Part A: Reading Comprehension

Text 2

It is true that CEO pay has gone up—top ones may make 300 times the pay of typical workers on average, and since the mid-1970s, CEO pay for large publicly traded American corporations has, by varying estimates, gone up by about 500%. The typical CEO of a top American corporation now makes about $18.9 million a year.

The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay is that of limited CEO talent in a world where business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly. The efforts of America’s highest-earning 1% have been one of the more dynamic elements of the global economy. It’s not popular to say, but one reason their pay has gone up so much is that CEOs really have upped their game relative to many other workers in the U.S. economy.

Today’s CEO, at least for major American firms, must have many more skills than simply being able to “run the company.” CEOs must have a good sense of financial markets and maybe even how the company should trade in them. They also need better public relations skills than their predecessors, as the costs of even a minor slipup can be significant. Then there’s the fact that large American companies are much more globalized than ever before, with supply chains spread across a larger number of countries. To lead in that system requires knowledge that is fairly mind-boggling. Plus, virtually all major American companies are becoming tech companies, often with their own research and development. And beyond this, major CEOs still have to do all the day-to-day work they have always done.

The common idea that high CEO pay is mainly about ripping people off doesn’t explain history very well. By most measures, corporate governance has become a lot tighter and more rigorous since the 1970s. Yet it is principally during this period of stronger governance that CEO pay has been high and rising. That suggests it is in the broader corporate interest to recruit top candidates for increasingly tough jobs.

Furthermore, the highest CEO salaries are paid to outside candidates, not to the cozy insider picks, another sign that high CEO pay is not some kind of depredation at the expense of the rest of the company. And the stock market reacts positively when companies tie CEO pay to, say, stock prices, a sign that those practices build up corporate value not just for the CEO.

26. Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise?

[A]

The growth in the number of corporations. 

[B]

The general pay rise with a better economy. 

[C]

Increased business opportunities for top firms. 

[D]

Close cooperation among leading economies. 

27. Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to

[A]

foster a stronger sense of teamwork. 

[B]

finance more research and development. 

[C]

establish closer ties with tech companies. 

[D]

operate more globalized companies. 

28. CEO pay has been rising since the 1970s despite

[A]

continual internal opposition. 

[B]

strict corporate governance. 

[C]

conservative business strategies. 

[D]

repeated government warnings. 

29. High CEO pay can be justified by the fact that it helps

[A]

confirm the status of CEOs. 

[B]

motive inside candidates. 

[C]

boost the efficiency of CEOs. 

[D]

increase corporate value. 

30. The most suitable title for this text would be

[A]

CEOs Are Not Overpaid. 

[B]

CEO Pay: Past and Present. 

[C]

CEOs’ Challenges of Today. 

[D]

CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define. 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

26. [C] Increased business opportunities for top firms.
解析：细节题。第二段第一句指出：“理解CEO薪酬增长的最佳模型是，在顶级公司的商业机会正在迅速增长（business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly）的世界里，CEO人才有限。” 这说明顶级公司不断增加的商业机会是导致薪酬上升的直接原因，对应选项[C]。

27. [D] operate more globalized companies.
解析：细节题。第三段列举了当今CEO面临的新挑战。其中第四句明确对比了前辈：“还有一点事实是，美国大型公司比以往任何时候都更加全球化（are much more globalized than ever before），供应链遍布更多国家。要在这个系统中领导公司需要极其复杂的知识。” 这说明今天的CEO被要求“经营更加全球化的公司”，对应选项[D]。

28. [B] strict corporate governance.
解析：细节题。第四段指出：“自20世纪70年代以来，企业治理变得紧得多、更加严格（more rigorous）。然而（Yet），主要正是在这治理更强的时期，CEO薪酬一直很高并在上升。” “despite（尽管）”表达让步转折，对应原文中的“Yet”。因此答案是尽管有“严格的企业治理（strict corporate governance）”，薪资依然上涨，选[B]。

29. [D] increase corporate value.
解析：细节题。最后一段最后一句指出：“当公司将CEO的薪酬与股票价格挂钩时，股市反应积极，这个迹象表明这些做法建立了企业价值（build up corporate value），而不仅仅是为了CEO。” 这说明高薪是有道理的，因为这能“提升企业价值”，对应选项[D]。

30. [A] CEOs Are Not Overpaid.
解析：主旨题。文章开篇提出CEO薪资暴涨的现象，随后在第二段用市场供需（能力要求高、人才少）来解释，第三段详细说明CEO工作难度的增加，第四段反驳了“高薪是剥削（ripping people off）”的观点，第五段证明高薪招来的人为企业创造了价值。全文旨在论证CEO的高薪是合理的，并未拿太多钱。因此，[A]“CEO们的薪水并没有过高”最契合全文主旨。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 介词短语作后置定语与 where 引导的定语从句：
"The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay is that of limited CEO talent in a world where business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly."
【解析】句子的主干是 The best model is that...（最佳模型是...的模型）。`that` 代指前文的 `model`。`in a world` 后面跟着 `where` 引导的定语从句，描述了这个世界的特征（顶级公司的商业机会正在迅速增加），点明了CEO人才稀缺的市场背景。

2. 强调句型的嵌套：
"Yet it is principally during this period of stronger governance that CEO pay has been high and rising."
【解析】这里使用了经典的强调句型 `It is... that...`，强调了时间状语 `principally during this period of stronger governance`。这句话极具反差感，说明严格的公司治理并没有压低薪水，反而证明了高薪是出于公司发展的需要，有力地反驳了“剥削论”。

3. 同位语的使用：
"And the stock market reacts positively when companies tie CEO pay to, say, stock prices, a sign that those practices build up corporate value not just for the CEO."
【解析】逗号后面的 `a sign` 是整个前文“股市反应积极”的同位语，表示一种迹象。而 `that` 引导同位语从句解释 `a sign` 的具体内容。此句总结了全文：重赏之下不仅是对CEO的肯定，更是公司价值的提升。