Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

Simulators are most often utilized within industries such as nuclear power, aviation and surgery where failure results in disastrous consequences. To maximize the value from a simulation learning experience, participants should immediately and directly apply their learning to a specific intervention within their organization.

Most organizations aspire to deploy significant change programs, only to find them nearly impossible to implement. That is largely because successful change requires more than a vision, it requires a workforce that not only doesn’t resist change, but embraces it.

To achieve success, an organization must build a transformation program that will allow change to be rapidly pulled across its departments and throughout its layers. Regardless of the level of senior management commitment, unless key thought leaders at all levels embrace the change, the initiative will wither and die. To create this kind of widespread passion, learning leaders must expose the workforce to what could be, which will enable them to rethink their mental models, enable them to break free from their deep-rooted paradigms and embrace the opportunity to learn.

Allowing participants to enter a simulated environment provides them with the opportunity to experience alternative realities which can prompt them to rethink their current beliefs.

Behavioral change is not easy for most adults. Lectures, training programs and workshops can explain the intellectual elements of transformation, but they are seldom effective at getting to the behavioral aspects that lie at the heart of a significant change initiative. Further, under normal working conditions, managers rarely see the full effect of their employee development efforts. As such, an intervention like a simulation can provide the stimulus for change.

An effective simulation can be better than experience as a learning tool because it accelerates time, compresses space, and unlike reality, is specifically designed to maximize participant learning. Simulations provide an immersive learning experience where skills, processes and knowledge all can be highlighted in a way reality cannot. The ability to explore, experiment and repeatedly apply new knowledge in unlimited, risk-free models is what makes simulation one of the most productive forms of learning.

Well-designed simulations can enable individuals and groups to develop a deep level of understanding about how their decisions and intuitive responses to business stimuli affect their fellow participants and the organization as a whole. To reap the benefits, however, simulations must feel like reality. At the end of the successful simulation, participants must declare “this is us.” If they don’t, they will view the experience as a game, which can be difficult to apply on the job, or worse, irrelevant to everyday work tasks. To maximize benefits from simulation, participants should immediately apply the learning from the experience to forge a smooth link between learning and doing.

46. What do we learn about successful changes in organizations?

A) They can be immediately implemented with great ease.
B) They are usually led by organization leaders of vision.
C) They call for enthusiastic support from the workforce.
D) They often result from simulation learning experiences.

47. What should learning leaders do to arouse learners’ passion for change?

A) Allow them to see what could possibly be achieved.
B) Help them break free from their old paradigms.
C) Encourage them to rethink their thought models.
D) Stimulate them to embrace fresh opportunities.

48. What does the passage say about lectures, training programs and workshops?

A) They are generally incapable of changing workers’ behaviors on the job.
B) They are interventions different from simulations in creating stimuli for change.
C) They aim at transforming the behaviors of the workers in an organization.
D) They help managers achieve the full effect of employee development efforts.

49. What makes simulation one of the most fruitful forms of learning?

A) Its capability of saving time by accelerating the immersive learning experience.
B) Its potential for learners to examine their skills, knowledge and learning process.
C) Its capability of providing all participants with a practical learning experience.
D) Its potential for learners to explore, experiment and practice without any risk.

50. What should participants do in a simulation to reap the greatest benefits possible?

A) Take the experience as a mere game.
B) Apply promptly what they learn to their jobs.
C) Develop a deep level of understanding.
D) Strive to connect closely with their leaders.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

GDP growth is not a good indicator of how well a country is performing, and should not be the primary goal of governments. Unlimited growth is not sustainable, and economic thinking is moving toward the idea that we should aim for sustainability in our economic models. But while a sustainable economy is vital to our future, it is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

The idea that governments should focus on happiness has its critics. There are concerns about how happiness can be measured. Is happiness not a fleeting and subjective psychological state? Don’t different people experience different levels of happiness? Even on the broadest interpretation of ‘happiness’ as prosperity or ‘life satisfaction’, people want different things.

Of course, governments cannot impose life satisfaction on citizens. But our happiness relies on collaborative efforts as a society. A government’s obligation lies in creating conditions that promote prosperity. And there is good reason to suppose that such conditions exist, are globally applicable, and are discoverable through research.

In a recently published article, philosopher Julian Baggini suggests we should focus on ‘real wealth’ for citizens, which does not depend on GDP growth. Access is key: people do not need to own, but rather access things that enable them to live well. Technological advances and changes in social behavior enable us to make more efficient use of the assets that we already have. And focusing on access to the resources people need to live better lives could help reduce inequality.

As far as it goes, this has much in common with proposals tabled by ‘happiness’ advocates. But it sets the bar far too low for what governments can and should be doing for their citizens.

For example, it’s not clear how a ‘real wealth’ economy would remedy the epidemic of mental ill-health that plagues our society. In Western countries, at least — poor mental health is more detrimental to wellbeing than poverty. Over and above a vastly improved provision of therapeutic mental healthcare, there are preventative measures for improving mental health that governments could and should adopt. The WHO recommends establishing institutions that facilitate community participation — educational programs and interventions that provide skills for promoting mental wellbeing. It says a lot, however, that the WHO feels the need to appeal to the economic benefits of improving mental health to persuade governments that the cost of taking proposed measures is justified. As long as the economy is their priority, governments need go no further than ensuring citizens’ continued productivity.

To demand that governments set the ‘happiness’ of citizens as their highest priority is to demand that they view citizens as ends in themselves.

51. What does the passage say is the more recent thinking of economic growth?

A) It should be made sustainable.
B) It is vital to the future of humanity.
C) It should be governments’ chief concern.
D) It is an indicator of government performance.

52. Why are some people opposed to the idea that governments should focus on happiness?

A) Governments cannot impose happiness on citizens.
B) People’s happiness is built upon their own endeavor.
C) Happiness means different things to different people.
D) Happiness depends on sustainable economic growth.

53. What does philosopher Julian Baggini suggest governments do in a recently published article?

A) Try to reduce inequality between the rich and the poor.
B) Provide people with access to resources for a better life.
C) Change people’s behaviors to put social wealth to better use.
D) Make use of advanced technologies to improve people’s lives.

54. Why does the WHO feel the need to appeal to the economic benefits of improving mental health to justify its recommendations?

A) Mental health programs cannot be executed without GDP growth.
B) Psychological interventions are conducive to people’s wellbeing.
C) Poor mental health is detrimental to a nation’s economic system.
D) Governments still take economic development as their priority.

55. What message does the author try to convey at the end of the passage?

A) Governments’ goal should be prosperity-driven.
B) Governments’ goal should be people-oriented.
C) Governments should consider citizens’ views in decision-making.
D) Governments should set sustained productivity as their top priority.

Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)

Passage One

46. C。解析：文中第二段指出成功的变革需要员工“不但不抵制变革，反而拥抱变革”。

47. A。解析：第三段提到领导必须让员工“看到可能实现的前景”，从而激发热情。

48. A。解析：第五段提到讲座和培训很少能在改变工作行为方面有效。

49. D。解析：第六段明确提到模拟训练效率高是因为可以在“无限、无风险的模型中探索和实验”。

50. B。解析：最后一段指出参与者应立即学以致用，建立学与做的联系。

Passage Two

51. A。解析：第一段提到经济思维正转向“以可持续性为目标”。

52. C。解析：第二段指出反对者认为不同的人体验不同水平的幸福。

53. B。解析：第四段 Baggini 建议关注资源获取途径。

54. D。解析：第六段指出因为经济仍然是政府的优先级。

55. B。解析：文章结尾呼吁政府应视公民为“目的本身”，即以人为本。