单选题
Dealing with Criticism

    A. No one likes getting criticism. But it can be a chance to show off a rare skill: taking negative feedback (反馈)well. It is a skill that requires practice, humility and a sizable dose of self-awareness. But the ability to learn from criticism fuels creativity at work, studies show, and helps the free flow of valuable communication.
    B. Tempering an emotional response can be hard, especially 'if you're genuinely surprised and you're getting that flood of anger and panic,' says Douglas Stone, a lecturer at Harvard Law School and co-author of 'Thanks for the Feedback.'
    C. Gillian Florentine was stunned when a supervisor at a previous employer accused her of working 'under the cover of darkness.' She was gathering internal data for a proposal she planned to present to him on scheduling flexibility for information-technology employees, says Ms. Florentine, a Pittsburgh human-resources consultant. She knew she should respond calmly, acknowledge that she sometimes made decisions on her own and ask specifically what had upset him. Her emotional response overrode her judgment, however. 'I was like, 'Are you kidding me?'' she says. 'I felt offended and personally hurt,' and responded in an angry tone. Ms. Florentine later smoothed over the rift and promised to keep the boss better informed. But she told him that his wording had 'felt like a personal attack on my integrity.'
    D. Many employees don't get much practice receiving negative feedback, managers say. It is out of fashion, for one thing: Some 94% of human-resources managers favour positive feedback, saying it has a bigger impact on employees' performance than criticism, according to a 2013 survey of 803 employers by the Society for Human Resource Management and Globoforce. Performance reviews are infrequent, with 77% of employers conducting them only once a year.
    E. When people are criticized, the strong feelings that follow can be tough to control. 'If you end up in a puddle of tears, that's going to be the memorable moment,' says Dana Brownlee, founder of Professionalism Matters, Atlanta, a corporate-training company.
    F. If tears well up or you feel yourself becoming defensive, ask to wait 24 hours before responding, says Brad Karsh, president of JB Training Solutions, Chicago, a consulting and training company. 'Say, 'thank you very much for the feedback. What I'd like to do is think about it.''
    G. People react badly to feedback for one of three reasons, says Mr. Stone: The criticism may seem wrong or unfair. The listener may dislike or disrespect the person giving it. Or the feedback may rock the listener's sense of identity or security.
    H. Some people distort feedback into a devastating personal critique. Mr. Stone suggests writing down: 'What is this feedback about, and what is it not about?' Then, change your thinking by eliminating distorted thoughts. 'The goal is to get the feedback back into the fight-sized box' as a critique of specific aspects of your current performance, he says.
    I. Mr. Stone recalls a meeting years ago where a client tossed down on the table a report he and his colleague and co-author Sheila Heen had written and yelled, 'This is a piece of s—!' Mr. Stone says his heart sank: 'I'm thinking, 'This meeting is not going well.'' But Ms. Heen had a comeback: 'When you say s—, could you be more specific? What do you mean?' The questions touched off a useful two-hour discussion, Mr. Stone says. Ms. Heen confirms the account.
    J. 'What' questions, such as 'What evidence did you see?' tend to draw out more helpful information, says productivity-training consultant Garrett Miller. Questions that begin with 'why,' such as, 'Why are you saying that?' breed resentment and bog down the conversation, says Mr. Miller, chief executive of CoTria, Tranquility, N.J.
    K. It is tempting to dismiss criticism from a boss you dislike. Lori Kleiman, a speaker and author on human-resource issues in Chicago, finished a sales call several years ago by signing up a new client. A manager who had been listening in called afterward, congratulated her, then delivered a critique: Ms. Kleiman said 'like' too often while talking to the client. Ms. Kleiman felt angry at the call, because she felt this manager frequently 'one-upped' her, and at first dismissed the feedback, she says. But after some thought, she saw that the manager was right. As a result, she says, she began to choose her words more carefully and broke the habit.
    L. Extra restraint is needed if a boss or colleague issues a critique in a meeting in front of others. 'Don't create a scene. Just nod and keep a smile,' says Mr. Karsh. Later, acknowledge the feedback, but explain that it wasn't appropriate or helpful to receive it in front of others. Ask that in the future, 'we have those discussions one-on-one,' he says.
    M. Employees tend to become less defensive if they receive frequent feedback, says Catalina Andrade, training and benefits manager at Tris3ct, a Chicago marketing agency. Tris3ct trains managers to give frequent, direct feedback and to show understanding while doing so.
    N. Some feedback may actually be out of line with your performance or character. It is fair to ask a supervisor about the basis for the critique, Mr. Karsh says. If the boss hasn't bothered to gather estimations from co-workers, clients or customers who know and depend on your work, it may be all fight to ask that their evaluations be included.
    O. After reflecting on feedback for a while, however, most people realize, 'I can totally see why someone would say that,' Mr. Karsh adds. Mr. Miller, the productivity consultant, says he was angry when a boss on a previous job scolded him for hosting an informal team strategy meeting the night before an all-employee conference. The meeting was productive. But the boss criticized Mr. Miller, reminding him of the boss's directive that no conference gatherings were to begin until the next day. 'I was screaming in my mind,' Mr. Miller says, but he kept quiet. After some thought, he realized that 'it wasn't about whether I made a good business decision. It was about his authority.' He called the boss and left a voice-mail apology, saying he should have cleared his plans in advance. 'All feedback has some truth in it,' even if only to reveal how others think, Mr. Miller says. Before dismissing it, ask yourself, 'What I can learn from this?'
问答题     Employees will not so defensive if they receive constant feedback.
 
【正确答案】M
【答案解析】此句意为:如果雇员经常收到反馈,他们就不会这么具有自卫性。根据题干中的defensive和feedback可以定位到M段。题干Employees will not so defensive if they receive constant feedback是对文中Employees tend to become less defensive if they receive frequent feedback的转述。
问答题     It's very hard to control one's response towards criticism, especially when you are very angry.
 
【正确答案】B
【答案解析】此句意为:要控制被批评时的反应时非常难的,特别是当你非常生气时。根据题干中的可以定位到B段。题干中的control one's response towards criticism是对文中Tempering an emotional response can be hard, especially 'if you're genuinely surprised and you're getting that flood of anger and panic'的转述。
问答题     Most employees don't get much negative feedback because most managers think positive feedback has better effect on people than negative feedback.
 
【正确答案】D
【答案解析】此句意为:大部分雇员收不到很多负面的反馈,因为大部分总经理认为相比较负面反馈,正面的反馈对人们的效果更好。根据题干中的don't get much negative feedback可以定位到D段。题干中的Most employees don't get much negative feedback是对文中Many employees don't get much practice receiving negative feedback, managers say. It is out of fashion, for one thing: Some 94% of human-resources managers favour positive feedback, saying it has a bigger impact on employees' performance than criticism的简洁概括。
问答题     When Ms. Florentine was accused by her boss she felt deeply hurt and responded in an angry tone but she latter she calmed down and reacted reasonably.
 
【正确答案】C
【答案解析】此句意为:当弗洛伦丁被她的老板批评时,她感到很受伤害,很生气地回应了老板的话,但是,后来她冷静下来,理性回应了这件事。根据题干中Ms. Florentine的可以定位到C段。题干是对文中Her emotional response overrode her judgment, however. 'I was like, 'Are you kidding me?'' she says. 'If elt offended and personally hurt,' and responded in an angry tone. Ms. Florentine later smoothed over the rift and promised to keep the boss better informed的改写。
问答题     Mr. Karsh said sometimes the feedback may be not true and in that case you can ask your supervisor the cause of his criticism.
 
【正确答案】N
【答案解析】此句意为:喀什先生说,有时这些反馈不是事实,在这种情况下你可以问问上司他批评的原因。根据题干中的Mr. Karsh可以定位到N段。题干中的in that case you can ask your supervisor the cause of his criticism. 是对文中Some feedback may actually be out of line with your performance or character. It is fair to ask a supervisor about the basis for the critique, Mr. Karsh says的改写。
问答题     Some people distort feedback into a personal criticism but the fight way to treat the feedback is treating it as a criticism of specific aspects of your present work.
 
【正确答案】H
【答案解析】此句意为:一些人把反馈曲解成个人批评,但正确的做法是把它视为对你目前工作的具体方面的批评。根据题干中的distort feedback可以定位到H段。题干与文中Some people distort feedback into a devastating personal critique和H段中'The goal is to get the feedback back into the right-sized box' as a critique of specific aspects of your current performance, he says. 形成对应。
问答题     There is always some kind of truth behind feedback even if it only shows how others think of you so we should think what we can learn from it.
 
【正确答案】O
【答案解析】此句意为:反馈的背后总是有某种事实,虽然它可能只是反映了其他人对你的看法,因此,我们要想想我们能从中学会什么。根据题干中的what we can learn from it可以定位到O段。题干是对文中 'All feedback has some truth in it,' even if only to reveal how others think, Mr. Miller says. Before dismissing it, ask yourself, 'What I can learn from this?' 的改写。
问答题     There are three reasons which may cause people feel angry on hearing negative feedback.
 
【正确答案】G
【答案解析】此句意为有三个原因会导致人们在听到批评后火冒三丈。根据题干中的three reasons which may cause people feel angry可以定位到G段。题干与文中People react badly to feedback for one of three reasons. 形成对应关系。
问答题     Learning from criticism is a useful skill which is very hard to master but it also adds creativity at work and facilitates valuable communication.
 
【正确答案】A
【答案解析】此句意为:从批评中学习是一件很有用的技能,这种能力很难掌握,但是却可以增加工作的创造性,并且促进可贵的交流。根据题干中的creativity at work可以定位到A段。题干是对文中But it can be a chance to show off a rare skill: taking negative feedback(反馈)well. It is a skill that requires practice, humility and a sizable dose of self-awareness. But the ability to learn from criticism fuels creativity at work, studies show,and helps the free flow of valuable communication. 的简单化的改写。
问答题     People often want to dismiss the criticism from a person they dislike and Ms. Kleiman once dismissed a criticism from a manager but later she found the manager was right.
 
【正确答案】K
【答案解析】此句意为:人们很想对那些来自自己不喜欢的人的反馈置之不理,卡莱门小姐曾经就无视一位经理给她提的批评意见,但是后来她发现他是对的。根据题干中的Ms. Kleiman可以定位到K段,题干中的People often want to dismiss the criticism from a person they dislike是对文中It is tempting to dismiss criticism from a boss you dislike. 的改写。