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 tong 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 off, not the Western New Year. He explained politely that in his culture the 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 the 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 a 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 ourselves 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1上作答。
1. What bothered Tiffany during an interview with her candidate? A
A) He just wouldn’t look her in the eye.
B) He was slow in answering her questions.
C) His resume didn’t provide the necessary information.
D) His answers to some of her questions were irrelevant.
分析：第一题，根据关键词Tiffany 结合bothered对应在全文开头的第二句话。A选项wouldn’t look her in the eye 对应原文never made direct eye contact，正确。
2. What kind of organization is Mindsets LLC? B
A) A real estate agency.
B) A personnel training company.
C) A cultural exchange organization.
D) A hi-tech company.
分析：根据关键词Mindsets LLC对应在全文第一个小标题中。原文helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots 帮助公司和个人认识到自身的盲区，并且在下文反复出现training、coaching、taught，可以得知这是一个培训机构，B选项正确。
3. Doug felt ____ when he realized that his assumption was wrong.
分析：根据关键词Doug对应在全文第三个小标题。原文第二段开头就出现了最高级的重要考点One of my most embarrassing moments，同时在第三段的中间出现了I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up，题干中的wrong对应mixed up，assumption对应assuming，felt对应felt，正确答案very embarrassed。
五、选词填空：
选词填空项目最大的突破点是A-O这15个备选答案的认知，只要能认识大部分选项就可以拿3分以上。选项的范围可以参考上文所提到的单词的记背范围，尤其关注：1历年考过的选词填空选项;2历年考过的复合式听写;3完形填空的选项
选词填空解题三步骤：
(1)浏览选项，同时在15个备选答案后标记词性，共四大类词性：名词n、动词v、形容词a、副词ad;
(2)以一个段落或3个空为一个单位进行解答，不能直接判断出词义的判断词性;
(3)把对应词性的选项逐一带回原文，含义通顺时态主谓一致者为正确答案。
Every year in the first week of my English class, some students inform me that writing is too hard. They never write, unless assignments __1__ it. They find the writing process __2__ and difficult. (2009年6月)
A) closer B) daily C) emotional D) enhance E) enormous
F) especially G) hinder H) mission I) painful J) performance
K) profession L) remarkably M) require N) sensitive O) urge
分析：第1题：前后词assignments 和 it都是名词，中间缺一个谓语动词，根据语意，“每一年在我的第一周的英语课上都会有一些同学跟我说写作非常难。他们从来不写，除非有任务____”。在动词中M) require正确。
第2题：根据后面的信息and difficult，并列连词连结的应该是相同词性的两个词，因此应该找形容词，根据语意，“他们感觉写作的过程是____并且困难的。在形容词中I) painful正确。
六、时间规划
最后的复习时间切忌不要大量做模拟题或预测题，应该把以往做过的真题进行反复总结，挖掘规律，发现问题，避免相同的情况反复错。每天拿出两个小时的时间全面总结一套真题，水平必然会在不断的分析总结中得到提升。
一份付出，一份回报。预祝所有的考生通过通过诚实努力取得理想的成绩!