Semco

　　At 21, Ricardo Semler became boss of his father's business in Brazil, Semco, which sold parts for ships. Semler Junior worked like a madman, from 7 :30 am, until midnight every day. One afternoon, while touring a factory in New York, he collapsed. The doctor who treated him said, "

　　There's nothing wrong with you. But if you continue, like this, you'll find a new home in our hospital. " Semler got the message. He changed the way he worked. In fact, he changed the ways his employees worked too.

　　He let his workers take more responsibility so that they would be the ones worring when things went wrong. He allowed them to set their own salaries, and he cut all the jobs he thought were unnecessary, like receptionists and secretaries. (46) "Everyone at Semco, even top managers, meets guests in reception, does the photocopying, sends faxes, types letters and dials the phone. "

　　He completely reorganized the office: instead of walls, they have plants at Semco, so bosses cann't shut themselves away from everyone else (47) As for uniforms, some people wear suits and others wear T-shirts.

　　Semler says, " We have a sales manager named Rubin Agater who sits there reading the newspaper hour after hour. He doesn't even pretend to be busy. But when a Semco pump on the othe other side of the world failes millions of gallons of oil are about to spill into the sea. Rubin springs into action. (48) That's when he earns his salary. No one cares if he doesn't look busy the rest of the time. "

　　Semco has flexible working hours : the employees decide when they need to arrive at work. The employees also evaluate their bosses twice a year. (49)

　　It sounds perfect, but does it work? The answer is in the numbers: in the last six years,

　　Semco's revenues have gone from $ 35 million to $212 million. The company has grown from 800 employees t0 3,000. Why?

　　Semler says it's because of "peer pressure" . Peer pressure makes employees work hard for everyone else. (50) In other words, Ricardo Semler treats his workers like adults and expects them to act like adults. And they do.

　　A. If somone isn't doing his job well, the other workers will not allow the situation to continue.

　　B. This saved money and brought more equality to the company.

　　C. And the workers are free to decorate their workspace as they want.

　　D. He knows everything there is to know about our pumps and how to fix them.

　　E. Most managers spend their time making it difficult for workers to work.

　　F. Also, Semco lets its workers use the company's machiners for their own projects, and makes

　　them take holidays for at least thirty days a year.

　　參考答案：

　　46.B [解析]該空格前一句提到Semler去掉了一些不是必須的工作崗位，例如秘書和接待員，而后面一句就說明這樣做的好處：既經濟又平等，即B選項的內容。

　　47.C[解析]該段主要講的是辦公室的結構變化，例如老板和員工的辦公室都是用植物隔開的，還提到了員工的著裝也較為自由，因此這里選C合適，即：員工可以隨心所欲地裝飾他們自己的辦公室。

　　48.D[解析]該段以負責公司油泵維修的Rubin Agater為例來做說明。該段前一句提到公司的油泵( pump)出問題了，而Rubin Agater是這方面的老師。因此選D。

　　49.F[解析]該段第一句即說明該公司在工作時間和其他方面的靈活性和對員工的自由度和益處，例如員工可以自己決定幾點來上班。只有F選項的內容(使用公司的機器用來做自己的項目，而且員工每年有至少三十天的假期)和這一思路吻合。

　　50.A [解析]該段前兩句中提到：Semler說這源自同事的壓力，來自同事的壓力讓每一個員工為其他員工努力工作。因此選A。

　　參考譯文

　　Semco

　　Ricardo Semler 21歲時成為他父親位于巴西的公司Semco的老板，這是一個船舶零件銷售公司。Semler是個工作狂，每天從上午七點半工作至午夜。一天下午，當他在紐約一家工廠參觀時病倒了。他的主治醫生說："你沒什么大礙，不過如果你還繼續這樣拼命工作，你將在我們醫院里找到一個新家。"Semler領會了醫生的意思。他改變了工作方式，實際上他也改變了他的員工工作的方式。

　　他完全重組了辦公室：在Semco，植物取代了墻壁，這樣一來，老板就不能把自己關在房間和大家隔絕。而且員工也可以隨心所欲地裝飾他們的辦公室。至于上班的制服，有人穿套裝也有人穿T恤。

　　Semco的工作時間很靈活，員工自己決定幾點上班。員工們還一年兩次對他們的老板進行評估。此外，Semco還讓員工使用公司的機器來做自己的項目，并且員工每年有至少三十天的假期。

　　這種方法聽上去很好，不過奏效嗎?看一下數據就知道了：在過去的六年中，Semco的年收入從3千5百萬美元上升至2. 12億美元，公司員工規模已經從800人壯大到3000人。這些是什么原因呢?

　　Semler說這源自同事的壓力，來自同事的壓力讓每一個員工為其他員工努力工作。如果有人工作不努力，那么其他人就不會讓這樣的局面繼續下去。換句話說，Ricardo Semler把他的員工當做成年人對待，期望他們用成年人的方式去工作。他的員工也確實如他所愿。