The number of women directors appointed to corporate boards in the United States has increased dramatically, but the ratio of female to male directors remains low. Although pressure to recruit women directors, unlike that to employ women in the general work force, does not derive from legislation, it is nevertheless real. Although small companies were the first to have women directors, large corporations currently have a higher percentage of women on their boards. When the chairs of these large corporations began recruiting women to serve on boards, they initially sought women who were chief executive officers (CEOs) of large corporations. However, such women CEOs are still rare. In addition, the ideal of six CEOs (female or male) serving on the board of each of the largest corporations is realizable only if every CEO serves on six boards. This raises the specter of director over commitment and the resultant dilution of contribution. Consequently, the chairs next sought women in business who had the equivalent of CEO experience. How- ever, since it is only recently that large numbers of women have begun to rise in management, the chairs began to recruit women of high achievement outside the business world. Many such women are well known for their contributions in government, education, and the nonprofit sector. The fact that the women from these sectors who were appointed were often acquaintances of the boards’ chairs seems quite reason- able: chairs have always considered it important for directors to interact comfortably in the boardroom. Although many successflfl women from outside the business world are unknown to corporate leaders, these women are particularly qualified to serve on boards because of the changing nature of corporations. Today a company’s ability to be responsive to the concerns of the community and the environment can influence that company’s growth and survival. Women are uniquely positioned to be responsive to some of these concerns. Although conditions have changed, it should be remembered that most directors of both sexes are over fifty years old. Women of that generation were often encouraged to direct their attention toward efforts to improve the community. This fact is reflected in the career development of most of the outstandingly successful women of the generation now in their fifties, who currently serve on corporate boards: 25 percent are in education and 22 percent are in government, law, and the nonprofit sector. One organization of women directors is helping business become more responsive to the changing needs of society by raising the level of corporate awareness about social issues, such as problems with the economy, government regulation, the aging population, and the environment. This organization also serves as a resource center of information on accomplished women who are potential candidates for corporate boards. Compared with modern corporations, the corporations of the past were less concerned about
A. the world outside their business.
B. women’s liberation movements.
C. the qualifications of the management.
D. the needs of community and environment.
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Questions 24 and 25 are based on the following news. At tire end of the news item, you will be given I0 seconds to answer the questions. Now, listen to the news. What does the news item mainly report, about U.S.
A competition is held to draw talented students to aerospace career.
B. It has the leading position in the space field.
C. A global rocket launch program is held by engineering students.
D. It is losing its competitive edge in the aerospace industry.
The United Nations published a report that was called "The State of World Population". It shows that the growth rate of world population will actually go down in the next ten years. The growth rate will fall from the present 1.8% to a rate of about 1.6% by the end of this century. But the report also points out that problems of food, health care, housing, jobs and schools will get worse unless we do something about the situation.Why is this Although the total growth rate of the world population will decrease, in some countries there will still be a big rise in the population. More people will be born in Third World countries than in the richer Northern countries. So the population will grow faster in poor countries; and the problems in these countries will be very serious. This is because the family is more likely to survive if there are a lot of children to work for the members who become old or who cannot find work.A survey of the UN also shows that the growth rate is low where there is a higher level of income, better education, more health care and better living conditions. In this aspect, government plays an important role. So, the conclusion of the UN report is: "Look ’after the people and the population will look after itself. \ Why will the population in poorer countries increase().
A. Because they need more labor to support the family.
Because the people have the habit to have a big family.
C. Because the people there are poorer.
D. Because the people there want to be rich.
The earliest controversies about the relationship between photography and art centered on whether photograph’s fidelity to appearances and dependence on a machine allowed it to be a fine art as distinct from merely a practical art. Throughout the nineteenth century, the defence of photography was identical with the struggle to establish it as a fine art. Against the charge that photography was a soulless, mechanical copying of reality, photographers asserted that it was instead a privileged way of seeing, a revolt against commonplace vision, and no less worthy an art than painting. Ironically, now that photography is securely established as a free art, many photographers find it pretentious or irrelevant to label it as such. Serious photographers variously claim to be finding, recording, impartially observing, witnessing events, exploring themselves--anything but making works of art. They are no longer willing to debate whether photography is or is not a fine art, except to proclaim that their own work is not involved with art. It shows the extent to which they simply take for granted the concept of art imposed by the triumph of Modernism: the better the art, the more subversive it is of the traditional aims of art. Photographers’ disclaimers of any interest in making art tell us more about the harried status of the contemporary notion of ,art than about whether photography is or is not art. For example, those photographers who suppose that, by taking pictures, they are getting away from the pretensions of art as exemplified by painting remind us of those Abstract Expressionist painters who imagined they were getting away from the intellectual austerity of classical Modernist painting by concentrating on the physical act of painting. Much of photography’s prestige today derives from the convergence of its aims with those of recent art, particularly with the dismissal of abstract art implicit in the phenomenon of Pop painting during the 1960’s. Appreciating photographs is a relief to sensibilities tired of the mental exertions demanded by abstract art. Classical Modernist painting--that is, abstract art as developed in different ways by Picasso, Kandinsky,. and Matisse--presupposes highly developed skills of looking and a familiarity with other paintings and the history of art. Photography, like Pop painting, reassures viewers that art is not hard; photography seems to be more about its subjects than about art. Photography, however, has developed all the anxieties and self-consciousness of a classic Modernist art. Many professionals privately have begun to worry that the promotion of photography as an activity subversive of the traditional pretensions of art has gone so far that the public will forget that photography is a distinctive and exalted activity--in short, an art. "The concept of art imposed by the triumph of Modernism" (Para. 2) can be best described as
A. objective.
B. mechanical.
C. superficial.
D. paradoxical.
A—Welcome aboard Delta Airlines. B—On behalf of Delta Airlines Captain Johnson and his crew welcome you aboard. C—Our flight to Japan will take approximately four hours. D—Let us remind you to fasten your seat belts, straighten your seats, and kindly refrain from smoking during take-off. E—Under your seat there is a life vest like this one for each of you. F—An oxygen mask will come down from overhead in case of an emergency. G—Please press the call button whenever you need any help. H—We’ ll take off soon. Please fasten your seat belt. ( )在此提醒您系好安全带,椅背竖直,还有起飞这段时间请勿吸烟。