阅读训练4

Passage One

If leadership, basically speaking, consists of getting things done through others, then persuasion is one of the leader’s essential tools. Many executives have assumed that this tool is beyond their grasp, available only to the charismatic (有魅力的) and the eloquent. Over the past several decades, though, experimental psychologists have learned which methods reliably lead people to compromise, dissent, or change. Their research shows that persuasion is governed by several principles that can be taught and applied.

The first principle is that people are more likely to follow someone who is similar to them than someone who is not. Wise managers, then, enlist peers to help make their cases. Second, people are more willing to cooperate with those who are like them as well as those who like them. So it’s worth the time to uncover real similarities and offer genuine praise.

Third, experiments confirm the intuitive truth that people tend to treat you the way you treat them. It’s sound policy to do a favor before seeking one. Fourth, individuals are more likely to keep promises they make voluntarily and explicitly. The message for managers here is to get commitments in writing. Fifth, studies show that people really do have respect for experts. So before they attempt to exert influence, executives should take pains to establish their own expertise and not assume that it’s self-evident. Finally, people want more of a commodity when it’s scarce; it follows, then, that exclusive information is more persuasive than widely available data.

2020.2.18

1. Many executives think that ________.

A) they don’t have to acquire the skills of persuasion

B) they have mastered the skills of persuasion

C) it is impossible for them to handle persuasion

D) persuasion is of no use

2. The psychologists’ research shows that ________.

A) persuasion is beyond average people’s grasp

B) persuasion can be learned

C) people tend to ignore the importance of persuasion

D) people are born with the ability to persuade

3. According to the passage, people are less willing to work together with ________.

A) those who are different from them

B) their relatives and friends

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C) those who like them

D) their classmates and teachers

4. The author warns the manager ________.

A) to have any promise made by others written down

B) not to break their promises

C) to make promises explicitly and willingly

D) to help people keep their promises

5. The executives can strengthen their position ________.

A) even if they don’t have any expertise

B) if they know something unknown to their subordinates

C) if they have more commodities

D) even if they don’t know how to persuade

Passage Two

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Trade secretes cover everything that patents cover, and much more. A trade secret is knowledge, which may include business knowledge or technical knowledge, that is kept secret for the purpose of gaining an advantage in business over one’s competitors. Customer lists, sources of supply of scarce material, or sources of supply with faster delivery or lower prices may be trade secrets. Certainly, secret processes, formulas, techniques, manufacturing know-how, advertising schemes, marketing programs, and business plans are all protectable.

There is no standard of invention to meet as there is with a patent. If the idea is new in this context, if it is secret with respect to this particular industry or product, then it can be protected as a trade secret. Unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, there is no formal procedure for obtaining trade secret protection. Protection is established by the nature of the secret and the effort to keep it secret.

A trade secret is protected eternally against disclosure by all those who have received it in confidence and all who would obtain it by theft for as long as the knowledge or information is kept secret. In contrast to patent protection, there are no statutory (法定的) requirements for novelty or restrictions on the subject matter.

The disadvantage of trade secrets compared with patents is that there is no protection against discovery by fair means, such as accidental disclosure and independent inventions. Many important inventions, such as the laser and the airplane, were developed more or less simultaneously by different persons. Trade secret protection would not permit the first inventor to prevent the second and subsequent inventors from exploiting the invention as a patent would.

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6. Compared with patents, trade secrets ________.

A) are easier to protect invention

B) should meet certain standard of

C) need statutory support D) cover a larger scope

7. ________ is a trade secret.

A) M in McDonald B) An employment contract

C) A Manual of Volkswagon D) Formula

8. The protection of ________ becomes effective without any formal procedure.

A) trade secrets B) patents C) copyrights D) trademarks

9. A trade secret doesn’t have to be something ________.

A) novel B) unique C) complicated D) useful

10. Unlike patents, ________.

A) trade secrets can be obtained by others illegally