Question

It’s time to reevaluate how women handle conflict at work. Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life. It will only slow you down and hinder (阻碍) your career goals.

Did you know women are more likely than men to feel exhausted? nearly twice as many women than men aged 18-44 were reported feeling “very tired” or “exhausted”, according to a recent study.

This may not be surprising given that this is the age range when women have children. It is also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home. One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying “no”. Women want to be able to do it all—volunteer for school parties or cook delicious meals—and so their answer to any request is often “Yes, I can.”

Women struggle to say “no” in the workplace for similar reasons, including the desire to be liked by their colleagues. Unfortunately, this inability to say “no” may be hurting women’s health as well as their career.

At the workplace, men use conflict as a way to position themselves, while women often avoid conflict or strive to be the peacemaker, because they don’t want to be viewed as aggressive at work. For example, there is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, resulting in a dispute over who should be the one to fix it. Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them. most, whereas women may approach the same dispute from the perspective of what’s the easiest and quickest way to resolve the problem—even if that means doing the boring work themselves.

This difference in handling conflict could be the deciding factor on who gets promoted to a leadership position and who does not. Leaders have to be able to delegate (知人善任) and manage resources wisely—including staff expertise. Shouldering more of the workload may not earn you that promotion. Instead, it may highlight you inability to delegate effectively.

1.What does the author say is the problem with women?

A. They are often unclear about the career goals to reach.

B. They are usually more committed at home than on the job.

C. They tend to be over-optimistic about how far they could go.

D. They tend to push themselves beyond the limits of their ability.

2.Why do working women of child-bearing age tend to feel exhausted?

A. They struggle to satisfy the demands of both work and home.

B. They are too devoted to work and unable to relax as a result.

C. They do their best to cooperate with their workmates.

D. They have to take up too many responsibilities.

3.Men and women differ in their approach to resolving workplace conflicts in that ________.

A. women tend to be easily satisfied

B. men are generally more persuasive

C. men tend to put their personal interests first

D. women are much more ready to do the boring work

4.What is important to a good leader?

A. An aggressive personal.    B. The ability to delegate.

C. The courage to admit failure.    D. A strong sense of responsibility.

Answer

1. D

2. A

3. C

4. B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章论述了女性比男性更由可能感到“筋疲力尽”的原因，是因为女性倾向于将自己逼迫到超出自身能力之外。文章还指出在面对工作中的冲突争端时，男性倾向于将个人利益放在第一位，而女性则可能会从解决问题的最简单和最快的方法的角度来处理同样的争议，即使这意味着她们自己要做枯燥的工作。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段第二句“Being overworked or over-committed at home and on the job will not get you where you want to be in life.”，第三段第三句“One reason women may feel exhausted is that they have a hard time saying “no”.”与第四段最后一句“Unfortunately, this inability to say “no” may be hurting women’s health as well as their career.”可知，作者认为女性的问题在于她们无力说“不”，女性无论是在家里还是工作上，超负荷的工作或过度的投入，即女性的问题在于倾向于把自己推到能力的极限之外。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段第二句“It is also the age range when many women are trying to balance careers and home.”可知处于生育年龄的职业女性会感到疲惫，是因为在这个年龄段，很多女性都在努力平衡事业和家庭。故选A。

3.细节理解题。第五段倒数第二句“Men are more likely to face that dispute from the perspective of what benefits them.”可知男人和女人在解决工作场所冲突的方法上，男性更有可能从对自己有利的角度来面对这种争论。即男性是以自我利益为第一位的，故选C。

4.细节理解题。最后一段倒数第二句“Leaders have to be able to delegate (知人善任) and manage resources wisely—including staff expertise.”可知一个好的领导者必须能够知人善任，和明智地分配和管理资源——包括员工的专业技能。故选B。