考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit29
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 fiftysomething 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）：本文选自Newsweek; 04/16/2001, p61;
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年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 “let 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 the employee’s problems.
[B]Team-building trips are popular with many companies.
[C]There are risks, as well as rewards in the team-building trips.
[D]Employees are able to overcome the difficulty after the trips.
答案：CADBC
篇章剖析
本文采用提出问题——分析问题的模式，指出“团队建设”旅行丰富的旅行项目尽管有一定的危险，但是带给旅行者的收益却很大。第一段和第二段指出奥德菲尔德软件公司和其它新经济的兴存者进行的形式多样的旅行项目；第三段、四段和五段分别指出旅行者在不同形式的旅行中的收获和启示。
词汇注释
cubicle [5kju:bIk(E)l] n. 隔间，小卧室
rapport [rA5pC:(r); (?@) rA5pC:rt] n. 友好；和睦；友善，友好关系；和睦
be on [in] rapport with 跟...和睦相处
sky-high adv. 非常高地，极高地；高入云霄地
sky diving n.<美俚> 尽量延缓张伞的跳伞运动；天空蹦极
skydiving跳伞运动，高空跳伞特技表演(从飞机上跳下来并自由降落，在拉降落伞伞绳之前表演各种动作)
white-water rafting急流漂筏运动；滑水
caving n. 洞穴探险
purse string n. 系钱袋口上的细绳；金钱
hold (control, tighten) the purse strings 控制[节省](家庭、公司等的)开支
loosen the purse strings 放松对钱的控制
hard times 市况萧条，市面萧条，不景气
working circle 施业区, 事业区，林区(按照特别经营计划经营的森林区域)
let off steam散发多余的精力; 发牢骚; 发泄郁积的情感
shake-up [5Feik5Qp] n. [俚]机构的大改组; 人员大变动
regatta[rI5^AtE] n. 赛船大会，划船比赛，赛舟会
landlubber [5lAndlQbE(r)] n. “旱鸭子”(指新水手, 不习惯航海、乘船的人)
set loose v. 出发, 使爆炸, 引起, 招致；(使)开始(做某事)
skipper [5skIpE(r)] n. 船长；运动队队长
run （take） a risk(s) 冒险
topple [5tCpl] vi.,vt. (高的东西)摇晃, 摇摇欲坠, 向前倒；推翻, 颠覆
camaraderie [kB:mE5rB:dEri:] n. [法]同志间的友谊与忠诚，同志情谊；友爱
off-site adj.不在现场的，离开事发地点的
light n. 见解，见识，眼光
Savvy [5sAvi] n. [俚]见识; 处世才能, 机智; 本领, 专门技能；adj. 精明的; 能干的; 有见识的
Notes:
Visa U.S.A (维萨美国)：Visa U.S.A是一家业界领先的支付公司，拥有美国最大的支付系统，在发展新的支付手段和技术方面起着至关重要的作用，为14000家成员金融机构和持卡人提供服务，并为电子商务提供安全的在线处理方式。
难句突破
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.
主体句式：DMR flew …employees…
结构分析：“DMR”是本句的主语，“a New Jersey-based telecommunications consulting firm”是“DMR”的同位语；“flew”是句子的谓语，需要注意的是“flew”在句子里用做及物动词，意思是“用飞机或飞行器运载、运输、运送”；“run”之前省去了“which is”。
句子译文：在去年秋天公司重组以后，总部设在新泽西州的电信咨询公司——DMR公司——安排100 多名不同年龄的员工乘飞机到弗吉尼亚兰岭山参加由野外领导能力培训学校开办的为期四天半培训课程。
题目分析
1.答案为C, 属事实细节题。作者在文章开头就提出“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、老员工之间的关系的原因，奥德菲尔德才做出这件与众不同的事情。至于员工们感到“exhilarated and more confident”，那是这次旅行所带来的意想不到的收获。
2.答案为A，属事实细节题。选项B在文中对应的信息是“People need to let off steam in harder times”；选项C对应的信息是“…staged a regatta to help employees learn how to work together in a new environment.”；选项D在文中对应的信息是“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.”选项A与文中对应信息“And when the most junior employee turns out to be more wilderness-savvy than the CEO, everyone relaxes--except possibly the CEO.”蕴涵意思不相符合。
3.答案为D，属猜词题。本题主要是考察对习语“let off steam”的掌握。时世艰难，市况萧条，人们进行“singing trail rides”是要来“发泄他们郁积的情感”。
4.答案为B，属事实细节题。原文对应信息是“Nothing has been the same since.”
5.答案为C，属推理判断题。文中提到旅游探险公司带领新经济的员工在旷野中进行艰难的“团队建设”旅行。旅行中不乏危险，但是员工在旅行中收获很大。
参考译文
塔纳•奥德菲尔德的软件公司需要在新雇员工和老员工之间建立和睦融洽的关系。她说她设在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的公司想要做些与众不同的事情——“走出小隔间”。因此她要求员工走出飞机。奥德菲尔德说，在14,000英尺的高度进行这种高空蹦极，只需一天时间就能使员工“精神振奋”，“倍感自信”。她说，“如果他们能征服高空跳伞的恐惧，那么，他们也就能够克服工作中的难题。”
即使在公司削减费用的大环境下，奥德菲尔德的公司(她希望不透漏公司名称)和其他许多新经济的幸存者还继续在一些不用黑板、计算机或会议室的培训课程上投资。他们宁愿派员工进行精心安排的、有时甚至具有危险性的“团队建设”旅行。从急流漂筏到洞穴探险、攀岩，公司培训人员正在给这些在小隔间工作的人逐渐增加训练难度。
市况萧条也使得一些公司对钱财的控制有所松动。持有解决冲突博士学位的黛安·卡茨说，她的“事业区”团队建设训练项目设在亚利桑那州，至今已运行了一年时间。在她的客户当中，有一半的人来这儿参加培训是因为他们的老板以此作为对他们出色工作的奖赏。“在市况萧条时期，人们需要发泄郁积的情感。”卡茨如是说。在培训中，她利用马语者——这些人宣称能同动物交流，罗伯特•里德福德的电影《马语者》使这一行为广为流行——来推动索诺兰沙漠骑马游歌唱活动的进行（当然是人唱，不是马唱）。
在办公室人员进行大的变动以后，维萨美国(Visa U.S.A.)公司加州福斯特城项目协调员伊丽莎白•伯格发起了一次赛舟会，以帮助公司员工学会如何在一个新环境里合作共事。一家培训公司——设在加州埃尔塞里托的冒险联合公司——对伯格和另外20名“旱鸭子”同事进行了划船基本知识教练，然后让他们分乘34英尺长的帆船(每艘船上配一名专业船长，以防万一)参加在旧金山海湾举行的赛艇比赛。“作为成年人，我们一般不习惯在我们不懂行的领域里玩”，伯格说，“每个人的合作和反应方式也都不一样。”
在去年秋天公司重组以后，总部设在新泽西州的电信咨询公司——DMR公司——安排100 多名不同年龄的员工乘飞机到弗吉尼亚兰岭山参加由野外领导能力培训学校开办的为期四天半培训课程。“我当时认为这绝对是一场灾难。”年逾半百的销售经理约翰•特戴斯克回忆道，但自从有了在花岗岩上方离地面90 英尺高的绳索上晃来晃去的经历后，特戴斯克学会了如何依靠年轻的同事。“突然间，你遇到了你从未经历过的风险，而恰在此时，你的同事及时来帮你。”他回忆说，“打那以后一切都改变了。这是因为艰难的野外挑战可以消除严格的办公室等级制度，鼓励那种经常在传统的办公室以外工作现场所缺乏的同事友情。特戴斯克说：“通常你都是以不同的眼光看待别人。”而当得知大多数低级员工原来比首席执行官更精于野外生存，每个人——可能除了首席执行官以外——都感到轻松了许多。
考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit30
At the end of last week, Bodega Aurrerá, a Mexican subsidiary of the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, opened a new store in the village of San Juan Teotihuacán, just north of Mexico City. Normally, such an event would cause little stir. Wal-Mart is already Mexico's biggest retailer too. And its shops seem to go down very well with its millions of bargain-hungry customers. But this particular opening was, in fact, the culmination of months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole by those determined to stop it.
The reason is the location. Just 2.5km (1.6 miles) away is the ancient city of Teotihuacán, probably Mexico's most famous archaeological site. Amongst other attractions, it boasts the third-largest (by volume) pyramid in the world. For many Mexicans, the ancient site, abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived, remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood. Thousands troop up to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun to celebrate the summer solstice.
To them, the idea of having a Wal-Mart next door is abhorrent. In the words of Homero Aridjis, a writer and one of the leading opponents, "it is like driving the stake of globalisation into the heart of old Mexico." The controversy is only the latest in a string of protesters' attempts to save Mexican culture from what they see as a creeping menace. They won a famous victory by blocking a McDonalds restaurant from opening in the main square of the pretty southern colonial town of Oaxaca.
But this time they were on much thinner ground. For a start, Wal-Mart went through all the appropriate regulatory hoops, even getting permission from the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites, which judged that the store would cause no harm to the nearby ruins. A small stone platform was indeed found during construction of the new car park, but was preserved.
Just as importantly, the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun is clearly bogus, as anyone who cares to get to the top can testify. The problem is not so much that you can see the Wal-Mart, but one of trying to distinguish it from the 30-odd other ugly, squat buildings that litter the surrounding countryside--to say nothing of the car parks, the electricity pylons and the large power station. Sadly, unrestricted building long ago ruined this particular view, as well as many others in Mexico.
To the diehards, the issue counts more than the view. But neither mattered much to the hundreds of locals who queued up for the opening, delighted to be freed of the small and expensive local shops. Despite a legal case pending against Wal-Mart and local officials, brought by an irate local left-wing politician, this is one battle that the American retailer has probably won.
注（1）：本文选自Economist; 11/13/2004, p42；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2001年真题Text 4（其中因2001年真题Text 4只有四个题目，所以本文第4题模仿参照对象为2003年Text 1的第四题）；
1. Why the opening of Wal-Mart caused stir?
[A]Wal-Mart would have severe competition with the local stores.
[B]War-Mart would provide them with a larger choice and more benefits.
[C]It was said to have ruined the scene of the ancient site.
[D]There shouldn’t be a store near the ancient site.
2. From Paragraph 2 we can infer that _________.
[A]the ancient city means a lot to the Mexicans
[B]a store will be too noisy for the ancient city
[C]the ancient city is very mysterious
[D]the pyramid is a good place for holding big ceremony
3. According to Wal-Mart, it has a good reason to build store there because _______.
[A]it proves no harm to the nearby ruins
[B]the scene of the ancient sites has been damaged
[C]customers want to buy some cheap products
[D]it has been widely accepted by the customers there.
4. It can be learned from Paragraph 5 that _________.
[A]the famous view is not as good as it used to be
[B]the city lacks planning in building
[C]the ancient site is littered with ugly buildings
[D]Wal-Mart shouldn’t be fully responsible for the ruined view.
5. Toward the fate of Wal-Mart, the writer’s attitude can be said to be _________.
[A]objective
[B]optimistic
[C]pessimistic
[D]biased
答案：CADDB
篇章剖析
本文采用提出问题——分析问题的模式，指出世界上最大的零售商沃尔玛在墨西哥开设分店时所遇到的麻烦、问题产生的原因以及最终的结果。第一段指出沃尔玛设在墨西哥的子公司Bodega Aurrerá在墨西哥城北部的圣胡安特奥帝瓦坎村开了一家新店所引起的强烈反响；第二段指出事件产生的原因；第三段指出反对者的看法及举动；第四段指出沃尔玛充分的前期工作；第五段指出这座古城的实际情况；第六段指出这个事件最有可能的结果是什么。
词汇注释
subsidiary[sEb`sIdIErI]n.子公司
retailer[5ri:teIlE(r)]n.零售商人, 传播的人
go down with vt.为...所接受,为...相信
culmination[kQlmI5neIF(E)n]n.顶点;结果
hyperbole[haI5p\:bElI]n.[修辞]夸张法
summer solstice夏至
creeping[`kri:pIN]adj.爬行的；在一段时间内逐步发展的：
bogus[5bEJ^Es]adj.<美>假的, 伪造的
diehard[5daIhB:d]n.顽固分子
irate[aI5reIt]adj发怒的；生气的
难句突破
1.But this particular opening was, in fact, the culmination of months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole by those determined to stop it.
主体句式：the … opening was … the culmination …
结构分析：本句是一个简单句。“months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole”跟在介词“of”后面来修饰“culmination”；“by”意思是“由…”；“determined”之前省去了“who are”。
句子译文：这次开张实际上是那些决心阻止它成立的人数月以来进行反对、合法行动、绝食抗议和其它一些偏激行为无效而落得的最终结果
2.For many Mexicans, the ancient site, abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived, remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood.
主体句式：the ancient site …remains …the symbol
结构分析：本句是一个简单句。“abandoned”之前省去了“which was”。
句子译文：数百年前在西班牙征服者到来之前被这里的神秘居民所抛弃的这座古城，对很多墨西哥人来说依然是墨西哥民族和国家身份的根本象征。
题目分析
1.答案为C, 属推理判断题。从句子“Normally, such an event would cause little stir.”，我们可以看出沃儿玛开业这样的事情一般不会引起什么反响的。但是作者笔锋一转，“But this particular opening was, in fact, the culmination of months of protests, legal actions, hunger strikes and hyperbole by those determined to stop it.”那么为什么反对在沃儿玛开业，原因在于“The reason is the location.”和“the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun”。
2.答案为A，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是“For many Mexicans, the ancient site, abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived, remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood.”
3.答案为D，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是“Wal-Mart is already Mexico's biggest retailer too. And its shops seem to go down very well with its millions of bargain-hungry customers.”
4.答案为D，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是“Just as importantly, the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun is clearly bogus, as anyone who cares to get to the top can testify.”
5.答案为B，属情感态度题。原文对应信息是“Despite a legal case pending against Wal-Mart and local officials, brought by an irate local left-wing politician, this is one battle that the American retailer has probably won.”
参考译文
上周末，世界上最大的零售商沃尔玛设在墨西哥的子公司Bodega Aurrerá在墨西哥城北部的圣胡安特奥帝瓦坎(San Juan Teotihuacán)村开了一家新店。通常情况下，这样的事情是不会引起什么反响的。沃尔玛已经是墨西哥最大的零售商了。设在这里的商店倍受那些想买廉价货的上百万顾客的欢迎。这次开张实际上是那些决心阻止它成立的人数月以来进行反对、合法行动、绝食抗议和其它一些偏激行为无效而落得的最终结果。
事件的原因在于地段的选择问题。商店地址选在了离特奥蒂瓦坎（Teotihuacán）古城仅2.5公里（1.6英里）的地方。特奥蒂瓦坎古城可能是墨西哥最为出名的古文化遗址，除了别的景观之外，它还拥有世界上第三大金字塔（体积上）。数百年前在西班牙征服者到来之前被这里的神秘居民所抛弃的这座古城，对很多墨西哥人来说依然是墨西哥民族和国家身份的根本象征。每逢夏至都有上千人一起登上太阳金字塔的顶部以示庆祝。
对于这些人来说，在古城附近建沃尔玛超市这样的主意简直太可恶了。奥梅罗·阿里迪斯是一位作家，也是其中的一位主要反对者，用他的话来说：“这好比是把全球化的树桩子插到了古老的墨西哥的心脏上。”这是最近的一场争端，是反对者为了使墨西哥文化免受在他们看来是一种潜在的危险而做出的多方努力。他们曾赢过一场令人满意的胜利，成功阻止了麦当劳餐厅在美丽的南部殖民城镇瓦哈卡（Oaxaca）的主要广场上开店。
但是这次他们的底气就没那么足了。因为从一开始，沃尔玛就通过了所有相关的规章制度的审核，甚至还得到了驻巴黎的国际古迹遗址理事会的认可，他们判定在那里设店对周边遗迹是不会造成任何损害的。在新停车场施工过程中确实发现了一个小的石头平台，这已被保存起来了。
同样重要的是，声称新店破坏了太阳金字塔从塔顶往下望的良好的视觉效果，这显然是不对的，任何人只要登上塔顶就可以证实这一点。问题并不在于你是否能看到沃尔玛，而是你得从三十多个凌乱地散布在郊区的丑陋、低矮的建筑中努力去辨认沃尔玛——更不用提那里的停车场、电缆塔和大型发电站了。令人遗憾的是，那些随意建成的建筑很早以前不但毁坏了墨西哥其它的景观，也毁了这处风景。
对于顽固分子来说，事件本身要比风景问题重要。但是对于许许多多排队等候它开业，因为再不用受又小又贵的当地商店的限制而开心不已的当地居民来说，这些都不重要了。虽然当地一名愤怒的左翼政客对沃尔玛和当地官员提起的诉讼案件还悬而未决，但是在这场战斗中，美国零售商差不多已胜券在握了。
