四级阅读天天练-08-How Do You See Diversity

How Do You See Diversity? As a manager, Tiffany is responsible for interviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company .During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise. He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. “It wasn?t un til I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person,” Tiffany confesses. What she hadn?t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate?s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding . He was an Asian-American raised in a household where respect for those in authority was shown by averting(避开) your eyes. “I was just thrown off by the lack of ye contact; not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out ,but will not miss that opportunity again.” Many of us have had similar encounters with behaviors we perceive as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our under-standing of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions . Hire Advantage At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult ,employers who can eliminate invalid biases(偏爱) from the process have a distinct advantage .My company, Mindsets LLC ,helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots . A real estate recruiter we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make . “During my Mindsets coaching session ,I was taught how to recruit a diversified workforce. I recruited people from different cultures and skill sets .The agents were able to utilize their full potential and experiences to build up the company .When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.” Blinded by Gender Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops on supervising a diverse workforce . “Through one of the sessions ,I discovered my personal bias ,” he recalls . “I learned I had not been looking at a person a s a whole person , and being open to differences .” In his case , the blindness was not about culture but rather gender. “I had a management position open in my department ;and the two finalists were a man and a woman . Had I not attended this workshop , I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel . My reasoning would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position , I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel .”Dale?s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization?s ability to tap into the full potential of a diverse workforc e. “I learned from the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the situation , I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision .” Dale credits the workshop , “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness .” Year of the Know-It-All Doug is another supervisor who attended one of my workshops .He recalls a major lesson learned from his own employee. “One of my most embarrassing moments was when I had a Chinese-American employee put in a request to take time off to celebrate Chinese New Year . In my ignorance , I assumed he had his dates wrong , as the first of January had just passed . When I advised him of this , I gave him a long talking-to about turning in requests early with the proper dates . “He patiently waited , then when I was done , he said he would like Chinese New Year did not begin January first , and that Chinese New Year ,which is tied to the lunar cycle ,is one of the most celebrated holidays on the Chinese calendar . Needless to say , I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up . But I learned a great deal about assumptions , and that the timing of holidays varies considerably from culture to culture . “Attending the diversity workshop helped me realize how much I could learn by simply asking questions and creating dialogues with my employees , rather than making assumptions and trying to be a know-it-all ,” Doug admits . “The biggest thing I took away from th e workshop is learning how to be more …inclusive? to differences.” A better Bottom Line An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations internally , it is profitable as well . These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales .”Most of my customers speak English as a second language . One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone . It wasn?t until my boss received Mindsets? training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service . As result , our customer base has increased .” Once we start to see people as individuals . and discard the stereotypes , we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone . Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities . It is about building better communities and organizations that enhance us as individuals and reinforce our shared humanity . When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers , family , friends , etc , we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are flawed(有缺陷的) or contrary to our fundamental values . We need to train our-selves to think differently , shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us ,creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone. 注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。 46. Doug felt very embarrassed when he realized that his assumption was wrong. 47. After attending Mindsets workshops, the participants came to know the importance of inclusiveness to their business. 48. When we view people as individuals and get rid of stereotypes, we can achieve diversity and benefit from the differences and similarities between us. 49. Increasing understanding of people of other cultures is becoming essential in the course of economic globalization according to the author. 50. Mindsets LLC is a personnel training company. 51. After one of the workshops,account executive Dale realized that he must get rid of his gender bias. 52. Tiffany's candidate just wouldn't look her in the eye bothered Tiffany during an interview. 53. Tiffany's misjudgment about the candidate stemmed from cultural ignorance. 54. Dale thought that Mindsets LLC's workshop helped him make fair decisions. 55. Doug, a supervisor,told a Chinese American employee to get the dates right when he require to leave. 【参考答案】 46. G)根据题文中Doug felt可知文中相关部分在G段,其中提到“Needless to say,I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up----”(毫无疑问,我当时觉得十分困窘,自己竟然认为他搞错了日期?)与题干相符,因此答案为G。 47. H)根据题文important 可以找到文中H 段“It wasn't until my boss received Mindsets, training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. ”(我们老板接受Mindset培训之后才理解包容对客服来说多么至关重要。)这一点对其他的培训案例来说也适用 48. I)题文中view people as individuals and get rid of stereotypes 就是文中see people as individuals, and discard the stereotypes的不同说法,可知文中相关部分在I段,其中提到.we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities... ”(......我们就能够向积极的方向发展,达到对每个人的包容。多样化就是联合起来,利用我们的异同获得优势……?)与题干相符,因此答案为I。 49. B)根据题文中“becoming essential”可定位到文中B 段,其中提到“As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions. ”(随着世界变的越来越小,我们的工作场所越来越多样,扩展对他人的了解并重新审视我们的错误假设也变得越发重要了。)与题干相符,因此答案为B。 50. C)根据题文中Mindsets LLC可知文中相关部分在C段,其中提到“My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. ”(我们Mindsets LLC 公司可以帮助单位和个人认识到他们的盲点。)从后文的参加Mindsets LLC公司研习班的人的讲述中也可以看出,Mindsets LLC公司是1个培训机构,教授培训者如何挑选优秀人才,与题干相符,因此答案为G。 51. D)由题干知相关部分在文中戴尔的例子在第二个小标题下,其中D段提到“In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender. ”(就戴尔而言他的盲点不是关乎文化,而是有关性别。)接着阐述了他因为思想陈旧,对女员工有一定偏见,与题干相符,因此答案为D。 52. A)由题干知相关部分在文中 A 段,提到“During one interview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.,,C-次面试时,她注意到应试者i直不与她的目光直接接触。她既疑惑又有些失望,因为她所欣赏的类型恰恰与之相反。)与题干相符,因此答案为A。 53. B) 根据题文中“misjudgment”找到文中同义词misunderstanding,可知相关部分在B 段,.文中提到What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different”behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding.(面试时她还不了解,那个应试者的所谓“木同常规”的行为不过是一种文化上的误解。)与题干相符,因此答案为B。 54. E)由题干知文中相关部分在E 段,其中提到..?Dale credits the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.,,(戴尔将这归功于研习班,“因为它帮我在公平的基础上做出决断。”)与题干相符,因此答案为E。 55. F) 由题干知文中相关部分在F段,其中提到“When I advised him of this,I gave him a long talking-to about turning in requests early with the proper dates. ”(向他提出这一点时,我说了 他很久,要求他算好日期早点请假。> 可卑多格的反庳是他认为员工擒错了时间,与题干相符,因此答案为F。