阅读理解 I doubt anyone with cross-cultural experience can read Osland and Bird' s article without remembering a moment when careful cross-cultural preparation had to be jettisoned. The moment that came to my mind was meeting a Japanese colleague on a visit to the United States. Instead of the formality and reserve I expected, he kicked off his shoes, tucked his feet under him in a chair. And leaned close to me conspiratorially saying: " So what is it really like here at corporate headquarters?" His behavior made no sense within my "sophisticated stereotype" of Japanese culture, but we nonetheless found common ground and developed a good relationship. Overtime, I came to realize that he was a free spirit whose exuberant personality overrode his cultural group norms. Osland and Bird' s model is helpful in explaining this and other paradoxical experiences, and it looks as if it has broader application than traditional expatriate training. This is important because companies like mine, Kodak, have people of many nationalities who lead multicultural teams, work on multi-country projects, and travel monthly outside their home countries. In any year, they may work in Paris, Shanghai, Istanbul, Moscow, or Buenos Aires with colleagues from different set of countries. It is impossible for these global travelers to remember a sophisticated stereotype for each culture they encounter, much less develop a deep understanding of each.
Kodak has also gone beyond traditional cultural training by addressing multiculturalism from a team perspective. In this regard, we developed a workbook for leaders managing global teams. The workbook explains in simple terms the roles of team members and team leaders in different cultures using Hofstede' s cultural dimension of hierarchy/equality, individualism/collectivism, task/relationship, and risk avoidance/risk comfort. But the workbook also offers the following advice, which is consistent with Osland and Bird' s thesis:
"Because a team member comes from a country where a particular orientation exists does not mean that she will necessarily embody that orientation. Cross cultural tools are not flawlessly predictive, so be prepared for individual surprises and contradictions. "
单选题 16.The purpose for the author in describing his experience with a Japanese is to show______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】由第一段第三句“Instead of the formality and reserve I expected…”可知日本同事在旅途中的行为与作者对日本人的传统观念大不相同。最后一句“I came to…overrode hiscultural group norms”说明了现实中人们的个性特点可能overrode生活在那种文化下人们的传统norms。
单选题 17.What can be inferred from the passage about the traditional expatriate training?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】第二段第一句提到“Osland and Bird的模式是更有帮助的,并且似乎比传统的外派训练模式有更广泛的适用性。后面阐释原因,即因为这些全球旅行者不可能把每种文化的复杂模式全部记下来。由此可推断出,传统的模式要求人们记住很多例子。
单选题 18.According to the Kodak workbook, multicultural team leaders______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第三段最后一句提到Kodak workshop提供这样的建议“Cross cultural tools are not flaw-lessly predictive,so be prepared for individual surprises and contradictions.”,因此选C。
单选题 19.The word "jettisoned"(Line 2, Par. 1)means______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第一段的例子证明原来对跨文化交际的认识在实际生活中可能行不通,因此不得不放弃原来做的跨文化交际的准备。jettison抛弃,丢弃。故选D。
单选题 20.What is the author's attitude towards Osland and Bird's article?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】第二段提到他们的这个模式有更广的适用范围,因为其在解释相互矛盾的经历时更有用。第三段指出柯达公司提出的建议与他们文章里的话相一致。因此可看出作者对他们的文章持肯定的态度。