单选题 When Liam McGee departed as president of Bank of America in August, his explanation was surprisingly straight up. Rather than cloaking his exit in the usual vague excuses, he came right out and said he was leaving "to pursue my goal of running a company. " Broadcasting his ambition was "very much my decision, " McGee says. Within two weeks, he was talking for the first time with the board of Hartford Financial Services Group, which named him CEO and chairman on September 29.
McGee says leaving without a position lined up gave him time to reflect on what kind of company he wanted to run. It also sent a clear message to the outside world about his aspirations. And McGee isn't alone. In recent weeks the No. 2 executives at Avon and American Express quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post. As boards scrutinize succession plans in response to shareholder pressure, executives who don't get the nod also may wish to move on. A turbulent business environment also has senior managers cautious of letting vague pronouncements cloud their reputations.
As the first signs of recovery begin to take hold, deputy chiefs may be more willing to make the jump without a net. In the third quarter, CEO turnover was down 23% from a year ago as nervous boards stuck with the leaders they had, according to Liberum Research. As the economy picks up, opportunities will abound for aspiring leaders.
The decision to quit a senior position to look for a better one is unconventional. For years executives and headhunters have adhered to the rule that the most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be poached. Says Korn/Ferry senior partner Dennis Carey. "I can't think of a single search I've done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first. "
Those who jumped without a job haven't always landed in top positions quickly. Ellen Marram quit as chief of Tropicana a decade age, saying she wanted to be a CEO. It was a year before she became head of a tiny Internet-based commodities exchange. Robert Willumstad left Citigroup with ambitions to be a CEO. He finally took that post at a major financial institution three years later.
Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one. "The traditional rule was it's safer to stay where you are, but that's been fundamentally inverted, " says one headhunter. "The people who've been hurt the worst are those who've stayed too long. /

单选题 When McGee announced his departure, his manner can best be described as being ______
A. arrogant.
B. frank.
C. self-centered.
D. impulsive.

单选题 According to Paragraph 2, senior executives' quitting may be spurred by ______
A. their expectation of better financial status.
B. their need to reflect on their private life.
C. their strained relations with the boards.
D. their pursuit of new career goals.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题为细节题。由题干中的According to Paragraph 2可以直接定位到第二段，根据该段的In recent weeks the No.2 executives at Avon and American Express quit with the explanation that they were looking for a CEO post.可知答案为D项，题干中的pursuit of代替原文中的looking for，题干中的new career goals代替原文中的a CEO post。A项错在financial 一词；B项中的private life原文未提及；C项为追求更高职位而常常发生的连带结果，而非离职的主要原因。

单选题 The word "poached" (Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably means ______
A. approved of.
B. attended to.
C. hunted for.
D. guarded against.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题为猜词题。由题干的提示(Line 3，Paragraph 4)可以直接定位到第四段，跳过第三段，节省时间。由headhunters“猎头”及最后引用的“I can't think of a single search I've done where a board has not instructed me to look at sitting CEOs first”，可推出答案为C。做猜词题，一定要充分利用该词前后的信息，尤其是引用语、插入语、转折词后信息等所给的特殊暗示。approve of“认同，赞许”；attend to“照顾，注意”；guard against“保护”。

单选题 It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______
A. top performers used to cling to their posts.
B. loyalty of top performers is getting out-dated.
C. top performers care more about reputations.
D. it's safer to stick to the traditional rules.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题为推断题。由最后一段前两句Many recruiters say the old disgrace is fading for top performers. The financial crisis has made it more acceptable to be between jobs or to leave a bad one.可推出答案为A，第二句为第一句的进一步解释，题干A为这两句的结合体。题干中的used to代替原文中的is fading，be between jobs or to leave a bad one指代cling to their posts，所以答案为A。选项B错在loyalty;选项C中的reputations原文未提及；原文说的是The traditional rule was it's safer to stay where you are，即，it's safer to stay where you are是traditional rules的内容，而非it's safer to stick to the traditional rules, 所以D项也错了。

单选题 Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. CEOs: Where to Go?
B. CEOs: All the Way Up?
C. Top Managers Jump without a Net
D. The Only Way Out for Top Performers

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题为标题判断题。原文由Liam McGee辞职后很坦率地说自己想经营一家公司的事情来引出当下很多高管因为谋求更高的职位而离职，而这种离职已经被高管们和猎头公司们看做正常的事情，传统的观点认为most attractive CEO candidates are the ones who must be poached，且最后一段也说到长期职位不变的人也是受伤最大的人，即，到最后得出离职是件正常及必要的事情，那么可以得出C项“高管愿意没有找好下家就跳槽”为正确答案。