Passage Four
Those who work in the Netherlands often feel that a lot of time is wasted in discussions that lead to nothing. There are often meetings with documents, an agenda and a chairman. All those present will have their say, after which their remarks are discussed. He who decides to skip a meeting though he has nothing more urgent to attend to, will find it unwise. The interacting that takes place during a meeting is very important for the general process. He who does not appear is saying that he does not think the subject is suffi- ciently important mportant, or that he apparently does not take his colleagues seriously. Furthermore, he e might miss some of the essential information that may become evident during the meeting.
Those who are present show an interest in the problems of their colleagues. They supply ques- tions, rather than commands, and thus declare themselves"co-responsible". The Dutch, in their final conclusions, like to use such metaphors as"We are all in one line" or"Our noses are pointing in the same direction again."
If you present a decision, you will find that everyone has something to say about it and has questions to ask. This is why the Dutch will not be quick to present something as the only correct solution. The advantage to this approach is that such a meeting will often lead to genu- ine suggestions for improvement on certain aspects of a plan. As a result, the plan will be a joint approach.
This timeconsuming and seemingly useless process helps colleagues become team.The amount of time that is lost around the table is more than what made up for inefficiency, once everyone goes back to work. Statistics show Dutch employees are among the world leaders when it comes to work productivity.
According to Paragraph 1, meetings in Dutch companies seem to____
A、 be held usually for important issues
B、 waste a lot of time in fruitless discussions
C、 enable employees to know each other better
D、 be good occasions for employees to show their talent
【正确答案】：B
【题目解析】：细节题。第一段的第一句: Those who work in the Netherlands often feel that lot of time is wasted in discussions that lead to nothing.意思是:在荷兰工作的人常常得在讨论中浪费了大量的时间而一无所获。与选项B. waste lot of time in fruitless discus sions(在毫无结果的讨论中浪费了很多时间)表述一致。所以,选B【参考译文】在荷兰工作的人常常觉得在讨论中浪费了大量的时间而一无所获。会议经常有文件、议程和一位主席。所有在场的人都有发言权,然后讨论他们的发言。虽然没有什么紧急的事情要做,但决定不去开会,这是不明智的。整个会议过程中,相互交流是非常重要的。不去开会说明他认为这个问题不够重要,或者很明显他没有认真对待他的同事。此外,他可能错过了会议期间可能出现的一些重要信息。在场的人对他们同事的问题表现出兴趣。他们提出问题,而不是命令从而布自己“共同负责”。在最后的结论中,荷兰人喜欢用这样的比喻:“我们都在同一条线上”,或者“我们的鼻子又指向同一个方向”。如果你提出一个决定,你会发现每个人都有话要说,以及有问题要问。这就是为什么荷兰人不能很快找到一个唯一正确的解决办法。这种方式的优点是,这样的会议往往会导致对某个计划的某些方面的改进提出真正的建议。因此,这个计划将是一个联合的方法。这个耗时而看似无用的过程有助于同事成为一个团队。当每个人都回去工作时,在桌子周围所耗费的时间比弥补效率低所费的时间要更有意义。统计数据显示,荷兰员工在工作效率方面属于世界领先者。
