點擊查看：2018年6月大學英語六級閱讀100篇

　　Business has slowed, layoffs mount, but executive pay continues to roar-at least so far. Business Week's annual survey finds that chief executive officers (CEOs) at 365 0f the largest US companies got compensation last year averaging $3.1 million-up l.3 percent from 1994.

　　Why are the top bosses getting an estimated 485 times the pay of a typical factory worker? That is up from 475 times in 1999 and a mere 42 times in 1980. One reason may be what experts call the "Lake Wobegon effect". Corporate boards tend to reckon that "all CEOs are above average"-a play on Garrison Keillor's famous line in his public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, that all the town's children arc "above average". Consultants provide boards with surveys of corporate CEO compensation. Since directors are reluctant to regard their CEOs as below average, the compensation committees of boards tend to set pay at an above-average level. The result; Pay levels get ratcheted up.

　　Defenders of lavish CEO pay argue there is such a strong demand for experienced CEOs that the free market forces their pay up. They further maintain most boards structure pay packages to reflect an executive's performance. They get paid more if their companies and their stock do well. So companies with high-paid CEOs generate great wealth for their shareholders.

　　But the supposed cream-of-the-crop executives did surprisingly poorly for their shareholders in 1999, says Scott Klinger, author of this report by a Bostonbased Organization United for a Fair Economy. If an investor had put $10,000 apiece at the end of 1999 into the stock of those companies with the 10 highest-paid CEOs, by year-end 2000 the investment would have shrunk to $8.132. If $10,000 had been put into the Standard & Poor's 500 stocks, it would have been worth $9,090. To Mr. Klinger, these findings suggest that the theory that one person, the CEO, is responsible for creating most of a corporation's value is dead wrong. "It takes many employees to make a corporation profitable."

　　With profits down, corporate boards may make more effort to tame executive compensation. And executives are making greater efforts to avoid pay cut. Since CEOs, seeing their options "under water" or worthless because of falling stock prices, are seeking more pay in cash or in restricted stock.

　　1.Which of the following statements is true about Garrison Keillor?

　　A) His idea on the CEOs was recognized by cor[,orate boards.

　　B) One of his lines had been modified to describe the CEOs.

　　C) His play pointed out that "all CEOs are above average".

　　D) His radio program aroused the "Lake Wobegon effect".

　　2.According to the second paragraph. CEOs' pay keeps soaring mainly because___________.

　　A) surveys indicate that CEOs deserve higher pay

　　B) consultants tend to believe CEOs are above average

　　C) directors' belief greatly influences the pay standard

　　D) compensation committees seldom evaluate the CEOs' ability

　　3.Scott Klinger most probably tends to agree Chat____________.

　　A) most people lose money in the investment into the stocks

　　B) the CEOs performance can't be reflected by the value of stocks

　　C) the CEOs are not the only factor that prospers a corporation

　　D) the pay of the CEOs greatly influences the profit of' a company

　　4."Cream-of-the-crop" is closest in meaning to____________.

　　A) competent

　　B) courageous

　　C) disappointing

　　D) hard-working

　　5.Which of the following is the biggest concern of the corporate boards?

　　A)The free market.

　　B)The CEOs’ performance.

　　C) The corporations' profit.

　　D)The CEOs’ pay.

　　答案：

　　1.關于Garrison Keillor，下列哪種說法是正確的?

　　A)他關于CEO的想法為公司董事會所認可。

　　B)他的一句臺詞經過修改后用來描連CE0的情況。

　　C)他在節(jié)目中指出“所有的CEO都是高人一等的”。

　　D)他的電臺節(jié)目引發(fā)了“瓦伯格湖效應”。

　　[B]原文第2段第4句中的破折號后的內存表明“all CEOs are above average”這一說法是對Garrison Keillor的某句臺詞的修改，故選項B為本題答案。

　　2.根據(jù)第二段的內容，CEO的薪酬不斷上漲。這主要是因為______________。

　　A)調查顯示，CEO值得獲得更高的薪酬

　　B)顧問們都傾向于相信CEO是高人一等的

　　C)董事們的想法對薪酬標準影響很大

　　D)薪酬委員會極少衡量CEO的能力

　　[C]第2段最后兩句的Since... The result...表明這兩句之問存在著因果關系，由倒數(shù)第2句可以推斷CEOs報酬不斷上漲主要是因為受到董事們的想法的影響，選項C提到了董事們的想法，為本題答案。

　　3.Scott Klinger最可能會同意下列哪一種說法?

　　A)大部分人在投資股票的時候都是虧錢的。

　　B)CEO的績效不能從股票的價值中體現(xiàn)出來。

　　C)CEO并不是使公司發(fā)展壯大的唯一因素。

　　D)CEO的薪酬在很大程度上影響公司的利潤。

　　[C]原文第4段倒數(shù)第2句中的...is dead wrong表明選項C符合Klinger對CEOs的看法，因此選項C為本題答案。

　　4.與“Cream-of-the-crop”的意思最接近的是____。

　　A)有能力的

　　B)令人鼓舞的

　　C)令人失望的

　　D)工作努力的

　　[A]從原文第4段首句中cream-of-the-crop之前的supposed以及But,did surprisingly poorly可以推斷cream-of-the-crop應該與poor的意思相反，而該段主要討論CEOs的能力，因此cream-of-the-crop應表示CEOs被認為“能力卓著”，因此選項A為本題答案。

　　5.以下的那一點是公司董事會最關心的因素?

　　A)自由市場。

　　B) CEO的績效。

　　C)公司利潤。

　　D)CEO的薪酬。

　　[C]原文末段首句表明董事會關心的是利潤，其他任何因素都與利潤掛鉤，因此選項C為本題答案。

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