Unit 14


No one word demonstrated the shift in corporations’ attention in the mid-1990s from processes to people more vividly than the single word “talent”. Spurred on by a book called “The War for Talent”, written by three McKinsey consultants in the late 1990s, the word became common in management speak. Talent is a subset of what used to be called human resources, the people who work in organisations. It is, essentially, those individuals among that group who have the potential to add most value.

Behind the word lies the idea that more and more corporate value is going to be created by knowledge and by so-called “knowledge workers”. Manual labour is worth less; knowledge（and the right use of it） is worth more. And people with such knowledge are（so the theory goes）in short supply. One CEO was reported as saying that not only did he not have enough talent to carry out the company’s strategy, but he did not even have “the talent needed in HR to hire the missing managers”. Moreover, the situation is likely to stay that way（and may even get worse）for some time to come.

This has significantly shifted the balance of power in the recruitment process. Companies used to be relaxed about finding enough qualified people to run their operations. What they could not find they would train, was the usual attitude. That might take some time, but in a world where people sought jobs for life （and the pensions that went with them）time was in the company’s favour. But talent is not patient, and it is not faithful. Many companies found themselves training employees only for them to go on and sell their acquired skills to their rivals. So now they look for talent that is ready-made.

In their eagerness to please this talent, companies have gone to considerable lengths to appear especially attractive. They have, for instance, devoted a great deal of effort to the design of their websites, often the first port of call these days for bright young potential recruits. They have in many cases reconstructed their HR departments, in part so that they can tailor their remuneration packages more finely for the individuals that they really require. And they have altered their approach to issues such as governance and environmental responsibility because they know that many of the talented people they are seeking want to work for ethical and responsible employers—almost more than they want a hefty pay packet.

Talented people increasingly want to work in places where they can feel good about what they do for most of the day. What’s more, in today’s knowledge-based businesses, these young people are far more aware of their working environment, of “what’s going on around here”, than were their grandparents, who were hired for their brawn rather than their brain. It is harder for today’s businesses to disguise from their employees what they are up to—even when, as in cases such as Enron and WorldCom, they put a lot of effort into it.

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 1。



1. According to Paragraph 1, corporations start to ______.

A) rely more on consultants from McKinsey or other consulting companies

B) emphasize the different subsets of human resources

C) highlight the quality of people in organization

D) focus on those who can add most value

2. The expression “talent”（Line 2, Paragraph 1）most probably means ______.

A) knowledge worker

B) human resources

C) people working in an organization

D) manual labourer

3. The following measures to attract talents are mentioned EXCEPT ______.

A) creating a dynamic work atmosphere

B) establishing a positive company image through fulfilling social responsibility

C) carefully designing company website, brochure, booklet, flyer, etc.

D) finding the balance of efficiency and equity in wage policies

4. Which of the following statements is an unexpected result of the shift of attention to talent?

A) Corporations can no longer stay relaxed when it comes to people recruitment.

B) Corporations face more supervision from employees against indecent corporate acts.

C) Corporations find it less worthwhile to hire people for their brawn than their brain.

D) Corporations encounter larger pressure in terms of environmental protection.

5. The best title for the text may be______.

A) Talent and Human Resources

B) The Evolution of “Talent”

C) Talent Management

D) How to Recruit the Best Talent





篇章剖析


本文主要介绍了现代公司的人才观。第一段对“人才”一词的本身含义做出解释；第二段指出人才的价值及缺少人才的状况；第三段介绍了公司人才引进策略的变化及其原因；第四、五段则说明了公司为引进人才而采取的各种具体措施。





词汇注释


spur /spɜː/ v. 刺激；促进

consultant /kənˈsʌltənt/ n. 顾问

subset /ˈsʌbset/ n. 子集

recruitment /rɪˈkruːtmənt/ n. 招募，招聘，聘任

considerable /kənˈsɪdərəbl/ adj. 相当大的，相当多的

tailor /ˈteɪlə/ v. 修改，使合适

remuneration /riˌmjuːnəˈreɪʃən/ n. 酬金，工资

ethical /ˈeθɪkəl/ adj. 伦理的，道德的

hefty /ˈhefti/ adj. 数额大的，有力的

brawn /brɔːn/ n. 发达的肌肉

disguise /dɪsˈgaɪz/ v. 掩饰，假装





难句突破


And they have altered their approach to issues such as governance and environmental responsibility because they know that many of the talented people they are seeking want to work for ethical and responsible employers—almost more than they want a hefty pay packet.

主体句式：They have altered their approach...

结构分析：本句为因果关系复合句。主句主语为they，谓语为have altered。由because引导了一个原因状语从句，从句的主要结构是they know that+宾语从句，而宾语从句的主语为many of the talented people，谓语为want to...，其中包含了一个修饰talented people的定语从句they are seeking。破折号后面的部分是对该宾语从句的补充说明。

句子译文：公司还改变了他们在管理方式和环保责任方面的策略，因为他们知道他们所需要的很多人才都愿意为有道德而且负责任的雇主工作——这一点几乎比高薪还重要。





题目分析


1. C 细节题。第一段引出“人才”这一概念，“20世纪90年代中期，许多公司的重心从流程转移到人，而没有一个词能够比‘人才’更生动地描述这一变化。”最后一句话还指出人才的重要性在于创造最大附加值的潜力。这些都说明公司的人力资源工作开始更加重视员工的质量，C符合原文的意思。

2. A 语义题。第一段的最后一句话解释了talent这个词的意思，即人才是“有潜力创造最大附加值的人”，第二段第一句话承接上文说“这个词背后隐藏着这样一种理念，即越来越多的企业价值将由知识创造，由被称为‘知识工作者’的群体创造”，因此可以把talent理解成knowledge worker。B和C是同一个意思，这在第一段里面有表述，而talent只是其中的一个子集。D指的是体力劳动者，与题意不符。

3. D 细节题。文章第四段提出了一些帮助公司招到优秀人才的措施，比如设计有吸引力的网站，履行社会责任以树立良好的企业形象，最后一段还提到了人才都很重视工作环境和氛围，因此A、B、C选项在文中都有体现。第四段指出根据个体差异提供不同的薪酬待遇，但并未提到效率与公平性的结合，因此答案为D。

4. B 推理题。本题题干中“unexpected result”意为“出人意料的结果”，因此，文中明确表示的结果就不能入选。文中的最后一句话说“现在企业想要对员工隐瞒自己的所做所为是越来越难了”，也就是说现在企业比以前更难做坏事了，因为员工更加关注工作场所发生的事情，也会对企业起到监督作用。这是如今引进优秀员工带来的结果，并非曾预料到的，所以答案为B。

5. C 主旨题。A的内容只在第一段中提及，文中没有具体涉及人才的演变，D只是最后两段的内容，无法概括全文。而全文主要是围绕人才管理来展开全文的，故选C。





参考译文


20世纪90年代中期，许多公司的重心从流程转移到人，而没有一个词能够比“人才”更生动地描述这一变化。20世纪90年代晚期，三位麦肯锡咨询顾问撰写了《人才战争》一书，促生了“人才”一词，此后这个词成为了管理用语中的常见用词。人才是过去所说的人力资源的一部分，人力资源指的是组织中工作的全体人员。从本质上来说，人才是组织团队中有潜力创造最大附加值的人。

这个词背后隐藏着这样一种理念，即越来越多的企业价值将由知识创造，由被称为“知识工作者”的群体创造。体力劳动的价值减少；知识（以及知识的恰当运用）的价值增加。具备这种知识的人（理论上说）十分稀缺。据报道，一位CEO曾说过，他不仅缺少足够的人才来执行公司战略，而且缺少“人力资源方面的人才来招聘公司需要的经理人”。而且，这种情况可能会持续一段时间（甚至变得更加严重）。

这种情况大大转变了招聘过程中的力量平衡。过去公司不会去积极寻找可以支持公司运营的足够人才。公司通常认为，如果找不到需要的人才，就可以通过培训来满足要求。那会花费一些时间，但过去人们都是寻找可以干一辈子的工作（并有养老金），公司有的是时间。但是人才没有耐心，而且他们也不忠诚。许多公司发现，自己培养出来的员工往往会跳槽，带着培训获得的技能投奔竞争对手。所以他们现在更青睐已经成型的人才。

为了招徕人才，公司竭尽所能展现自身的吸引力。例如，他们在网站设计上下了很大工夫，因为近来，可能加入公司的青年才俊往往首先浏览公司网站。很多公司还对HR部门进行重组，部分目的是为了更好地针对公司真正需要的人才设计薪酬待遇。公司还改变了他们在管理方式和环保责任方面的策略，因为他们知道他们所需的很多人才都愿意为有道德而且负责任的雇主工作——这一点几乎比高薪还重要。

人才越来越希望可以在让自己几乎一整天都过得舒适的地方工作。而且在当今的以知识为基础的商业中，年轻人才比他们的祖父辈更加关注工作环境，关注“周围发生的事情”。他们的祖父辈往往是体力劳动者而非脑力劳动者。现在企业想要对员工掩饰自己的所做所为是越来越难了，即使投入大量精力也难保不东窗事发，安然和世通公司就是前车之鉴。





第2章 社会文化类


Unit 15


Piggybacking on a recent Bloomberg administration initiative, Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, plans to propose on Tuesday that New York City experiment with an innovative method to help pay for early education. Mr. Stringer, a Democrat who is a likely contender for mayor in 2013, is advocating that the city explore the use of social-impact bonds, also called pay-for-success bonds, to expand access to Early Head Start, which helps pregnant mothers and families with children up to age 3. Such bonds—actually loans made by investors to pay for a program—typically require a government to pay the investors a return on their principal only if a program meets certain goals and helps that entity save money.

Mr. Stringer said that his proposal would not cost taxpayers anything and stood in marked contrast to what other likely mayoral contenders have recently suggested in education, which has emerged as a key early issue in the mayor’s race.

Earlier this month, Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay for more prekindergarten classes and after-school activities for students in Grades 6 to 8. In June, state lawmakers approved a proposal from Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, to make kindergarten mandatory for all 5-year-olds in New York City, potentially covering 3,000 students who enter first grade without having first gone to kindergarten.

“We are fooling ourselves if we think the same old approach to funding education will get us to where we want to be,” said Mr. Stringer, who plans to discuss his proposal—and several others designed to allow working- and middle-class New Yorkers more access to legal services—during a speech to the New York City Bar Association.

To make the investment worthwhile for both investor and government, people who are experienced in the field say that an early-education program would likely require an investment of anywhere from $5 million to $25 million. But some critics fret that monetary incentives could distort the programs, or the way they are evaluated, and that the public sector could cater too much to potential investors.

In theory, Mr. Stringer’s proposal was welcomed by both the Bloomberg administration and Goldman Sachs. Alicia Glen, head of Goldman Sachs’s Urban Investment Group, which is investing in the Rikers Island project, noted that early education has attracted enormous interest, and that three or four other municipalities across the country were already trying to come up with early-education social-impact bonds.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：第1、2、3题模仿2011年真题Text 1第1、4、5题；第4、5题模仿2011年真题Text 2第4、5题。



1. What can we learn from Para.1 about Scott M. Stringer’s proposal?

A) The proposal is initially proposed by Bloomberg administration.

B) The proposal is merely proposed for the sake of mayoral race.

C) Investors should sponsor the program according to the proposal.

D) The proposal aims at paying for early education.

2. The writer’s attitude to Scott M. Stringer’s proposal can be said as ______.

A) objective

B) biased

C) supportive

D) oppositive

3. Regarding the expenditure in early-education program, many feared that ______.

A) investors and the government would not afford the expenditure

B) the investment could not stimulate the program

C) monetary incentives might bring negative effects on the program

D) the public sector might commit corruption

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A) Goldman Sachs will invest in early-education

B) early-education will have a good development prospect

C) Alicia Glen put forward early-education social-impact bonds first

D) early-education needs to attract enormous interest

5. The most appropriate title for this text would be ______.

A) What Is Going on in the Mayoral Race

B) Proposals on Early Education

C) How to Collect Money for Early Education

D) Who Will Be the Winner in the Mayoral Race





篇章剖析


本文主要讲述了市长竞选人斯特林格先生提出的早教经费的支持方案。第一段详细介绍了斯特林格先生早教经费支持提案的具体内容；第二、三、四段进一步阐述了该提议与其他人关于教育的提议的不同，该提议不会花纳税人的钱；第五段指出对该项目实施前景的担忧；最后一段引用名人的话肯定了早教项目的前景。





词汇注释


piggyback / ˈpɪɡibæk/ v. 利用；借助

contender /kənˈtendə(r)/ n. 竞争者；争夺者

bond /bɒnd/ n. 债券；结合；约定

entity /ˈentəti/ n. 实体；存在；本质

mandatory /ˈmændətəri/ adj. 强制的；托管的；命令的

fret /fret/ v. 担忧；焦急

incentive /ɪnˈsentɪv/ n. 刺激；动机

municipality /mjuːˌnɪsɪˈpæləti/ n. 自治市或区；市民；市政当局





难句突破


Mr. Stringer said that his proposal would not cost taxpayers anything and stood in marked contrast to what other likely mayoral contenders have recently suggested in education, which has emerged as a key early issue in the mayor’s race.

主体句式：Mr. Stringer said that his proposal would...and stood in...

结构分析：该句修饰成分较多，结构复杂。主干部分为Mr. Stringer said that his proposal would...and stood in...，that从句中有两个并列的谓语成分，其中，第二个谓语中的介词to后是what引导的宾语从句，构成介宾结构。后面which所引导的分句为非限定性定语从句，用来修饰education，起补充说明作用。

句子译文：斯特林格先生说他的这次提议不会花纳税人的钱，且该提议与其他市长竞选者近期有关教育的提议形成鲜明对比，而教育已成为市长竞选早期的关键问题。





题目分析


1. D 细节题。第一段指出，斯特林格先生提出了早教经费支持方案，且可能参加市长竞选。选项A、B均与文意不符。社会效益债券通常需要政府在本金的基础上给予投资者回报，并不是投资者赞助，故C项不正确。答案为D。

2. A 情感态度题。本题考查作者对斯特林格先生提案的态度。通读全篇可知，作者就斯特林格先生的提案列举了多方面的看法及其利弊，而作者并没有发表自己的看法，可见作者的态度是比较客观的。因此只有A选项正确。

3. C 细节题。本题内容与早教项目经费相关。第五段指出，早教项目需要的经费比较多，有些评论家担心金钱激励会扭曲该项目或其评估方式，并且公共部门也会过多地迎合潜在的投资者。A、B项文中并未提到，D项与原文意思不符。只有C选项正确。

4. B 推理题。最后一段指出，斯特林格先生的提案是彭博政府和高盛集团都喜闻乐见的。艾丽西亚·格伦正在投资雷克斯岛项目，她认为，早教已经引起了广泛的关注，另外三四个美国自治市也已开始试着提出早教社会效益债券这一概念。可知A、C、D项均与题意不符，故答案为B。

5. B 主旨题。文章主要介绍了早教经费支持提案，市长竞选只是提出该提案的社会背景之一。综合全文可知，B为最佳答案。





参考译文


借助最近彭博政府的倡议，曼哈顿区区长斯科特·M. 斯特林格计划在周二提议，即纽约市将试行一项前所未有的早期教育经费支持方案。斯特林格先生是位民主党人，且很有可能在2013年竞选市长。他呼吁纽约市尝试使用社会效益债券，也叫做绩效支付债券，来扩大早期教育的范围，帮助孕妇以及有0-3岁儿童的家庭。这种债券实际上是由投资者发放贷款来支付该方案，通常需要政府在本金的基础上给予投资者回报，不过仅仅是当该项目达到特定目标并帮助政府省钱时。

斯特林格先生说他的这项提议不会花纳税人的钱，且该提议与其他市长竞选者近期有关教育的提议形成鲜明对比，而教育已成为市长竞选早期的关键问题。

本月早些时候，公益维护人比尔·白思豪提议，提高对纽约市最富有的人的税收，来为更多的学龄前课程和6到8年级学生的课外活动支付经费。六月，国家立法机构批准了市议会议长克里斯蒂娜·C.奎因的一项提议，即强制纽约市所有5岁的儿童进入幼儿园，可能会包括3000名未进入幼儿园就跨入一年级的学生。

斯特林格先生说：“如果我们认为资助教育的那一套老办法能达到我们的期望的话，那就是自欺欺人。”他打算在对纽约市律师协会进行演说时讨论他的提议，以及一些其他的旨在使工薪阶级和中产阶级的纽约人有更多机会享受法律服务的提议。

该领域的资深人士称，为了使投资对投资者和政府而言都物有所值，一个早教项目很可能需要500-2500万美元的投资。但是有些评论家担心金钱激励会扭曲该项目或其评估方式，并且公共部门也会过多地迎合潜在的投资者。

从理论上来讲，斯特林格先生的提案是彭博政府和高盛集团都喜闻乐见的。高盛城市投资集团的总裁艾丽西亚·格伦正在投资雷克斯岛项目，她认为，早教已经引起了广泛的关注，另外三四个美国自治市也已开始试着提出早教社会效益债券这一概念。