单选题 {{B}}
How to get to the top
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Marketing used to be the route to the chief executive's chair，but the world has changed．Now，says Monika Hamori．professor of human resources at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid，it is finance chiefs who are most likely to get the top job，though experience in opera-tions-running parts of the companyis also essential．CFO Magazine found in 2005 that onefifth of chief ex-ecutives in America were former chief financiaI officers，almost double the share of a decade earlier．The importance of quarterly financial reporting，and closer scrutiny since the imposition of the Sarbanesoxley corporategovernance act，have put CFOs in the limelightand given them the chance to shine．
Another factor in reaching the top is whether you stay with the company you joined as a youngster．Ms．Hamori's research looked at companies in the S&P 500 and the FTSEurofirst 300．She finds that‘lifers’get to the top in 22 years in America and 24 years in Europe：‘Hoppers’who jump between four or more companies，by contrast，take at least 26 years on average to become chief executives．Insiders get promotions that reflect their potential，because their bosses have enough information to be reasonably confident about their ability．When executives switch from one company to another，however，they tend to move less far up the hierarchy，the researchers found．
The time taken to reach the top is falling．The average time from first job to chief executive fell from 28 years in 1980 to 24 in 2001．Successful executives are spending less time than they used to in each intermediate joban average of four yearsand they fill five posts on the way up．down from six．One reason for this acceleration is that company hierarchies are flatter than they used to be．Another important shift is the advent of female chief executives． 1n 2001 women accounted for 11%of bosses at leading American companies．ac-cording to the Hamori/Cappelli survey；in the early 1980s there were none．
America is usually regarded as the home of raw capitalism．with youthful managers hopping from firm to firm and pushing their way to the top．But the HamorL/Cappelli study and another by Booz & Company，a consultancy，show that Europe is a more dynamic and harsher environ-menl than America or Japan for chief executives．For a start，European chief executives are younger，with an average age of 54．compared with over 56 in America．The Hamor/Cappelli study shows that 26%of American bos-ses were lifers，compared with only 18%in Europe．
The Europeans also have a harder time once they get to the top.Booz ＆ Company's annual survey of chiefexecutive succession shows that 17.6%of European bosses moved on last year．compared with 15%of Americans and 10%of Japanese．Chief executives．the survey found，last longer in America：the average tenure over the past decade was just over nine years．But in Europe the average tenure over the same period was less than seven years．
Moreover．a whopping 37%of changes at the top in Europe were more or less firings，according to Booz，compared with only 27%in America and 12%in Japan．Booz puts this down to the more recent tightening of corporate governance in Europe,Another Booz finding is common to both sides of the Atlantic：looking back over recent years，board disputes and power struggles lie behind a third of chiefexecutive firings．In short，shareholder activism is making its presence felt，putting pressure on bosses to perform．
单选题 What is true according to the first paragraph?
  • A.CFOs'hard work leads to their increasing chances of promotion．
  • B.CFOs usually have no experience in management．
  • C.Marketing directors no longer have the chance to get a top position．
  • D.Chief executives used to be promoted mainly from the marketing department．
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本段第一句话就是判断D为正确的依据，其句意是“从事销售工作曾经是成为行政主管的必经之路，然而现在情形都变了”。理解了本句，我们发现D项的含义“以前，行政主管主要是从销售部门提拔上来的”与之相符，因此选D。
单选题 If you are a‘lifer’．
  • A.you take less time to make it to the top．
  • B.you have a long list of previous jobs．
  • C.you tend to move less far up in the company．
  • D.you keep changing your job all your life．
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章第二段比较了lifers和。hoppers获得晋升的几率大小以及所需的时间长短。此处的lifers和hoppers分别指“一直供职于某个单位的人”和“频繁跳槽、换工作的人”。从第三、四句可得知，和hoppers相比，lifers晋升到高层所需要的时间平均要少2～4年，所以判断A“如果你是lifer，你能更快地晋升到高层”为正确答案。
单选题 What is true according to the third paragraph?
  • A.Chief executives spend less time on their jobs than before．
  • B.Career progression is faster than it used to be．
  • C.Company hierarchies are barriers to career development．
  • D.There will be more female executives than male executives in the future．
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章第三段的第一句话也是其主题句，表明了本段的主要思想“现如今晋升到高层所需的时间变短了”。另外，第二个句子用具体数字证明了人们从第一份工作到最后位居要职所需的平均时间有昕缩短。这与B项的内容其实是完全相符的，因此选B。
单选题 Compared to America，
  • A.there is more competition for chief executives in Europe．
  • B.lifers in Europe have more chances to get to the top．
  • C.it takes lifers in Europe less time to get to the top．
  • D.executives in Europe hop less frequently from job to job．
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题相关内容出现在第四段，它比较了欧洲和美国的行政主管的状况。段中第二句话提到“同美国和日本相比，调查发现欧洲的职场对于行政主管来讲更是充满了变数和压力”是答题的关键，它与选项A的意思相符。
单选题 What is true about European chief executives?
  • A.They are dynamic and harsh in management．
  • B.They will be hard on others once they get to the top．
  • C.They have less job security than their American counterparts．
  • D.They work longer than their American counterparts．
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题相关内容是第五段。第一句“The Europeans also have a harder time once they get to the top．”为段落主题句，意思是“在欧洲，身居要职以后日子更是不好过”。随后的句子讲述了他们的不易。具体的数据表明“与美国相比，欧洲的行政主管在位时间短，而且更新快”，换言之，他们的工作很不稳定。因此，C项为正确答案，意思是“欧洲的行政主管不如美国的有职业安全感”。
单选题 According to the last paragraph，
  • A.employees are more likely to be fired as they get higher in position．
  • B.executives in Japan are more likely to get fired than those in America．
  • C.corporate governance in America and Japan is too loose．
  • D.shareholders in both America and Europe put great pressure on the management．
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题用筛选法可以很快确定答案D。 只要正确理解本段的第一句话就可以排除A和B。第一句话的意思是“根据Booz的调查，在欧洲，高达37%的高层人事变动都多少带有被解雇的性质，而美国和日本则分别为27%和12%”。A项的意思是“职位越高的职员更容易被解雇”，与本句不符。此外，参考句中“美国和日本(的高层解雇比例)分别为27%和12%”可以判断B为错误。至于选项C，它的意思是“美国和日本的企业管理太过松散”，这并没有在本段提及，而且也不能从段中的第二句“：Booz puts this down to the more recent tightening of cor-porate governance in Europe．”作出这样的推论，所以C也不正确。D项的意思为“欧洲和美国的股东都给管理层施加了巨大的压力”，它与本段最后两句话的内容相符，为正确答案。