Passage 31 (31/63)

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 (CEO’s) of large corporations. However, such women CEO’s are still rare. In addition, the ideal of six CEO’s (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. However, 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 reasonable: chairs have always considered it important for directors to interact (to act upon one another) comfortably in the boardroom.

Although many successful 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 (career development: 职业培训) 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.

7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is described, and then reasons why various proposed solutions succeeded or failed are discussed.

(B) A problem is described, and then an advantage of resolving it is offered.

(C) A problem is described, and then reasons for its continuing existence are summarized.

(D) The historical origins of a problem are described, and then various measures that have successfully resolved it are discussed.（B）

(E) The causes of a problem are described, and then its effects are discussed.

我觉得C更像是答案. 而B中的advantage到底是什么?没找到.

1st.文章开头说的那个problem,我认为是指"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."而并非指"female ratio很低".

2nd.第二段说"对women directors的需求来自于大公司,并且被选对象的范围越来越宽:women who were chief executive officers (CEO’s) →women in business who had the equivalent of CEO experience→ women of high achievement outside the business world."   第三段说"women对boards来说很有价值:women are particularly qualified to serve on boards"并且"Women are uniquely positioned to be responsive to some of these concerns"   第四段说"有个organization对business有帮助,并且是potential women candidates for corporate boards的信息中心".

简而言之就是:"women directors有市场需求,women directors又特别适合该市场,并且还有个organization给市场提供women directors的信息." 结果就是"recruit women directors这种状况会继续下去",即the pressure to recruit women directors will continuously exist.

哎，楼上是牛牛啊，小心翼翼的说说自己观点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.我认为第一段的关键词是这些，然后问题就出来了：问题是女性占的比例仍然很低，虽然已经数量增加了，但是提高比例的pressure仍然存在，解决这些问题用了方法后（比如hire CEO，和那些chair知道的熟悉的社会知名人士），有一些advantage，不只对社会，还对企业（因为社会对企业的使命感有了要求）