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 —from the 350 largest such companies — 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 mere 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 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.
（1）Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise?
（2）Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to（ ） .
（3）CEO pay has been rising since the 1970s despite（ ）.
（4）High CEO pay can be justified by the fact that it helps（ ）.
（5）The most suitable title for this text would be（ ）.
问题1选项
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
问题2选项
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
问题3选项
A.continual internal opposition
B.strict corporate governance
C.conservative business strategies
D.repeated government warnings
问题4选项
A.confirm the status of CEOs
B.motivate inside candidates
C.boost the efficiency of CEOs
D.increase corporate value
问题5选项
A.CEOs Are Not Overpaid
B.CEO Pay: Past and Present
C.CEOs’ Challenges of Today
D.CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define
第1题:C
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
1. Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise? 以下哪项对首席执行官加薪有贡献？
A. The growth in the number of corporations. A. 公司数量的增长。
B. The general pay rise with a better economy. B. 随着经济的好转，工资普遍上涨。
C. Increased business opportunities for top firms. C. 为顶级公司增加商业机会。
D. Close cooperation among leading economies. D. 主要经济体密切合作。
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第二段首句“了解首席执行官薪酬增长（growth of CEO pay）的最佳模式是，首席执行官人才在一个顶级公司（top firms）的商业机会（business opportunities）迅速增长（growing rapidly）的世界里是有限的”，由此可知，选项C符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
2. Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to _____. 与他们的前辈相比，今天的首席执行官们需要_____。
A. foster a stronger sense of teamwork A. 培养更强的团队合作意识
B. finance more research and development B. 为更多的研发提供资金
C. establish closer ties with tech companies C. 与科技公司建立更紧密的联系
D. operate more globalized companies D. 经营更多全球化的公司
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第三段二、三句“他们还需要比前任（predecessors）更好的公关技巧，因为即使是一个小失误，代价也可能是巨大的。还有一个事实（Then there’s the fact）是，美国大公司比以往任何时候都更加全球化（more globalized），供应链遍布更多的国家”，由此可知，选项D符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
3. CEO pay has been rising since the 1970s despite _____. 自20世纪70年代以来，首席执行官的薪酬一直在上升，尽管_____。
A. continual internal opposition A. 持续的内部反对
B. strict corporate governance B. 严格的公司治理
C. conservative business strategies C. 保守的商业策略
D. repeated government warnings D. 政府一再警告
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第四段第三句“然而，首席执行官的薪酬主要是在这一治理更加有力（stronger governance）的时期一直居高不下”，由此可知，选项B符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
4. High CEO pay can be justified by the fact that it helps _____. 首席执行官的高薪酬是合理的，因为它有助于_____。
A. confirm the status of CEOs A. 确认首席执行官的地位
B. motivate inside candidates B. 激励内部候选人
C. boost the efficiency of CEOs C. 提高首席执行官的效率
D. increase corporate value D. 增加企业价值
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到最后一段最后一句“当公司把首席执行官的薪酬（CEO pay）与股票价格挂钩时，股票市场的反应是积极的，这表明这些做法不仅为首席执行官带来价值，而且创造了公司价值（corporate value）”，由此可知，选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、C选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有；
B选项“激励内部候选人”，与原文最后一段第一句提到的“首席执行官的最高薪水是付给外部候选人的（outside candidates）”不符，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
5. The most suitable title for this text would be _____. 本文最合适的标题是_____。
A. CEOs Are Not Overpaid A. 首席执行官的薪水并不高
B. CEO Pay: Past and Present B. 首席执行官的薪酬：过去和现在
C. CEOs’ challenges of Today C. 现在首席执行官的挑战
D. CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define D. 首席执行官特质：不容易定义
【答案】A
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】综合原文内容考虑，本文主题词为CEO的薪酬，主要表明了首席执行官的薪酬并不过高，选项A符合。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“首席执行官的薪酬：过去和现在”，CEO过去的薪酬并不是原文中心，属于以偏概全；
C、D选项不属于文章主旨，属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
诚然，首席执行官的薪酬不断上涨，顶级首席执行官的平均薪酬可能是普通员工的300倍，而且自20世纪70年代中期以来，根据不同的估计，美国大型上市公司首席执行官的薪酬上涨了约500%。现在，美国顶级公司首席执行官的通常年薪约为1890万美元。
理解首席执行官薪酬增长的最佳模式是，在顶级公司的商业机会迅速增长的世界里，首席执行官的人才是有限的。美国收入最高的1%人群的努力是全球经济中更具活力的因素之一。虽然这样说并不受欢迎，但他们的薪酬之所以大幅上涨，一个原因是，与美国经济中的许多其他员工相比，首席执行官们确实提高了他们的水平。
今天的首席执行官，至少是美国大公司的首席执行官，必须具备许多技能，而不仅仅是“管理公司”。首席执行官必须对金融市场有良好的认识，甚至可能对公司应该如何在金融市场中交易有良好的认识。与前任相比，他们还需要更好的公关能力，因为哪怕是一个小小的失误，都可能造成巨大损失。此外，美国大公司比以往任何时候都更加全球化，供应链遍布更多国家。要在这一体系中发挥领导作用，需要相当令人难以置信的知识，而且，几乎所有的美国大公司都已超越了这一范畴，主要的首席执行官们仍然要做他们一直在做的所有日常工作。
人们普遍认为首席执行官的高薪主要是为了剥削员工，但这并不能很好地解释历史。从大多数方面来看，自20世纪70年代以来，公司治理变得更加严格和严谨。然而，正是在这一加强治理的时期，首席执行官的薪酬却一直居高不下并不断攀升。这表明，为日益艰巨的工作招聘顶尖人才符合更广泛的公司利益。
此外，首席执行官的最高薪酬是支付给外部候选人的，而不是支付给内部人选的，这也表明首席执行官的高薪并不是以牺牲公司其他成员的利益为代价的某种掠夺。当公司将首席执行官的薪酬与股票价格等挂钩时，股票市场也会做出积极反应，这表明这些做法不仅为首席执行官创造了价值，也为公司创造了价值。
【出处】《时代周刊》2019.4.11
