2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 29

Unit 29

Tanna Oldfield’s software company needed to establish rapport between some new hires and the firm’s old guard. She says the company, which is based in Austin, Texas, wanted to do something different—to “step out of the box”. So she asked her employees to step out of a plane. At 14,000 feet. Oldfield says the sky-high bonding exercise left the workers “exhilarated” and “more confident” in just one day. “If they could conquer fears about sky diving,” she says, “they could overcome work issues.”

Even in a climate of corporate cost-cutting, Oldfield’s company（she prefers that it remain unidentified） and many other New Economy survivors continue to invest money in training sessions that do not involve blackboards, computers or conference rooms. Instead, they send their employees on increasingly elaborate, and even risky, “team-building” trips. From white-water rafting to caving and rock climbing, corporate trainers are raising the difficulty level on challenges for the cubicle set.

Hard times may even persuade some companies to loosen their purse strings. Diane Katz, who has a doctoral degree in conflict resolution, says half the clients who go on her year-old Working Circle team-building exercises in Arizona are there because bosses want to reward them for good work. “People need to let off steam in harder times,” says Katz, who uses horse whisperers—who claim to speak to the animals, a practice popularized by Robert Redford’s movie “The Horse Whisperer”—as facilitators on singing trail rides in the Sonoran desert （the people sing, not the horses）.

After an office shake-up, Elizabeth Burg, a project coordinator for Visa U.S.A. in Foster City., Calif., staged a regatta to help employees learn how to work together in a new environment. A corporate training firm, Adventure Associates of El Cerrito, Calif., taught boating basics to Burg and 20 landlubber co-workers and then set them loose on 34-foot sailboats for a race on San Francisco Bay （with a professional skipper aboard each yacht, just in case）. “As adults, we don’t usually get to play in areas where we’re not experts,” Burg says. “People cooperated and interacted differently.”

After a reorganization last fall, DMR, a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm, flew more than 100 employees of various ages to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a four-and-a-half-day program run by the Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School. “I expected a total disaster,” recalls John Tedesco, a fifty-something sales executive. But after dangling 90 feet above the ground in a rope harness on a granite rock face, Tedesco learned to rely on much younger colleagues. “You’re taking risks you usually don’t deal with, and suddenly your co-workers are helping you,” he recalls. “Nothing has been the same since.” That’s because rugged outdoor challenges can topple rigid office hierarchies and encourage the sort of camaraderie often missing from traditional off-site work events. “You see people in a different light,” says Tedesco. And when the most junior employee turns out to be more wilderness-savvy than the CEO, everyone relaxes—except possibly the CEO.

注（1）：本文選自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象為2004年真題Text 1。

1. What does Oldfield expect her software company to be rewarded by the trip?

A) A good spirit of confidence.

B) The ability to overcome difficulties.

C) A good relationship among the employees.

D) The courage to jump at a high height.

2. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of team-building excursions?

A) A good place to know your strong points compared with the CEO.

B) A good place to vent one’s feelings.

C) A good place to learn how to work together.

D) A good place to improve your exchange with colleagues.

3. The expression “l(fā)et off steam”（Line 4, Paragraph 3） most probably means ______.

A) solving the problems

B) saving themselves

C) getting out of the difficulty

D) releasing one’s offensive feelings

4. What effect does a four-and-a-half-day program bring to John Tedesco?

A) A total disaster fell on him.

B) His ideas have been totally changed.

C) He cares about his colleagues.

D) He is dependant on his colleagues.

5. What can we infer from the text?

A) Team-building trips can solve employees’ problems.

B) Team-building trips are popular with many companies.

C) There are risks, as well as rewards in team-building trips.

D) Employees are able to overcome difficulties after the trips.

篇章剖析

本文采用提出問題—分析問題的模式，指出“團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)”的旅行項(xiàng)目盡管有一定的危險(xiǎn)，但是帶給旅行者的收益卻很大。第一段和第二段指出奧德菲爾德軟件公司和其他新經(jīng)濟(jì)的幸存者進(jìn)行的形式多樣的旅行項(xiàng)目；第三段至第五段分別指出旅行者在不同形式的旅行中的收獲和啟示。

詞匯注釋

rapport /r??p??(r)/ n. 友好；和睦；友好關(guān)系

sky-high /?ska??ha?/ adv./adj. 極高地（的）

sky diving 盡量延緩張傘的跳傘運(yùn)動；天空蹦極

white-water rafting 急流漂筏；滑水

caving /?ke?v??/ n. 洞穴探險(xiǎn)

cubicle /?kju?b?k(?)l/ n. 隔間，小臥室

hard times 市況蕭條，不景氣

purse string 系錢袋口上的細(xì)繩；金錢

loosen the purse strings放松對錢的控制

hold (control, tighten) the purse strings 控制（節(jié)省）開支

working circle 林區(qū)（按照特別經(jīng)營計(jì)劃建立的森林區(qū)域）

let off steam散發(fā)多余的精力；發(fā)泄郁積的情感

shake-up /??e?k??p/ n. 〈俚〉機(jī)構(gòu)大改組；人員大變動

regatta /r??ɡ?t?/ n. 賽船大會，劃船比賽，賽舟會

landlubber /?l?ndl?b?(r)/ n. “旱鴨子”（指新水手，不習(xí)慣航海、乘船的人）

set loose 釋放；把…放出來；（使）開始（做某事）

skipper /?sk?p?/ n. 【?！看L；運(yùn)動隊(duì)隊(duì)長

take (run) risks 冒險(xiǎn)

topple /?t?pl/ vt. 推翻；顛覆 vi. 倒塌

camaraderie /kɑ?m??rɑ?d?ri?/ n. 〈法〉同志間的友誼；友愛

off-site /??f?sa?t/ adj. 不在現(xiàn)場的，離開事發(fā)地點(diǎn)的

light /la?t/ n. 見解，見識，眼光

savvy /?s?vi/ n. 〈俚〉見識；智慧 adj. 精明的；能干的；有見識的

背景注釋

Visa U.S.A（維薩美國）：Visa U.S.A是一家業(yè)界領(lǐng)先的支付公司，擁有美國最大的支付系統(tǒng)，在發(fā)展新的支付手段和技術(shù)方面起著至關(guān)重要的作用。它為14,000家成員金融機(jī)構(gòu)和持卡人提供服務(wù)，并為電子商務(wù)提供安全的在線處理方式。

難句突破

After a reorganization last fall, DMR, a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm, flew more than 100 employees of various ages to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a four-and-a-half-day program run by the Outdoor Wilderness Leadership School.

主體句式：DMR flew...employees...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：DMR是本句的主語，a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm是DMR的同位語；flew是句子的謂語，需要注意的是flew在句子里用作及物動詞，意思是“用飛機(jī)或飛行器運(yùn)載、運(yùn)輸、運(yùn)送”；run之前省去了which is。

句子譯文：總部設(shè)在新澤西州的電信咨詢公司——DMR在去年秋天重組以后，安排一百多名不同年齡的員工乘飛機(jī)到弗吉尼亞蘭嶺山參加由野外領(lǐng)導(dǎo)能力培訓(xùn)學(xué)校開辦的為期四天半的培訓(xùn)課程。

題目分析

1. C 細(xì)節(jié)題。作者在文章開頭就提出Tanna Oldfield’s software company needed to establish rapport between some new hires and the firm’s old guard.，正是出于想要融洽新、老員工關(guān)系的原因，奧德菲爾德才做出這件與眾不同的事情。至于員工們感到exhilarated and more confident，那是這次旅行所帶來的意想不到的收獲。

2. A 細(xì)節(jié)題。選項(xiàng)B對應(yīng)的信息在第三段：People need to let off steam in harder times；選項(xiàng)C對應(yīng)的信息在第四段：...staged a regatta to help employees learn how to work together in a new environment；選項(xiàng)D對應(yīng)的信息在倒數(shù)第一段：That’s because rugged outdoor challenges can topple rigid office hierarchies and encourage the sort of camaraderie...文章末尾提到在野外訓(xùn)練中CEO在某些方面還不如普通員工的現(xiàn)象是客觀結(jié)果，但不是培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目的主旨，所以選A。

3. D 語義題。本題主要是考查對習(xí)語let off steam的掌握。時(shí)世艱難，市況蕭條，人們進(jìn)行singing trail rides是要來“發(fā)泄他們郁積的情感”。

4. B 細(xì)節(jié)題。原文對應(yīng)信息在倒數(shù)第一段：Nothing has been the same since.

5. C 推理題。文章第二段末提到這種野外活動even risky，接下來用實(shí)例證明了團(tuán)隊(duì)成員從中受益匪淺，故選C。

參考譯文

塔納·奧德菲爾德的軟件公司坐落在得克薩斯州奧斯汀。該公司有意促進(jìn)新員工和老員工之間和睦融洽關(guān)系的形成，按照她的說法，就是想要在此方面做些與眾不同的事情——“走出小隔間”。于是在她的要求下，她的員工走出了飛機(jī)。奧德菲爾德說，在14,000英尺的高度進(jìn)行這種高空蹦極，只需一天時(shí)間就能使員工“精神振奮”、“倍感自信”。她說：“如果他們能征服高空跳傘的恐懼，那么，他們也就能夠克服工作中的難題?！?

即使在公司費(fèi)用削減的大環(huán)境下，奧德菲爾德的公司（她希望不透漏公司名稱）和其他許多新經(jīng)濟(jì)的幸存者還繼續(xù)在培訓(xùn)課程上投資。不過這些培訓(xùn)課程不使用黑板、計(jì)算機(jī)或會議室，而是一場精心安排的、有時(shí)甚至具有危險(xiǎn)性的“團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)”旅行。從急流漂筏到洞穴探險(xiǎn)、攀巖，公司培訓(xùn)人員正在給這些在小隔間工作的人逐漸增加訓(xùn)練難度。

市況蕭條甚至?xí)挂恍┕緦ω?cái)政的控制有所松動。持有平息沖突專業(yè)方向博士學(xué)位的黛安·卡茨說，她的“林區(qū)”團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)訓(xùn)練項(xiàng)目設(shè)在亞利桑那州，至今已運(yùn)行了一年時(shí)間。在她的客戶當(dāng)中，有一半的人來這兒參加培訓(xùn)是因?yàn)樗麄兊睦习逡源俗鳛閷λ麄兂錾ぷ鞯莫勝p?！霸谑袥r蕭條時(shí)期，人們需要發(fā)泄郁積的情感?！笨ù娜缡钦f。在培訓(xùn)中，她利用馬語者——這些人宣稱能同動物交流，隨著羅伯特·里德福德的電影《馬語者》得到廣為流傳——來推動索諾蘭沙漠騎馬游歌活動的進(jìn)行（當(dāng)然是人唱，不是馬唱）。

維薩美國（Visa U.S.A.）公司加州福斯特城項(xiàng)目協(xié)調(diào)員伊麗莎白·伯格在大規(guī)模重組辦公室人員以后，發(fā)起了一次賽舟會以幫助公司員工學(xué)會如何在一個(gè)新環(huán)境里合作共事。一家培訓(xùn)公司——設(shè)在加州埃爾塞里托的冒險(xiǎn)聯(lián)合公司——對伯格和另外20名“旱鴨子”同事進(jìn)行了劃船的基本訓(xùn)練，然后讓他們分別乘34英尺長的帆船（每艘船上配一名專業(yè)船長，以防萬一）參加在舊金山海灣舉行的賽艇比賽?！白鳛槌赡耆耍覀円话悴涣?xí)慣在我們不懂行的領(lǐng)域里玩”，伯格說，“每個(gè)人的合作和反應(yīng)也都不一樣?！?

總部設(shè)在新澤西州的電信咨詢公司——DMR在去年秋天重組以后，安排一百多名不同年齡的員工乘飛機(jī)到弗吉尼亞蘭嶺山參加由野外領(lǐng)導(dǎo)能力培訓(xùn)學(xué)校開辦的為期四天半的培訓(xùn)課程。“我當(dāng)時(shí)以為這絕對是一場災(zāi)難?！蹦暧獍氚俚匿N售經(jīng)理約翰·特戴斯克回憶道，但自從有了被巖壁上的繩索吊在離地面90英尺高的半空中晃來晃去的經(jīng)歷后，特戴斯克學(xué)會了如何依靠年輕的同事?！巴蝗婚g，你遇到了你從未經(jīng)歷過的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，而恰在此時(shí)，你的同事及時(shí)來幫你?！彼貞浾f，“打那以后一切都改變了。這是因?yàn)槠D難的野外挑戰(zhàn)可以消除嚴(yán)格的辦公室等級制度，鼓勵那種在辦公室以外的傳統(tǒng)活動中常缺乏的同事友情。特戴斯克說：“通常你都是以不同的眼光看待別人?！倍?dāng)?shù)弥蠖鄶?shù)低職位員工原來比首席執(zhí)行官更精于野外生存時(shí)，每個(gè)人——可能除了首席執(zhí)行官以外——都感到輕松了許多。