesnotfit

intothemainstreamofAmericanlifeaswellasthosewhodo.

(5)AthirdreasonwhyimmigrantshavetraditionallycometotheUnitedStatesistohaveabetterlife.Becauseofitsabundantnaturalresources,theUnitedStatesappearedtobea“landofplentywheremillionscouldcometoseektheirfortunes.Thephrase“goingfromragstoriches”becameasloganfortheAmericandream.Manypeopledidachievematerialsuccess.MaterialwealthbecameavaluetotheAmericanpeople,anditalsobecameanacceptedmeasureofsocialstatus.

(6)Americanspayaprice,however,fortheirmaterialwealth:hardwork.HardworkhasbeenbothnecessaryandrewardingformostAmericansthroughouttheirhistory.Insomeways,materialpossessionsareseenasevidenceofpeople’sabilities.BarryGoldwater,acandidateforthepresidencyin1964,saidthatmostpoorpeoplearepoorbecausetheydeservetobe.MostAmericanswouldfind

thisaharshstatement,butmanymightthinktherewassometruthinit.

(7)ThesebasicvaluesdonottellthewholestoryoftheAmericancharacter.Rather,theyshouldbethoughtofasthemes,aswecontinuetoexploremorefacetsoftheAmericancharacterandhowitaffectslifeintheUnitedStates.

1.Para.4seemstosuggestthat__________.

A.Americansarebornwithasenseofcompetition

B.thepressureofcompetitionbeginswhenonestartswork

C.successfulcompetitionisessentialinAmericansociety

D.competitionresultsinequalityofopportunities

2.WhichofthefollowingmethodsdoestheauthormainlyuseinexplainingAmericanvalues?

A.Comparison

D.Causeandeffect

C.Definition

D.Processanalysis

Heconcludedhisspeechwitharemarkthatfailure____themotherofsuccess.

At______,photographyisachemicalprocess,duringwhichalight-sensitivematerialisalteredwhenexposedtolight.

LastFridayIsawsomeboys______behindDaniel,_____thecomputergames.

Themajorityofsuccessfulseniormanagersdonotcloselyfollowtheclassicalrationalmodeloffirstclarifyinggoals,assessingtheproblem,formulatingoptions,estimatinglikelihoodsofsuccess,makingadecision,andonlythentakingactiontoimplementthedecision.Rather,intheirday-by-daytacticalmaneuvers,theseseniorexecutivesrelyonwhatisvaguelytermedintuitiontomanageanetworkofinterrelatedproblemsthatrequirethemtodealwithambiguity,inconsistency,novelty,andsurprise;andtointegrateactionintotheprocessofthinking.Generationsofwritersonmanagementhaverecognizedthatsomepracticingmanagersrelyheavilyonintuition.Ingeneral,however,suchwritersdisplayapoorgraspofwhatintuitionis.Someseeitastheoppositeofrationality;othersviewitasanexcuseforcapriciousness.Isenberg'srecentresearchonthecognitiveprocessesofseniormanagersrevealsthatmanagers'intuitionisneitherofthese.Rather,seniormanagersuseintuitioninatleastfivedistinctways.First,theyintuitivelysensewhenaproblemexists.Second,managersrelyonintuitiontoperformwell-learnedbehaviorpatternsrapidly.Thisintuitionisnotarbitraryorirrational,butisbasedonyearsofpainstakingpracticeandhands-onexperiencethatbuildskills.Athirdfunctionofintuitionistosynthesizeisolatedbitsmofdataandpracticeintoanintegratedpicture,ofteninanAha!experience.Fourth,somemanagersuseintuitionasacheckontheresultsofmorerationalanalysis.Mostseniorexecutivesarefamiliarwiththeformaldecisionanalysismodelsandtools,andthosewhousesuchsystematicmethodsforreachingdecisionsareoccasionallyleeryofsolutionssuggestedbythesemethodswhichruncountertotheirsenseofthecorrectcourseofaction.Finally,managerscanuseintuitiontobypassin-depthanalysisandmoverapidlytoengenderaplausiblesolution.Usedinthisway,intuitionisanalmostinstantaneouscognitiveprocessinwhichamanagerrecognizesfamiliarpatterns.Oneoftheimplicationsoftheintuitivestyleofexecutivemanagementisthatthinkingisinseparablefromacting.Sincemanagersoftenknowwhatisrightbeforetheycananalyzeandexplainit,theyfrequentlyactfirstandexplainlater.Analysisisinextricablytiedtoactioninthinking/actingcycles,inwhichmanagersdevelopthoughtsabouttheircompaniesandorganizationsnotbyanalyzingaproblematicsituationandthenacting,butbyactingandanalyzingincloseconcert.Giventhegreatuncertaintyofmanyofthemanagementissuesthattheyface,seniormanagersofteninstigateacourseofactionsimplytolearnmoreaboutanissue.Theythenusetheresultsoftheactiontodevelopamorecompleteunderstandingoftheissue.Oneimplicationofthinking/actingcyclesisthatactionisoftenpartofdefiningtheproblem,notjustofimplementingthesolution.

1.Accordingtothetext,seniormanagersuseintuitioninallofthefollowingwaysEXCEPTto

[A]Speedupofthecreationofasolutiontoaproblem.

[B]Identifyaproblem.

[C]Bringtogetherdisparatefacts.

[D]Stipulatecleargoals.

2.Thetextsuggestswhichofthefollowingaboutthewritersonmanagementmentionedinline1,paragraph2

[A]Theyhavecriticizedmanagersfornotfollowingtheclassicalrationalmodelofdecisionanalysis.

[B]Theyhavenotbasedtheiranalysesonasufficientlylargesampleofactualmanagers.

[C]Theyhavereliedindrawingtheirconclusionsonwhatmanagerssayratherthanonwhatmanagersdo.

[D]Theyhavemisunderstoodhowmanagersuseintuitioninmakingbusinessdecisions.

3.ItcanbeinferredfromthetextthatwhichofthefollowingwouldmostprobablybeonemajordifferenceinbehaviorbetweenManagerX,whousesintuitiontoreachdecisions,andManagerY,whousesonlyformaldecisionanalysis

[A]ManagerXanalyzesfirstandthenacts;ManagerYdoesnot.

[B]ManagerXcheckspossiblesolutionstoaproblembysystematicanalysis;ManagerYdoesnot.

[C]ManagerXtakesactioninordertoarriveatthesolutiontoaproblem;ManagerYdoesnot.

[D]ManagerYdrawsonyearsofhands-onexperienceincreatingasolutiontoaproblem;ManagerXdoesnot.

4.Thetextprovidessupportforwhichofthefollowingstatements

[A]Managerswhorelyonintuitionaremoresuccessfulthanthosewhorelyonformaldecisionanalysis.

[B]Managerscannotjustifytheirintuitivedecisions.

[C]Managers''intuitionworkscontrarytotheirrationalandanalyticalskills.

[D]Intuitionenablesmanagerstoemploytheirpracticalexperiencemoreefficiently.

5.Whichofthefollowingbestdescribestheorganizationofthefirstparagraphofthetext

[A]Anassertionismadeandaspecificsupportingexampleisgiven.

[B]Aconventionalmodelisdismissedandanalternativeintroduced.

[C]Theresultsofrecentresearchareintroducedandsummarized.

[D]Twoopposingpointsofviewarepresentedandevaluated.