2020考研英语阅读理解精读100篇：Unit 14

Unit 14

No one word demonstrated the shift in corporations’ attention in the mid-1990s from processes to people more vividly than the single word “talent”. Spurred on by a book called “The War for Talent”, written by three McKinsey consultants in the late 1990s, the word became common in management speak. Talent is a subset of what used to be called human resources, the people who work in organisations. It is, essentially, those individuals among that group who have the potential to add most value.

Behind the word lies the idea that more and more corporate value is going to be created by knowledge and by so-called “knowledge workers”. Manual labour is worth less; knowledge（and the right use of it） is worth more. And people with such knowledge are（so the theory goes）in short supply. One CEO was reported as saying that not only did he not have enough talent to carry out the company’s strategy, but he did not even have “the talent needed in HR to hire the missing managers”. Moreover, the situation is likely to stay that way（and may even get worse）for some time to come.

This has significantly shifted the balance of power in the recruitment process. Companies used to be relaxed about finding enough qualified people to run their operations. What they could not find they would train, was the usual attitude. That might take some time, but in a world where people sought jobs for life （and the pensions that went with them）time was in the company’s favour. But talent is not patient, and it is not faithful. Many companies found themselves training employees only for them to go on and sell their acquired skills to their rivals. So now they look for talent that is ready-made.

In their eagerness to please this talent, companies have gone to considerable lengths to appear especially attractive. They have, for instance, devoted a great deal of effort to the design of their websites, often the first port of call these days for bright young potential recruits. They have in many cases reconstructed their HR departments, in part so that they can tailor their remuneration packages more finely for the individuals that they really require. And they have altered their approach to issues such as governance and environmental responsibility because they know that many of the talented people they are seeking want to work for ethical and responsible employers—almost more than they want a hefty pay packet.

Talented people increasingly want to work in places where they can feel good about what they do for most of the day. What’s more, in today’s knowledge-based businesses, these young people are far more aware of their working environment, of “what’s going on around here”, than were their grandparents, who were hired for their brawn rather than their brain. It is harder for today’s businesses to disguise from their employees what they are up to—even when, as in cases such as Enron and WorldCom, they put a lot of effort into it.

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2004年真题Text 1。

1. According to Paragraph 1, corporations start to ______.

A) rely more on consultants from McKinsey or other consulting companies

B) emphasize the different subsets of human resources

C) highlight the quality of people in organization

D) focus on those who can add most value

2. The expression “talent”（Line 2, Paragraph 1）most probably means ______.

A) knowledge worker

B) human resources

C) people working in an organization

D) manual labourer

3. The following measures to attract talents are mentioned EXCEPT ______.

A) creating a dynamic work atmosphere

B) establishing a positive company image through fulfilling social responsibility

C) carefully designing company website, brochure, booklet, flyer, etc.

D) finding the balance of efficiency and equity in wage policies

4. Which of the following statements is an unexpected result of the shift of attention to talent?

A) Corporations can no longer stay relaxed when it comes to people recruitment.

B) Corporations face more supervision from employees against indecent corporate acts.

C) Corporations find it less worthwhile to hire people for their brawn than their brain.

D) Corporations encounter larger pressure in terms of environmental protection.

5. The best title for the text may be______.

A) Talent and Human Resources

B) The Evolution of “Talent”

C) Talent Management

D) How to Recruit the Best Talent

篇章剖析

本文主要介绍了现代公司的人才观。第一段对“人才”一词的本身含义做出解释；第二段指出人才的价值及缺少人才的状况；第三段介绍了公司人才引进策略的变化及其原因；第四、五段则说明了公司为引进人才而采取的各种具体措施。

词汇注释

spur /spɜː/ v. 刺激；促进

consultant /kənˈsʌltənt/ n. 顾问

subset /ˈsʌbset/ n. 子集

recruitment /rɪˈkruːtmənt/ n. 招募，招聘，聘任

considerable /kənˈsɪdərəbl/ adj. 相当大的，相当多的

tailor /ˈteɪlə/ v. 修改，使合适

remuneration /riˌmjuːnəˈreɪʃən/ n. 酬金，工资

ethical /ˈeθɪkəl/ adj. 伦理的，道德的

hefty /ˈhefti/ adj. 数额大的，有力的

brawn /brɔːn/ n. 发达的肌肉

disguise /dɪsˈgaɪz/ v. 掩饰，假装

难句突破

And they have altered their approach to issues such as governance and environmental responsibility because they know that many of the talented people they are seeking want to work for ethical and responsible employers—almost more than they want a hefty pay packet.

主体句式：They have altered their approach...

结构分析：本句为因果关系复合句。主句主语为they，谓语为have altered。由because引导了一个原因状语从句，从句的主要结构是they know that+宾语从句，而宾语从句的主语为many of the talented people，谓语为want to...，其中包含了一个修饰talented people的定语从句they are seeking。破折号后面的部分是对该宾语从句的补充说明。

句子译文：公司还改变了他们在管理方式和环保责任方面的策略，因为他们知道他们所需要的很多人才都愿意为有道德而且负责任的雇主工作——这一点几乎比高薪还重要。

题目分析

1. C 细节题。第一段引出“人才”这一概念，“20世纪90年代中期，许多公司的重心从流程转移到人，而没有一个词能够比‘人才’更生动地描述这一变化。”最后一句话还指出人才的重要性在于创造最大附加值的潜力。这些都说明公司的人力资源工作开始更加重视员工的质量，C符合原文的意思。

2. A 语义题。第一段的最后一句话解释了talent这个词的意思，即人才是“有潜力创造最大附加值的人”，第二段第一句话承接上文说“这个词背后隐藏着这样一种理念，即越来越多的企业价值将由知识创造，由被称为‘知识工作者’的群体创造”，因此可以把talent理解成knowledge worker。B和C是同一个意思，这在第一段里面有表述，而talent只是其中的一个子集。D指的是体力劳动者，与题意不符。

3. D 细节题。文章第四段提出了一些帮助公司招到优秀人才的措施，比如设计有吸引力的网站，履行社会责任以树立良好的企业形象，最后一段还提到了人才都很重视工作环境和氛围，因此A、B、C选项在文中都有体现。第四段指出根据个体差异提供不同的薪酬待遇，但并未提到效率与公平性的结合，因此答案为D。

4. B 推理题。本题题干中“unexpected result”意为“出人意料的结果”，因此，文中明确表示的结果就不能入选。文中的最后一句话说“现在企业想要对员工隐瞒自己的所做所为是越来越难了”，也就是说现在企业比以前更难做坏事了，因为员工更加关注工作场所发生的事情，也会对企业起到监督作用。这是如今引进优秀员工带来的结果，并非曾预料到的，所以答案为B。

5. C 主旨题。A的内容只在第一段中提及，文中没有具体涉及人才的演变，D只是最后两段的内容，无法概括全文。而全文主要是围绕人才管理来展开全文的，故选C。

参考译文

20世纪90年代中期，许多公司的重心从流程转移到人，而没有一个词能够比“人才”更生动地描述这一变化。20世纪90年代晚期，三位麦肯锡咨询顾问撰写了《人才战争》一书，促生了“人才”一词，此后这个词成为了管理用语中的常见用词。人才是过去所说的人力资源的一部分，人力资源指的是组织中工作的全体人员。从本质上来说，人才是组织团队中有潜力创造最大附加值的人。

这个词背后隐藏着这样一种理念，即越来越多的企业价值将由知识创造，由被称为“知识工作者”的群体创造。体力劳动的价值减少；知识（以及知识的恰当运用）的价值增加。具备这种知识的人（理论上说）十分稀缺。据报道，一位CEO曾说过，他不仅缺少足够的人才来执行公司战略，而且缺少“人力资源方面的人才来招聘公司需要的经理人”。而且，这种情况可能会持续一段时间（甚至变得更加严重）。

这种情况大大转变了招聘过程中的力量平衡。过去公司不会去积极寻找可以支持公司运营的足够人才。公司通常认为，如果找不到需要的人才，就可以通过培训来满足要求。那会花费一些时间，但过去人们都是寻找可以干一辈子的工作（并有养老金），公司有的是时间。但是人才没有耐心，而且他们也不忠诚。许多公司发现，自己培养出来的员工往往会跳槽，带着培训获得的技能投奔竞争对手。所以他们现在更青睐已经成型的人才。

为了招徕人才，公司竭尽所能展现自身的吸引力。例如，他们在网站设计上下了很大工夫，因为近来，可能加入公司的青年才俊往往首先浏览公司网站。很多公司还对HR部门进行重组，部分目的是为了更好地针对公司真正需要的人才设计薪酬待遇。公司还改变了他们在管理方式和环保责任方面的策略，因为他们知道他们所需的很多人才都愿意为有道德而且负责任的雇主工作——这一点几乎比高薪还重要。

人才越来越希望可以在让自己几乎一整天都过得舒适的地方工作。而且在当今的以知识为基础的商业中，年轻人才比他们的祖父辈更加关注工作环境，关注“周围发生的事情”。他们的祖父辈往往是体力劳动者而非脑力劳动者。现在企业想要对员工掩饰自己的所做所为是越来越难了，即使投入大量精力也难保不东窗事发，安然和世通公司就是前车之鉴。