-“Youfinallymadeit,didn'tyou?”
-“Yes，____yourhelp,Iwouldn'thavesucceeded.”
Afriendofminewasfondofdrawinghorse.Hedrewthehorsesverywell,buthealwaysbeganthetail.NowitistheWesternruletobeginattheheadofthehorse,thatiswhyIwassurprised.Itstruckmethatitcouldnotreallymakeanydifferencewhethertheartistbeginsattheheadorthetailorthebelly(肚子)orthefootofthehorse,ifhereallyknowshisbusiness.Andmostgreatartistswhoreallyknowtheirbusinessdonotfollowotherpeople’srule.Theymaketheirownrules.Everyoneofthemdoeshisworkinawaypeculiar(奇特的)tohimself;andthepeculiaritymeansonlythathefindsitmoreeasytoworkinthatway.
Nowtheverysamethingistruetoliterature(文学).Andthequestion,"HowshallIbegin?"onlymeansthatyouwanttobeginattheheadinsteadofbeginningatthetailorsomewhereelse.Thatis,youarenotyetexperienced(有经验的)enoughtotrusttoyourownpowers.Whenyoubecomemoreexperiencedyouwill
neveraskthequestion,andIthinkthatyouwilloftenbeginatthetail--thatistosay,youwillwritetheendofthestorybeforeyouhaveeventhoughtofthebeginning.
1.Afriendofthewriter’sdrewthehorses____.
A.verywell
B.inthewayofwesternrule
C.inthewayofhisownrule
D.alloftheabove
2.Thewriterwassurprisedbecause____.
A.theartistbegantodrawattheheadofthehorse
B.theartistbegantodrawatthetailofthehorse
C.theartistmadehisownrule
D.theartistdidnotfollowotherpeople’srule
3.Youarenotyetexperiencedbecause____.
A.youdon’tknowwheretobegin
B.youwanttobeginattheheadinsteadofbeginningatthetail
C.youalwaysaskedquestion
D.youdonottrusttoyourownpowers
4.Whenyoubecomemoreexperiencedyouwill____.
A.neveraskquestion
B.oftenbeginatthetail
C.shouldwritetheendofthestory
D.shouldthinkofthebeginning
5.Thetopicofthepassageis______.
A.Howtodrawahorse
B.Howtowriteastory
C.Howtomakeyourownrules
D.Trusttoyourownpowers
TheImportanceofGoodCommunications
Effectivecommunicationisessentialforallorganizations.Itlinkstheactivitiesofthevariouspartsoftheorganizationandensuresthateveryoneisworkingtowardsacommongoal.Itisalsoextremelyimportantformotivatingemployees.Staffneedtoknowhowtheyaregettingon,whattheyaredoingrightandinwhichareastheycouldimprove.Workingalonecanbeextremelydifficultanditismucheasierifsomeonetakesaninterestandprovidessupport.Employeesneedtounderstandwhytheirjobisimportantandhowitcontributestotheoverallsuccessofthefirm.Personalcommunicationshouldalsoincludetargetsetting.Peopleusuallyrespondwelltogoals,providedtheseareagreedbetweenthemanagerandsubordinateandnotimposed.
However,firmsoftenhavecommunicationproblemsthatcanunderminetheirperformance.Inmanycases,theseproblemsoccurbecausemessagesarepassedoninaninappropriateway.Thereare,ofcourse,severalwaysofconveyinginformationtoothersintheorganizationwhichincludespeakingtothemdirectly,e-mailing,telephoningorsendingamemo.Themostappropriatemethoddependsonwhatexactlyitisyouarecommunicating.Forexample,anythingthatisparticularlysensitiveorconfidential,suchasanemployee'sappraisal,shouldbedoneface-to-face.
Oneofthemainproblemsforseniorexecutivesisthattheydonothavethetimeorresourcesneededtocommunicateeffectively.Inlargecompanies,forexample,itisimpossibleforseniormanagerstomeetanddiscussprogresswitheachemployeeindividually.Obviouslythistaskcanbedelegatedbutatthecostofcreatingagapbetweenseniormanagementandstaff.Asaresult,managersareoftenforcedtouseothermethodsofcommunication,likememosornotes,eveniftheyknowthesearenotnecessarilythemostsuitablemeansofpassingonmessages.
Theuseoftechnology,suchase-mail,mobilephonesandnetworksystems,isspeedingupcommunicationimmensely.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatmoreinvestmentintechnologyautomaticallyprovesbeneficial:systemscanbecomeoutdatedoremployeesmaylackappropriatetraining.Therearemanycommunicationstoolsnowavailablebutafirmcannotaffordallofthem.Evenifitcould,itdoesnotactuallyneedthemall.Thepotentialgainsmustbeweighedupagainstthecosts,andfirmsshouldrealizethatmorecommunicationdoesnotnecessarilymeanbettercommunication."
Asthenumberofpeopleinvolvedinanorganizationincrease,theuseofwrittencommunicationrisesevenfaster.Insteadofaquickconversationtosortsomethingoutnumerousmessagescanbepassedbackwardsandforwards.Thiscanleadtoatremendousamountofpaperworkandisoftenlesseffectivethanface-to-facecommunication.Whenyouareactuallytalkingtosomeoneyoucandiscussthingsuntilyouarehappythattheyhaveunderstoodandfeedbackisimmediate.Withwrittenmessages,however,youareneverquitesurehowitwillbereceivedwhatyouthinkyouhavesaidandwhattheotherpersonthinksyouhavesaidcanbeverydifferent.
Theamountofwritteninformationgeneratedinlargeorganizationstodaycanleadtocommunicationoverload.Somuchinformationisgatheredthatitgetsinthewayofmakingdecisions.Takealookattheaveragemanager'sdeskandyouwillseetheproblem--itisoftencoveredwithletters,reportsandmemos.Thisoverloadcanleadtoinefficiencies.Forexample,managersmaynotbeabletofindtheinformationtheywantwhentheyneedit.Communicationisalsobecomingmoredifficultwiththechangesoccurringinemploymentpatterns.Withmorepeopleworkingpart-timeandworkingathome,managingcommunicationisbecomingincreasinglycomplex.
1.InthefirstparagraphthewriterrecommendsthatcommunicationwithstaffshouldincludeA.somefeedbackontheirjobperformance.
B.anexplanationofhowcompanytargetshavebeenset.
C.informationonpromotionprospectswithinthecompany.
D.anindicationofwhichdutiestheycanexpectassistancewith.areastheycouldimprove
2.Accordingtothewriter,thebestwayofachievingeffectivecommunicationistoA.adaptthemessagetosuitaparticularaudience.
B.makethecontentofmessagesbriefanddirect.
C.selectthemostsuitablemeansofconveyingaparticularmessage.
D.ensurethatinformationistargetedattheappropriategroupofpeople.
3.Whatdoesthewritersayaboutthecommunicationoptionsavailabletoseniormanagers?A.Sendingmemostostaffisoneofthemostefficientmethods.
B.Itisimportanttofindthetimetodiscusscertainmatterswithstaff.
C.Theyshouldincreasetherangeofoptionsthattheyuse.
D.Gettingjuniormanagerstotalktostaffcancreatedifferentproblems.
4.Whatadviceisgivenaboutthecommunicationtoolsmadeavailablebytechnology?A.Aimtolimitstaffuseofcertaincommunicationtools.
B.Evaluatethemintermsoftheexpenditureinvolved.
C.Selectthemonthebasisofthefacilitiestheyoffer.
D.Encouragemorestafftoattendtrainingcoursesintheiruse.
5.Accordingtothewriter,aproblemwithwrittencommunicationisthatA.themessagecanbeinterpreteddifferentlytowhatwasintended.
B.itcanbeeasyforpeopletoignorethecontentsofawrittenmessage.
C.mostpeoplearemorecomfortablewithface-to-facecommunication.
D.itispossibleforcorrespondencetogetlostwithinalargeorganization.
6.Accordingtothearticle,whatistheeffectofreceivinglargeamountsofwritteninformation?A.Itiscounter-productive."
B.Itcausesconflictinacompany.
C.Itleadstochangesinworkpatterns.
D.Itmakesthemainpointsmoredifficulttoidentify.