【题文】It is fashionable today to criticize Big Business, and there is one issue on which the many critics agree: CEO pay. We hear that CEOs are paid too much (or too much relative to workers) , or that they control others’ pay, or that their pay is insufficiently related to positive outcomes. But the more likely truth is CEO pay is largely caused by intense competition.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.While individual cases of overpayment definitely exist, in general, the determinants of CEO pay are not so mysterious and not so trapped in corruption (腐败). In fact, overall CEO compensation for the top companies rises pretty much in line with the value of those companies on the stock market.The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay, though, is that of limited CEO talent in a world where business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly. The efforts of Americans 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 more 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 cause a bad consequence. 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 incredible.There is yet another trend: virtually all major American companies are becoming tech companies, one way or another. An agribusiness company, for instance, may focus on R&D in highly IT- intensive areas such as genome sequencing (基因组序列). Similarly, it is hard to do a good job running the Walt Disney Company just by picking good movie scripts and courting stars ; you also need to build a firm capable of creating significant CGI (计算机生成图像) products for cartoon movies at the highest levels of technical sophistication and with many frontier innovations along the way.On top of all of this, major CEOs still have to do the job they have always done- which includes motivating employees, serving as an internal role model, helping to define and extend a corporate culture, understanding the internal accounting, and presenting budgets and business plans to the board. Good CEOs are some of the world’s most powerful creators and have some of the very deepest skills of understanding.【小题1】Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise?A.The growth in the number of cooperationB.The general pay rise with a better economyC.Increased business opportunities for top firmsD.Close cooperation among leading economics【小题2】Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to ________.A.foster a stronger sense of teamworkB.finance more research and developmentC.establish closer ties with tech companiesD.operate more globalized companies【小题3】The meaning of the underlined word “slipup” (line 5, paragraph 4) is close to ________.A.operationB.successC.mistakeD.promotion【小题4】The most suitable title for this text would be ________.A.CEOs Are Not OverpaidB.CEO Pay: Past and PresentC.CEOs’ Challenges of TodayD.CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define.
【题文】It is fashionable today to criticize Big Business, and there is one issue on which the many critics agree: CEO pay. We hear that CEOs are paid too much (or too much relative to workers) , or that they control others’ pay, or that their pay is insufficiently related to positive outcomes. But the more likely truth is CEO pay is largely caused by intense competition.
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.
While individual cases of overpayment definitely exist, in general, the determinants of CEO pay are not so mysterious and not so trapped in corruption (腐败). In fact, overall CEO compensation for the top companies rises pretty much in line with the value of those companies on the stock market.
The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay, though, is that of limited CEO talent in a world where business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly. The efforts of Americans 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 more 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 cause a bad consequence. 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 incredible.
There is yet another trend: virtually all major American companies are becoming tech companies, one way or another. An agribusiness company, for instance, may focus on R&D in highly IT- intensive areas such as genome sequencing (基因组序列). Similarly, it is hard to do a good job running the Walt Disney Company just by picking good movie scripts and courting stars ; you also need to build a firm capable of creating significant CGI (计算机生成图像) products for cartoon movies at the highest levels of technical sophistication and with many frontier innovations along the way.
On top of all of this, major CEOs still have to do the job they have always done- which includes motivating employees, serving as an internal role model, helping to define and extend a corporate culture, understanding the internal accounting, and presenting budgets and business plans to the board. Good CEOs are some of the world’s most powerful creators and have some of the very deepest skills of understanding.
【小题1】Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise?A.The growth in the number of cooperationB.The general pay rise with a better economyC.Increased business opportunities for top firmsD.Close cooperation among leading economics【小题2】Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to ________.A.foster a stronger sense of teamworkB.finance more research and developmentC.establish closer ties with tech companiesD.operate more globalized companies【小题3】The meaning of the underlined word “slipup” (line 5, paragraph 4) is close to ________.A.operationB.successC.mistakeD.promotion【小题4】The most suitable title for this text would be ________.A.CEOs Are Not OverpaidB.CEO Pay: Past and PresentC.CEOs’ Challenges of TodayD.CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define.题目解答
答案
【答案】
【小题1】C
【小题2】D
【小题3】C
【小题4】A
解析
文章主旨:本文主要探讨了美国大型企业CEO薪酬上涨的原因,指出这一现象并非简单的“过高”或“不公平”,而是由激烈竞争和企业全球化等多重因素驱动。文章强调CEO职责的扩大化(如全球化运营、技术转型)和技能要求的提升是核心推动力。
考查要点:
- 细节理解:需结合文章中具体描述(如“business opportunities for top firms are growing rapidly”)判断选项。
- 推理判断:通过CEO角色变化(如“operate more globalized companies”)推断正确选项。
- 词汇猜测:根据上下文(如“costs of even a minor slipup”)推断“slipup”的含义。
- 标题归纳:需抓住文章核心观点(反驳“CEO薪酬过高”的批评)选择最贴切标题。
第(1)题
关键句:
"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."
解析:文章明确指出,企业顶级机会的增长是CEO薪酬上涨的核心原因(选项C)。其他选项(如A、B、D)未在文中提及或非直接因素。
第(2)题
关键句:
"large American companies are much more globalized than ever before, with supply chains spread across a larger number of countries."
解析:文中强调现代CEO需管理全球化程度更高的企业(选项D)。其他选项(如A、B、C)未被明确提及或为次要技能。
第(3)题
关键句:
"the costs of even a minor slipup can cause a bad consequence."
解析:结合“costs”和“bad consequence”可知,“slipup”指“错误”(选项C)。例如,“public relations slipup”即公关失误。
第(4)题
关键句:
"But the more likely truth is CEO pay is largely caused by intense competition."
解析:文章核心观点是反驳“CEO薪酬过高”的批评,强调其合理性(选项A)。其他标题(如B、C、D)未抓住文章核心。