D.WATCH FOR MAIN IDEAS Watch the TED Talk, 5 ways to kill your dreams by Bel Pesce. Check [✓] the statements that Pesce would agree with.
A、Overnight success is the best kind of success.
B、Let other people make decisions for you.
C、When you become successful, set an even higher goal for yourself.
D、Many entrepreneurs fail because they do not take responsibility for their own mistakes.
E、Make sure you take time to celebrate when you are successful.
F、The goal is the most important thing.
正确答案：CDE
1.8
Passage 1
1【连线题】
Directions: You are going to read a passage with 10 statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter.
The secret of Apple’s success: Simplicity
第一组数据
1、At Apple, your precious time will be concentrated on how to make forward progress instead of trying to figure out what others are really saying.
2、It can be difficult to make changes in an organization for people tend to resist changes.
3、If someone said something dissatisfying Steve Jobs, he would blow his fuse at any moment, and behave like a turret toward its target.
4、A progress can be made within an organization by making people accept a concept to the point where they start offering their own ideas.
5、People need to practice the idea of simplicity when the groups in some companies are likely to expand unnecessarily.
6、Steve Jobs rejected the package-design team’s work for its lack of simplicity.
7、Steve Jobs would prefer the prints on the wall that might inspire some profound thinking rather than signs telling people how to run a successful meeting.
8、The meetings of a small group may not distract attention, waste time, or weaken great ideas.
9、The employees at Apple are supposed to be equipped with intelligence, common sense and the idea of simplicity, so there are no signs telling you how to do things.
10、Simplicity, Steve Jobs’ way of thinking and doing things, acts as a core value within Apple.
第二组数据
A、Apple’s package-design team had just returned from its presentation to Steve Jobs, and the faces told the story—they had that “things didn’t go exactly as we planned” look. “The suspense is killing me,” I said to the project leader. “How’d it go this morning?” “Well,” he said, “Steve hit us with the Simple Stick.” Translation: Steve had rejected their work—not because it was bad but because, in some way, it failed to distil the idea to its essence. The person leading the project had directed the team to create packaging for two versions of the same product. Jobs had decided this was brain-dead. “Just combine them,” he said. “One product, one box.” There was no need to explore the idea of a second package.
B、He was right. It was simpler, quicker, better. The conversation was over in minutes, and it left one very smart and talented group of people wondering why they hadn’t thought of that before. The Simple Stick symbolizes a core value within Apple, which inspires people to think brutal, to think small, and to do business the Steve Jobs way. Sometimes it’s held up as inspiration; other times it’s wielded (挥动) like a caveman’s club: a deep, almost religious belief in the power of simplicity.
C、Steve Jobs demanded straightforward communication from others as much as he dished it out himself. He’d cut you off if you rambled (闲聊). He ran his business as if there were precious little time to waste, which well reflected the reality for Apple—as surely it does for any company serious about competing. This is probably the one element of simplicity that’s easiest to institute. You’ll make some people squirm (局促不安), but everyone will know where they stand; 100 percent of your group’s time will be focused on forward progress—no need to decode what people are really saying.
D、There is a general perception that Jobs was the nasty tyrant who demanded allegiance (效忠), barked commands, and instilled (灌输) the fear of God in those around him. While Jobs certainly did exhibit such behavior, this portrait is incomplete. The man could also be funny, warm, and even charming. There is a huge difference between being brutally honest and simply being brutal.
E、A former Apple senior staffer remembers a routine that he saw played out often during his time as a direct report to Jobs. He calls it “the rotating turret (旋转炮台)”. There was no predicting when it would happen, as it depended on how conversations evolved. But in some meeting, at some random time, some poor soul in the room would say something that everyone in the room could tell was going to light Jobs’ fuse. First came the uncomfortable pause. The offending comment would reverberate in the air, and it would seem as if the entire world went into slow motion as Jobs’ internal sensors fixed on the origin of the sound wave. You could almost hear the meshing (啮合) of gears as his “turret” slowly turned toward the guilty party. Everyone knew what was coming, but was powerless to stop it. Finally, the turret would lock on to its target. In a split second Jobs would activate his firing mechanism, and without a second thought he’d unload all his ammunition. It was uncomfortable to watch and even more uncomfortable to experience, but at Apple it was just a fact of life.
F、How many overpopulated meetings do you sit through in a year? How many of those meetings get sidetracked (使离题) or lose focus in a way that would never occur if the group were half the size? The small-group rule requires enforcement, but it’s worth the cost. Out in the real world, when I talk about small groups of smart people, I rarely get any pushback. That’s because common sense tells us it’s the right way to go. Most people know from experience that the fastest way to lose focus, waste valuable time, and water down great ideas is to entrust them to a large group. Just as we know that there is equal danger in putting ideas at the mercy of a large group of approvers.
G、One reason why large, unwieldy groups tend to be created in many companies is that the culture of a company is bigger than any one person. It’s hard to change “the way we do things here”. This is where the freaks of simplicity need to step in and overcome the inertia (惰性). One must be judicious and realistic about applying the small-group principle. Simply making groups smaller will obviously not solve all problems, and “small” is a relative term. You need to be the enforcer and be prepared to hit the process with the Simple Stick when the group is threatened with unnecessary expansion.
H、In one iconic technology company with which I worked I found a framed sign in every conference room designed to nudge the employees toward greater productivity. The headline on the sign was how to have a successful meeting. What these signs really said, though, was: “Welcome to a very big company! Just follow these signs and you’ll fit in well.” It’s not hard to imagine Jobs, who actively fought big-company behavior, joyously ripping these signs off the wall and replacing them with Ansel Adams prints that might provide a moment of reflection or inspiration.
I、If you ever work at Apple there will be no signs on the wall telling you how to run a meeting. Likewise, there will be no signs telling you how to tie your shoes or fill a glass of water. The assumption is that you are well equipped with brains and common sense and that you’re a fully functioning adult. If you’re not already a disciple of simplicity, you’ll become one soon. Either that, or you’ll decide you’d rather not be part of such a thing, which is OK, too. Simplicity prefers not having to train a bucking bronco (野马).
J、It’s natural for people to be resistant to change, large or small, so trying to change attitudes within an organization can be difficult. But when you spread the word about the value of simplicity you are not spreading some oddball theory, you’re echoing one of the most successful people in business history. If you refer to the benefits Apple has enjoyed by embracing simplicity, and make the appropriate parallels to your own business, you’ll build a compelling case.
K、You can spread the religion of simplicity project by project, by interacting with people and groups one at a time. Getting people to buy into a concept to the point where they start contributing their own ideas can literally create a movement within an organization.
L、Simplicity is a way of looking at every part of your job, the jobs of those around you, and the way your company operates. Once you start seeing the world through the lens of simplicity you’ll be astounded at how many opportunities exist to improve the way your business works.
正确答案
1.– C
2.– J
3.– E
4.– K
5.– G
6.– A
7.– H
8.– F
9.– I
10.–B
