Many employees must be tempted to query on a daily basis when they see their bosses headed down the wrong track. But caution, for fear of appearing insubordinate or foolish and thus possibly at risk of losing their jobs, often leads workers to keep silent.
A culture of silence can be dangerous, argues a new book, “The Fearless Organization”, by Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School. Some of her examples are from the airline industry. One was its deadliest accident: a crash between Boeing 747s in the Canary Islands in 1977 when a co-pilot felt unable to query his captain’s decision to take off based on a misunderstanding of instructions from air-traffic control.
The risks may be lower than life or death in most organizations, but companies also suffer when people keep silent, Ms Edmondson believes. Volkswagen was caught up in a scandal(丑闻) over diesel(柴油)emissions from 2015. The engines of its diesel models did not meet American emissions standards and engineers devised a system to fool the regulators. Ms Edmondson says the company’s culture had been one based on threaten and fear; Ferdinand Piëch, its longtime boss, boasted of telling engineers they had six weeks to improve the bodywork fitting on pain of dismissal. In the circumstances, engineers were understandably unwilling to mention the bad news on emissions standards and instead worked around the problem. In a corporate culture based on fear and intimidation, it may appear that targets are being achieved in the short term. But in the long run the effect is likely to be counterproductive. Studies show that fear inhibits learning. And when confronted with a problem, scared workers find ways of covering it up or getting around it with inefficient practices.
The answer is to create an atmosphere of “psychological safety” whereby workers can speak their minds. In a sense, this is the equivalent of Toyota’s “lean manufacturing” process, which allows any worker who spots a problem to stop the production line. This does not mean that workers, or their ideas, are immune from criticism, or that they should complain incessantly.
As mundane(平凡的)tasks are automated, and workers rely on computers for data analysis, the added value of humans will stem from their creativity. But as Ms Edmondson’s book amply demonstrates, it is hard to be either constructive or creative if you are not confident about speaking out.
1.The underlined word “insubordinate” means .
A.being inferior B.disobeying a superior
C.getting aggressive D.being ignorant
2.We can conclude from Paragraph 3 that .
A.Volkswagen’s engineers designed a system to meet American emissions standards
B.when facing problems, scared workers resolve them directly
C.Volkswagen’s engineers were at risk of losing jobs
D.the culture of fear and intimidation must be counterproductive in the long term.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the author?
A.A culture of being silent can be life-threatening.
B.The risk of keeping silent is not necessarily associated with life and death.
C.Volkswagen’s culture is on the basis of fear.
D.The value of humans lies in originality in today’s highly-automated world.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.An introduction to Amy Edmondson’s new book.
B.The disadvantages of fear and intimidation culture.
C.Companies will perform better if employees are not threatened into silence.
D.People need to be confident when they are speaking out.
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1.FutureLearn is mainly designed for .
A.students who want to learn at home
B.teachers who want to improve their teaching skills
C.businessmen who want to improve their business
D.people from all walks of life who want to learn something online
2.Which of the following about FutureLearn might not be found on this website?
A.courses B.subjects C.partners D.fees
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the website?
A.FutureLearn provides users with the flexibility to pursue their own interests.
B.Learners can access high-quality learning at FutureLearn.
C.FutureLearn aims to totally change access to education.
D.This website aims to recruit new users for FutureLearn.
According to the ancient Greek mythology, King Midas might be one of the world’s earliest alchemist, who was granted by the god Dionysus the magic power to turn anything he touched into gold. Unfortunately, the king soon realized that this ability was more of a curse than of a gift as he had to suffer the loss of many of life’s real pleasures, including the taste of good food and the embrace of his beloved daughter.
While the story of the greedy Midas is meant to warn against becoming a slave to one’s desires, it also reflects our human greed for gold. This extremely attractive metal has captivated humans over thousands of years, ever since the days of the ancient Egyptians, and has been the basis of currency for many civilizations over centuries.
Today gold remains the foundation of the luxury jewellery industry and, in recent years, has become one of the most prominent materials in the production of our latest necessity --- modern electronics. Gold is used to make many of the devices we love, such as cellphones, tablets and laptops. This is due to its highly efficient electrical properties and its resistance to corrosion, which are unmatched by any other metal. But the manufacturing of just 40 mobile phones requires approximately one gram of gold, which corresponds to nearly a ton of mined ore. Given the persistent rise in electronics production, and the limited and decreasing supply of gold, how will we maintain the supply of this precious material for many years to come?
One solution might be found in the recycling of electronic waste, a process often referred to as urban mining. Given that a metric tonne of recycled laptop circuit boards can have between 40 and 800 times more gold than found in a metric tonne of ore, it seems unreasonable to redeposit the precious metal into the earth via landfills. Despite this, and the fact that urban mining is growing more cost-effective by the day, only 20 per cent of all electronic waste is currently recycled. In 2017, the Global E-Waste Monitor projected that the amount of electronic waste generated by the end of 2021 would reach 52.2 million metric tonnes.
It is estimated that the value of the gold in our garbage exceeds €10 billion ($11.2 billion). On top of that, the many other precious metals in the garbage, such as silver, copper and platinum, add even more value to our waste. Therefore, given its economic and technological importance, it is time to consider whether other sources of gold, which are not yet decidedly possible to access, can also be exploited in the future.
While King Midas might have appealed to the gods for an easy solution to acquire gold, modern alchemists use the latest technology to achieve ancient dreams. It is these qualities that might eventually lead to environmentally mindful and energy-efficient technologies for extracting gold from incredible places.
1.The underlined word “captivated” in paragraph two can be best replaced by .
A.cultivated B.jailed C.satisfied D.tempted
2.Which of the following is NOT one of the many uses of gold in history and modern time?
A.aiding the business of waste recycling industry.
B.being used in manufacturing jewellery.
C.constituting an essential part of electronic devices.
D.forming the basis of currency.
3.According to paragraph four, what is the purpose of “urban mining”？
A.To save more laptop circuit from being wasted.
B.To deposit more precious gold.
C.To preserve gold for future use.
D.To make a profit by recycling life garbage.
4.The author uses the story of “King Midas” to .
A.analyze the loss caused by electronic waste
B.illustrate the magic power of urban mining
C.interest the readers with the rich history of ancient Greece
D.warn the world against becoming slaves to material gains
If you’re going to be a straight talker, you have to believe that it’s a virtue, that it’s an attribute you want associated with yourself.
If you have an opinion and you just_______it, it allows the other person to either try to change your opinion, to agree with you, or to agree to_______-they have an action they can take. If you are quiet, people think you agree. How can you then_______the conversation when you’re at different points and it’s not really exposed? Agreeing is easy. Disagreeing takes more _______.
Several years back, when I was CEO at Autodesk(欧特克，美国电脑软件公司), there was a senior-level woman who was very smart and well spoken, but she didn’t wear_______clothes. It was_______ and she was not being taken seriously. I said to her manager, who was male, “You need to tell her.” He said, “Oh, no way.”
So I called her in and_______stated what I thought was happening. I told her, “You’re not getting the respect you_______.” I said, “Go to Nordstrom’s(诺德斯特龙,美国高档连锁百货店) and get a_______shopper. Just say, “I’m a senior businessperson and need help dressing like one.” She came back, and honest to God, it was a different person. She said she felt really good. And her currency went way up.
Early in my business career, if people asked me a question, I’d try to answer it honestly. And that was________. I had managers who wanted me around because I would actually tell them what was happening.
I was raised by my grandma, and she was a pretty________ talker because she thought you could________ it. My advice is,________ your toe in. If you’re honest and truthful, what is somebody going to say, that you’re ________because you believe something?
Being honest and ________is part of being a good friend, a good associate, and a good leader. It’s also why I know I could never be a politician.
1.A.explain B.exclaim C.claim D.state
2.A.favour B.approve C.disagree D.doubt
3.A.continue B.further C.change D.stop
4.A.efforts B.trouble C.time D.courage
5.A.appropriate B.smart C.formal D.uniform
6.A.ignored B.distracting C.disappointing D.disapproving
7.A.rightly B.timidly C.cautiously D.frankly
8.A.demand B.require C.expect D.deserve
9.A.personal B.catalog C.fellow D.secret
10.A.rewarded B.awarded C.paid D.responded
11.A.direct B.straight C.reasoning D.creative
12.A.grant B.recognize C.handle D.acknowledge
13.A.cast B.drop C.remove D.dip
14.A.frank B.generous C.modest D.stupid
15.A.competent B.disciplined C.truthful D.aggressive
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A.People can drive their cars at a high speed on the PRT system.
B.Each car on the PRT system can carry 300 passengers at a time.
C.The cars running on the PRT system can be controlled by a wire.
D.The power that sets the cars on the PRT system running comes from the sun.
2.
A.The traffic jam in Masdar City. B.Building more roads with wider lanes.
C.Solutions to traffic jams. D.Encouraging people to cycle more.
3.
A.Taxi drivers. B.Shop assistants.
C.Teachers and students. D.The elderly and the sick.
4.
A.The benefit of cycling lies in that more people can travel at the same time.
B.The man thinks that building more roads with wider lanes is not a perfect solution.
C.The woman disagrees with the second expert because riding is practical on rainy days.
D.The woman agrees with the first expert because it is very expensive to build more roads.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A.Drinking a lot of alcohol. B.Going shopping in stores.
C.Gathering around tables for hotpot. D.Eating fried food and barbecued meat.
2.
A.Movies are available to people in Shanghai at midnight.
B.People in Hangzhou attach great importance to dinner.
C.A total of nine online platforms provide data for the report.
D.People in Beijing are most likely to order Starbucks in the afternoon.
3.
A.People’s eating habits in different regions of China.
B.The impact of mobile payment on Chinese people’s lifestyle.
C.The difference of nightlife among residents in Chinese cities.
D.The pressure of urban life brought by the nightlife activities.
