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2014年英语专八考试真题阅读材料来源

时间:2014-04-04 11:41:56来源:可可英语编辑:shaun 可可英语APP下载 | 可可官方微信:ikekenet

第一篇：TheBottomLineonHappiness

ByClaytonMChristensen

MyclassatHarvardBusinessSchoolhelpsstudentsunderstandwhatgoodmanagementtheoryisandhowitisbuilt. Ineachsession, welookatonecompanythroughthelensesofdifferenttheories, usingthemtoexplainhowthecompanygotintoitssituationandtoexaminewhatactionwillyieldtheneededresults. Onthelastdayofclass, Iaskedmyclasstoturnthosetheoreticallensesonthemselvestofindanswerstothosethreequestions: First, HowcanIbesureI’llbehappyinmycareer? Second, HowcanIbesuremyrelationshipswithmyspouseandmyfamilywillbecomeanenduringsourceofhappiness? Third, HowcanIbesureI’llstayoutofjail? Thoughthelastquestionsoundslighthearted, it’snot. Twoofthe32 peopleinmyRhodesscholarclassspenttimeinprison. JeffSkillinofEnronfamewasmyclassmateatHarvardBusinessSchool.

IgraduatedHBSin1979, andovertheyears, I’veseenmoreandmoreofmyclassmatescometoreunionsunhappy, divorced, andalienatedfromtheirchildren. Icanguaranteeyouthatnotasingleoneofthemgraduatedwiththedeliberatestrategyofgettingdivorcedandraisingchildrenwhowouldbecomeestrangedfromthem. Andyetashockingnumberunwittinglyimplementedthatstrategy. Thereason? Theydidn’tkeepthepurposeoftheirlivesfrontandcenter.

Havingaclearpurposehasbeenessentialtome. ButitwassomethingIhadtothinglongandhardaboutbeforeIunderstoodit. WhenIwasaRhodeScholar, Iwasinaverydemandacademicprogram, tryingtocramanextrayear’sworthofworkintomytimeatOxford. Idecidedtospendanhoureverynightreading, thinkingandprayingaboutwhyGodputmeonthisearth. ItwasaverychallengingcommitmentbecauseeveryhourIspentdoingthat, Iwasn’tstudyingappliedeconometrics. IwasconflictedaboutwhetherIcouldreallyaffordtotaketimeawayfrommystudies, butIstuckwithitandultimatelyfiguredoutthepurposeofmylife.

Mypurposegrewoutofmyreligiousfaith, butfaithisn’ttheonlythingthatgivespeopledirection. Forexample, oneofmyformerstudentsdecidedthathispurposewasbringhonestlyandeconomicprosperitytohiscountryandtoraisechildrenwhowereascapablycommittedtohiscause, andtoeachother, ashewas. Hispurposeisfocusedonfamilyandothers, asismine.

Herearesomemanagementtoolsthatcanbeusedtohelpyouleadapurposefullife.

1. UseYourResourcesWisely– Yourdecisionsaboutallocatingyourpersonaltime, energy, andtalentshapeyourlife’sstrategy. Ihaveabunchof“businesses” thatcompetefortheseresources: I’mtryingtohavearewardingrelationshipwithmywife, raisegreatkids, contributetomycommunity, succeedinmycareer, andcontributetomychurch. AndIhaveexactlythesameproblemthatacorporationdoes. Ihavealimitedamountoftime, energyandtalent. HowmuchdoIdevotetoeachofthesepursuits?

Allocationchoicescanmakeyourlifeturnouttoverydifferentfromwhatyouintended. Sometimesthat’sgood: opportunitiesthatyouhaveneverplannedforemerge. Butifyoudon’tinvestyourresourceswisely, theoutcomecanbebad. AsIthinkaboutmyformerclassmateswhoinadvertentlyinvestedinlivesofhollowunhappiness, Ican’thelpbelievingthattheirtroublesrelatedrightbacktoashort-termperspective.

Whenpeoplewithahighneedforachievementhaveanextrahalfhouroftimeoranextraounceofenergy, they’llunconsciouslyallocateittoactivitiesthatyieldthemosttangibleaccomplishments. Ourcareersprovidethemostconcreteevidencethatwe’removingforward. Youshipaproduct, finishadesign, completeapresentation, closeasaleteachaclass, publishapaper, getpaid, getpromoted. Incontrast, investingtimeandenergyinyourrelationshipswithyourspouseandchildrentypicallydoesn’tofferthesameimmediatesenseofachievement. Kidsmisbehaveeveryday. It’sreallynotuntil20 yearsdowntheroadthatyoucansay, “Iraisedagoodsonoragooddaughter.” Youcanneglectyourrelationshipwithyourspouseandonadailybasisitdoesn’tseemasifthingaredeteriorating. Peoplewhoaredriventoexcelhavethisunconsciouspropensitytounderinvestintheirfamiliesandoverinvestintheircareers, eventhoughintimateandlovingfamilyrelationshipsarethemostpowerfulandenduringsourceofhappiness.

Ifyoustudytherootcausesofbusinessdisasters, overandoveryou’llfindthispredispositiontowardendeavorsthatofferimmediategratification. Ifyoulookatpersonallivesthroughthatlens, you’llseethatsamestunningandsoberingpattern: peopleallocatingfewerandfewerresourcestothethingstheywouldhaveoncesaidmatteredmost.

2. CreateAFamilyCulture- It’sonethingtoseeintothefoggyfuturewithaacuityandchartthecoursecorrectionsacompanymustmake. Butit’squiteanothertopersuadeemployeestolineupandworkcooperativelytotakethecompanyinthatnewdirection.

Whenthereislittleagreement, youhavetouse“powertools” – coercion, threats, punishmentsandsoon, tosecurecooperation. Butifemployee’swaysofworkingtogethersucceedoverandover, consensusbeginstoform. Ultimately, peopledon’teventhinkaboutwhethertheirwayyieldssuccess. Theyembraceprioritiesandfollowproceduresbyinstinctandassumptionratherthanbyexplicitdecision, whichmeansthatthey’vecreatedaculture. Culture, incompellingbutunspokenways, dictatestheproven, acceptablemethodsbywhichmembersofagroupaddressrecurrentproblems. Andculturedefinestheprioritygiventodifferenttypesofproblems. Itcanbeapowerfulmanagementtool.

Iusethismodeltoaddressthequestion, HowcanIbemyfamilybecomesanenduringsourceofhappiness? Mystudentsquicklyseethatthesimplestwayparentscanelicitcooperationfromchildrenistowieldpowertools. Buttherecomesapointduringtheteenyearswhenpowertoolsnolongerwork. Atthatpoint, parentsstartwishingtheyhadbegunworkingwiththeirchildrenataveryyoungagetobuildacultureinwhichchildreninstinctivelybehaverespectfullytowardoneanother, obeytheirparents, andchoosetherightthingtodo. Familieshavecultures, justacompaniesdo. Thoseculturecanbebuiltconsciouslyorevolveinadvertently.

Ifyouwantyourkidstohavestrongself-esteemandtheconfidencethattheycansolvehardproblems, thosequalitieswon’tmagicallymaterializeinhighschool. Youhavetodesignthemintofamily’scultureandyouhavethinkaboutthisveryearlyon. Likeemployees, childrenbuildself-esteembydoingthingsthatarehardandlearningwhatworks.

3. Avoid“JustthisOnce” – We’retaughtinfinanceandeconomicsthatinchoosinginvestments, weshouldignoresunkandfixedcostandinsteadbasedecisionsonthemarginalcosts– thatis, thepriceofeachindividualnewsteporpurchase. ButIteachthatthispracticebiasescompaniestowardusingwhatthey’vealreadyputinplace– whathelpedthemsucceedinthepast– insteadofguidingthemtocreatethecapabilitiesthey’llneedinthefuture. Ifweknewthefuturewouldbeexactlythesameasthepast, thiswouldbefine. Butifthefuture’sdifferent, anditalmostalwaysis, thenit’sthewrongthingtodo.

ThemarginalcostdoctrineaddressesthethirdquestionIdiscusswithmystudents: howtolivealifeofintegrity. Oftenwhenweneedtochoosebetweenrightandwrong, avoiceinourheadsays, “Look, Iknowthatasageneralrule, mostpeopleshouldn’tdothis. Butinthisparticularextenuatingcircumstance, justthisonce, it’sokay.” Themarginalcoastofdoingsomethingwrong“justthisonce” alwaysseemstoalluringlylow. Itsuckersyouin, andyoudon’tlookatwherethatpathisultimatelyheadedandatthefullcoastthatthechoiceentails. Justificationforinfidelityanddishonestyinalltheirmanifestationsliesinthemarginalcosteconomicsof“justthisonce.”

I’dliketoshareastoryabouthowIcametounderstandthepotentialdamageof“justthisonce” inmyownlife. IplayedontheOxfordUniversityvarsitybasketballteam. Weworkedourtailsoffandfinishedtheseasonundefeated. TheguysontheteamwerethebestfriendsI’veeverhadinmylife. WegottotheBritishequivalentoftheNCAAtournamentandmadeittothefinalfour. ItturnedoutthatthechampionshipgamewasscheduledforaSunday. IhadmadeapersonalcommitmenttoGodatage16 thatIwouldneverplayballonSunday. SoIwenttothecoachandexplainedmyproblem. Hewasincredulous. Myteammateswere, too, becauseIwasthestartingcenter. Everyoneoftheguysontheteamcametoandsaid, “You’vegottopay. Can’tyoubreaktherulejustthisonetime?” I’madeeplyreligiousman, soIwentwayandprayedaboutwhatIshoulddo. IgotaveryclearfeelingthatIshouldn’tbreakmycommitment, soIdidn’tplayinthechampionshipgame.

Inmanyways, thatwasasmalldecision, involvingoneofseveralthousandSundaysinmylife. Intheory, Icouldhavecrossedoverthelinejustthatonetimeandthenneverdoneitagain. Butlookingback, Icanseethatresistingthetemptationof“justthisone” wasoneofthemostimportantdecisionsIhaveevermade. Mylifehasbeenanunendingstreamofextenuatingcircumstances. HadIcrossedthelinethatonetime, Iwouldhavedoneitoverandoverintheyearsthatfollowed.

ThelessonIlearnisthatit’seasiertoholdtoyourprinciples100 percentofthetimethanitistoholdtothem98 percentofthetime. Ifyougiveinto“justthisonce.” Basedonamarginalcostanalysis, assomeofmyformerclassmatesdid, you’llregretwhereyouendup. You’vegottodefineforyourselfwhatyoustandforanddrawthelineinasafeplace.

4. RemembertobeHumble– It’scrucialtotakeasenseofhumilityintotheworld. Ifyouattitudeisthatonlysmarterpeoplehavetoteachyou, yourlearningopportunitieswillbeverylimited. Butifyouhaveahumbleeagernesstolearnsomethingfromeverybody, yourlearningopportunitieswillbeunlimited. Generallyyoucanbehumbleonlyifyoufeelreallygoodaboutyourselfandwanttohelpthosearoundyoufeelreallygoodaboutthemselvestoo. Whenweseepeopleactinginanabusive, arrogant, ordemeaningmannertowardothers, theirbehavioralmostalwaysisasymptomoftheirlackofself-esteem. Theyneedtoputsomeoneelsedowntofeelgoodaboutthemselves.

5. ChoosetheRightYardstick– Don’tworryaboutthelevelofindividualprominenceyouhaveachieved; worryabouttheindividualsyouhavehelpedbecomebetterpeople. Thisismyfinalrecommendation: Thinkaboutthemetricbywhichyourlifewillbejudged, andmakearesolutiontoliveeverydaysothatintheend, yourlifewillbejudgedasuccess.

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commitment	[kə'mitmənt]	想一想再看	联想记忆
competent	['kɔmpitənt]	想一想再看	联想记忆
settled	['setld]	想一想再看
corporation	[.kɔ:pə'reiʃən]	想一想再看	联想记忆
permitted		想一想再看
unspoken	[,ʌn'spəukən]	想一想再看
resolve	[ri'zɔlv]	想一想再看	联想记忆
screen	[skri:n]	想一想再看
hollow	['hɔləu]	想一想再看
oppressive	[ə'presiv]	想一想再看