Even in traditional offices, “the lingua franca of corporate America has gotten much more emotional and much more right-brained than it was 20 years ago,” said Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn. She started spinning off examples. “If you and I parachuted back to Fortune 500 companies in 1990, we would see much less frequent use of terms like journey, mission, passion. There were goals, there were strategies, there were objectives, but we didn’t talk about energy; we didn’t talk about passion.”
Koehn pointed out that this new era of corporate vocabulary is very “team—-oriented—and not by coincidence. “Let’s not forget sports—in male—dominated corporate America, it’s still a big deal. It’s not explicitly conscious; it’s the idea that I’m a coach, and you’re my team, and we’re in this together. There are lots and lots of CEOs in very different companies, but most think of themselves as coaches and this is their team and they want to win.”
These terms are also intended to infuse work with meaning-and, as Khurana points out, increase allegiance to the firm. “You have the importation of terminology that historically used to be associated with non-profit organizations and religious organizations: Terms like vision, values, passion, and purpose,” said Khurana.
This new focus on personal fulfillment can help keep employees motivated amid increasingly loud debates over work-life balance. The “mommy wars” of the 1990s are still going on today, prompting arguments about why women still can’t have it all and books like Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, whose title has become a buzzword in its own right. Terms like unplug, offline, life-hack, bandwidth, and capacity are all about setting boundaries between the office and the home. But if your work is your “passion,” you’ll be more likely to devote yourself to it, even if that means going home for dinner and then working long after the kids are in bed.
But this seems to be the irony of office speak: Everyone makes fun of it, but managers love it, companies depend on it, and regular people willingly absorb it. As Nunberg said, “You can get people to think it’s nonsense at the same time that you buy into it.” In a workplace that’s fundamentally indifferent to your life and its meaning, office speak can help you figure out how you relate to your work-and how your work defines who you are.
1.According to Nancy Koehn, office language has become ( ).
2.“Team”-oriented corporate vocabulary is closely related to ( ).
3.Khurana believes that the importation of terminology aims to ( ).
4.It can be inferred that Lean In ( ).
5.Which of the following statements is true about office speak?
问题1选项
A.more emotional
B.more objective
C.less energetic
D.less strategic
问题2选项
A.historical incidents
B.gender difference
C.sports culture
D.athletic executive
问题3选项
A.revive historical terms
B.promote company image
C.foster corporate cooperation
D.strengthen employee loyalty
问题4选项
A.voices for working women
B.appeals to passionate workaholics
C.triggers debates among mommies
D.praises motivated employees
问题5选项
A.Managers admire it but avoid it
B.Linguists believe it to be nonsense
C.Companies find it to be fundamental
D.Regular people mock it but accept it
第1题:A
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:A
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to Nancy Koehn, office language has become _____. 在Nancy Koehn看来,办公用语已经变得_____。
A. more emotional A. 更具感情
B. more objective B. 更加客观
C. less energetic C. 缺少能量
D. less strategic D. 缺少策略
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】本文首段首句就出现了Nancy Koehn的观点,office language即文中的“the lingua franca of corporate America”。Nancy Koehn教授认为美国企业的之常用语相对于20年前变得“much more emotional(更感性)”和“much more right-brained(更加右脑化)”,A选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项都不是办公用语的特点,属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
“Team”-oriented corporate vocabulary is closely related to _____. 以“团队”为导向的办公通用语和_____密切相关。
A. historical incidents A. 历史事件
B. gender difference B. 性别差异
C. sports culture C. 体育文化
D. athletic executive D. 运动行政
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第二段二、三、四句,这几句话都是举例子论证第一句话“以‘团队’为导向”,第二句话中出现了关键词“sports”,第三句话中出现了“coach”和“team”,第四句话中出现了“coach”和“team”、“win”,这些词都与运动有关,所以选项C正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Khurana believes that the importation of terminology aims to _____. Khurana认为引进术语是为了_____。
A. revive historical terms A. 振兴过去使用的术语
B. promote company image B. 提升公司形象
C. foster corporate cooperation C. 促进公司合作
D. strengthen employee loyalty D. 加强员工忠诚度
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第三段第一句“正如另一个教授Khurana指出的那样,这些用语旨在赋予工作更多的意义,增强员工的忠诚度(allegiance)”,由此可知,选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred that Lean In _____. 可以推断出Lean In一书_____。
A. voices for working women A. 为职业女性申辩
B. appeals to passionate workaholics B. 吸引了激昂的工作狂
C. triggers debates among mommies C. 在妈咪之间引发了争论
D. praises motivated employees D. 赞扬积极的员工
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第四段第二句“源于20世纪90年代的‘妈妈战争’,在今天仍然持续。这就引发了一系列为何女性不能拥有一切的争论,还催生了Sheryl Sandberg的书(Lean In)”,由此可知,这本书肯定与女性相关,另外,本段第一句提到了“work-life balance”,结合可推断这句话谈论的是工作中对于女性的不公平,选项A正确。
【干扰项排除】
C选项“在妈咪之间引发了争论”,与原文表达的“争论催生出Lean In”不符,属于因果倒置,曲解原文;
B、D选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements is true about office speak? 关于办公用语,下列哪个选项是正确的?
A. Managers admire it but avoid it. A. 经理们喜欢但却避免使用。
B. Linguists believe it to be nonsense. B. 语言学家认为其一无是处。
C. Companies find it to be fundamental. C. 公司认为其是基础。
D. Regular people mock it but accept it. D. 普通大众虽戏谑,但却接受了。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到最后一段首句“看起来,这对办公用语极具讽刺意味(irony):每个人都对它嘲笑不止(makes fun of it),但经理层们却喜欢它,公司发展也取决于它,普通人(regular people)也甘愿接受(absorb)它”,由此可知,选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“经理们喜欢但却避免使用”,与原文经理的态度不符,属于曲解原文;
B、C选项原文没有提及,属于无中生有。
哈佛商学院教授南希·科恩说:“即使在传统的办公室里,美国企业的通用语言也比20年前变得更加情绪化,更加右脑化。”她开始举例说明。“如果你和我空降回到1990年的《财富》500强企业,我们会发现旅程、使命、激情等术语的使用频率要低得多。我们有目标、有战略、有目的,但我们不谈能量;我们不谈激情。”
科恩指出,新时代的企业词汇非常“以团队为导向”,这并非巧合。“我们不要忘记,在男性占主导地位的美国企业中,体育仍然是一件大事。这不是明确的意识,而是我是教练,你们是我的团队,我们在一起的理念。有很多不同公司的首席执行官,但大多数都认为自己是教练,这是他们的团队,他们想要赢。
这些术语还旨在为工作注入意义,正如库拉纳指出的那样,增加对公司的忠诚度。“你会输入一些历史上与非营利组织和宗教组织相关的术语:比如愿景、价值观、激情和目的,”库拉纳说。
在关于工作与生活平衡的争论日益激烈的情况下,这种对个人成就感的新关注有助于保持员工的积极性。20世纪90年代的“妈妈之战”至今仍在继续,引发了关于为什么女性仍然不能拥有一切的争论,以及像谢丽尔·桑德伯格的《向前一步》这样的书籍,其书名本身已成为一个热门词汇。拔掉插头、离线、生活窍门、带宽和能力等术语都是关于在办公室和家庭之间划定界限。但是,如果你的工作是你的“激情”所在,你就更有可能全身心地投入其中,即使这意味着回家吃晚饭,然后在孩子们上床睡觉后长时间工作。
但这似乎是对办公室语言的讽刺:每个人都在嘲笑它,但管理者喜欢它,公司依赖它,普通人也心甘情愿地吸收它。正如纽伯格所说:“你可以让人们认为这是无稽之谈,同时你也会对它深信不疑。在一个从根本上对你的生活及其意义漠不关心的工作场所,办公室用语可以帮助你弄清你与工作的关系,以及你的工作是如何定义你的。
【出处】《大西洋》2014.4.24