学位英语天天练Day377 国开学位英语考前冲刺模拟题(阅读理解)
- 2026-11-03 01:38:59
阅读理解考前冲刺模拟题
Nokia executives attempted to explain its fall from the top of the smartphone pyramid with three factors: 1) that Nokia was technically inferior to Apple, 2) that the company was complacent and 3) that its leaders didn't see the disruptive iPhone coming.
It has also been argued that it was none of the above. Nokia lost the smartphone battle because of divergent shared fears among the company's middle and top managers which led to company-wide inertia that left it powerless to respond to Apple's game.
Based on the findings of an in-depth investigation and 76 interviews with top and middle managers, engineers and external experts, the researchers discovered a culture of fear due to temperamental leaders and that frightened middle managers were scared of telling the truth.
The fear that froze the company came from two places. First, the company's top managers had a terrifying reputation. Some members of Nokia's board and top management were described as “extremely temperamental and they regularly shouted at people “at the top of their lungs”. It was very difficult to tell them things they didn't want to hear. Second, top managers were afraid of the external environment and not meeting their quarterly targets, which also impacted how they treated middle managers.
Top managers thus made middle managers afraid of disappointing them. Middle managers were told that they were not ambitious enough to meet top managers' goals.
Fearing the reactions of top managers, middle managers remained silent or provided optimistic, filtered information. Thus, middle managers directly lied to top management.
What was worse, a culture of status inside Nokia made everyone want to hold onto inside Nokia made everyone want to vested power for fear of resources being allocated elsewhere if they delivered bad news or showed that they were not bold or ambitious enough to undertake challenging assignments.
Beyond verbal pressure, top managers also applied pressure for faster performance in personnel selection. This led middle managers to over promise and under deliver. One middle manager told us that “you can get resources by promising something earlier, or promising a lot. It's sales work”.
While modest fear might be healthy for motivation, abusing it can be like overusing a drug, which risks generating harmful side effects . To reduce this risk, leaders should coordinate with the varied emotions of the staff. Nokia's top managers should have encouraged safe dialog,Internal coordination and feedback to understand the true emotion in the organization.
1. According to the passage, what is the fundamental reason for Nokia's loss in the smartphone battle?A. Nokia was technically inferior to Apple.B. Apple's iPhone was too disruptive and innovative.C. A culture of fear and internal inertia left the company powerless.D. The company didn't have enough resources to develop new products.
2. What did middle managers usually do when they feared the reaction of top managers?A. They argued with top managers directly.B. They remained silent or provided filtered, optimistic information.C. They worked harder to meet the quarterly targets.D. They asked for more resources to complete their tasks.
3. Why were people in Nokia afraid to deliver bad news according to the "culture of status"?A. They were afraid of losing their vested power and resources.B. They didn't want to make their colleagues feel sad.C. They thought bad news would not be believed by anyone.D. They wanted to keep the company's secrets from the public.
4. What does the word "inertia" in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?A. A strong motivation to succeed.B. A lack of energy or action to move or change.C. A culture of strong teamwork.D. A desire to compete with other companies.
5. What is the author's suggestion for leaders to reduce the harmful side effects of fear?A. To apply more pressure on middle managers.B. To replace all top managers who are temperamental.C. To encourage safe dialogue and internal coordination.D. To promise more resources to employees.
答案与解析
1.【答案】C【解析】 推理判断题。文章第一段提到了三个因素（技术劣势、自满、没看到iPhone），但第二段开头直接推翻了这三点，明确指出：“Nokia lost the smartphone battle because of divergent shared fears... which led to company-wide inertia...”（诺基亚输掉智能手机战，是因为内部不同声音的恐惧导致了全公司的惰性）。因此，根本原因是内部恐惧文化和惰性，选C。
2.【答案】B【解析】 细节题。定位到文章第六段：“Fearing the reactions of top managers, middle managers remained silent or provided optimistic, filtered information.”（由于害怕高层管理者的反应，中层管理者保持沉默或提供乐观的、被过滤的信息。）这与B选项完全一致。
3.【答案】A【解析】 细节题。定位到文章第七段：“a culture of status inside Nokia made everyone want to hold onto vested power for fear of resources being allocated elsewhere if they delivered bad news...”（诺基亚内部的地位文化让每个人都想守住既得权力，因为害怕如果传递坏消息，资源会被分配到别处。）选项A是原文的同义替换。
4.【答案】B【解析】 词义猜测题。“inertia”出现在第二段。结合语境，中层和高层因为恐惧而不敢说真话，导致公司“无力回应苹果的竞争（left it powerless to respond）”。因此，inertia指的是“惰性、停滞不前、缺乏行动力”，选B。
5.【答案】C【解析】 细节题。定位到文章最后一段。作者提出建议：“To reduce this risk, leaders should coordinate with the varied emotions of the staff... should have encouraged safe dialog, internal coordination and feedback...”（为了降低这种风险，领导者应该协调员工的各种情绪……应该鼓励安全的对话、内部协作和反馈）。这与C选项一致。
总结
重点复习：高频语法与词汇点
这篇管理类文章含金量极高，非常适合学生积累职场英语词汇：
🔥 核心词汇与短语（直接命中考试词汇题）：
inferior to：劣于……，低于……（反义词：superior to）。例：Nokia was technically inferior to Apple.
complacent (adj.)：自满的，得意的。例：The company was complacent.
disruptive (adj.)：颠覆性的，破坏性的。例：the disruptive iPhone.
inertia (n.)：惰性，惯性，缺乏行动力。
temperamental (adj.)：喜怒无常的，脾气暴躁的。例：extremely temperamental leaders.
vested power：既得权力。
coordinate with：与……协调/配合。
over promise and under deliver：过度承诺却交付不足（职场极其高频的表达）。
🔥 核心语法点：
现在分词作结果状语：
原句：...divergent shared fears... which led to company-wide inertia that left it powerless...（此处包含了定语从句套定语从句，非常国开风格）。
原句：...top managers also applied pressure for faster performance... This led middle managers to over promise...（代词This指代上一句内容）。
虚拟语气与过去完成时（表示对过去的遗憾/建议）：
原句：Nokia's top managers should have encouraged safe dialog...（诺基亚的高层管理者本应该鼓励安全的对话……言外之意：他们当时并没有这么做。）
