2. 外语
  3. 1 Do you ever feel as though you spend all your time in meetings? 2 Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Manageria

1 Do you ever feel as though you spend all your time in meetings? 2 Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Manageria

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问题 1     Do you ever feel as though you spend all your time in meetings?
2     Henry Mintzberg, in his book The Nature of Managerial Work, found that in large organizations managers spent 22 per cent of their time at their desk, 6 per cent on the telephone, 3 per cent on other activities, but a whopping 69 per cent in meetings.
3     There is a widely-held but mistaken belief that meetings are for "solving problems"and "making decisions". For a start, the number of people attending a meeting tends to be inversely roportional to their collective ability to reach conclusions and make decisions. And these are the least important elements.
4     Instead hours are devoted to side issues, playing elaborate games with one another. It seems, therefore, that meetings serve some purpose other than just making decisions.
5     All meetings have one thing in common: role-playing. The most formal role is that of chairman. He sets the agenda, and a good chairman will keep the meeting running on time and to the point. Sadly, the other, informal, role-players are often able to gain the upper hand. Chief is the "constant talker", who just loves to hear his or her own voice.
6     Then there are the "can’t do" types who want to maintain the status quo. Since they have often been in the organization for a long time, they frequently quote historical experience as an excuse to block change: "It won’t work, we tried that last year and it was a disaster. "A more subtle version of the "can’t do" type, the "yes, but... ," has emerged recently. They have learnt about the need to sound positive, but they still can’t bear to have things changed.
7     Another whole sub-set of characters are people who love meetings and want them to continue until 5: 30 p.m. or beyond. Irrelevant issues are their speciality. They need to call or attend meetings, either to avoid work, or to justify their lack of performance, or simply because they do not have enough to do.
8     Then there are the "counter-dependents", those who usually disagree with everything that is said, particularly if it comes from the chairman or through consensus from the group. These people need to fight authority in whatever form.
9     Meetings can also provide attenders with a sense of identification of their status and power. In this case, managers arrange meetings as a means of communicating to others the boundaries of their exclusive club: who is "in", and who is not.
10     Because so many meetings end in confusion and without a decision, another game is played at the end of meetings, called reaching a false consensus. Since it is important for the chairman to appear successful in problem-solving and making a decision, the group reaches a false consensus. Everyone is happy, having spent their time productively. The reality is that the decision is so ambiguous that it is never acted upon, or, if it is, there is continuing conflict, for Which another meeting is necessary.
11     In the end, meetings provide the opportunity for social intercourse, to engage in battle in front of our bosses, to avoid unpleasant or unsatisfying work, to highlight our social status and identity. They are, in fact, a necessary though not necessarily productive psychological sideshow. Perhaps it is our civilized way of moderating, if not preventing, change.
选项 A、talks as much as participants.
B、is usually a "constant talker".
C、prefers to take the role of an observer.
D、is frequently outshone by participants.
答案D
解析 <1>whopping巨大的，庞大的，不平常
<2>playing elaborate games with one another彼此之间玩着十分复杂的游戏。所谓游戏，这里指下文所讲的各种与会者的角色扮演。
<3>...there are the“can’t do” types who want to maintain the status quo．一些人认为这也不能做那也不能做，这类人只是想维持现状，status quo来自拉丁语，意为“现状”。
<4>...there are the“counter-dependents...”一些人总是持反对意见。
<5>sideshow穿插表演，附带活动。psychological这里指会议活动是一种心理行为，而这种行为是我们日常活动中的附带事件。
<6>...it is our civilized way to moderating，if not preventing，change．会议作为一种心理上的附带活动，是我们缓和变化(如果不是阻止变化的话)的一种文明方式。
此题为细节理解题。据第5段第3句和第4句可知与会者(the other，informal，role—players)经常能够占据上风，即无视会议主持人对会议的控制，在会上让别人听他或她说个不停。outshine表示“比……更出色”，“胜过”。A、B、C都曲解了第5段原文的意思。
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