Information will be the greatest opportunity for business leaders in the coming years — and perhaps our biggest headache. Since the dawn of the Internet, all of us in business have been swept up by the Niagara of information that fills our daily life. Real-life updates from the Hang Seng index; photos shared around the world seconds after they’ve been taken; customized maps and directions delivered to you even as you drive. It is all breathtaking. But for the leaders in business, the information surge has triggered its own unintended consequences, especially for those over 40. Today new employees arrive on their first day with an alarming amount of know-it-all. They have already read about you, and the online critiques of your plans, strategies and management style. The bloggers and the twitters — all receiving steady streams of in-house gossip — analyze, assess and ridicule every business moment. In this environment, traditional management is impossible. The hierarchical, layered structures in which company information is carefully managed and then selectively passed down the line have crumbled. The online era has made command-and-control management as another dial-up Internet. Although decision-making has always been the task of a leader, it has become harder. The online world has guaranteed that every remark about your business and every change you implement will trigger a viral frenzy of second-guessing. Borrowing from the black bag of politics, your competitors will also be spreading their version of “opposition research“, feeding the blogosphere with critiques of your leadership. So the greatest task for leadership in business is the ability to cut through the information clutter and make clear decisions without apology. More than at any time, employees need unequivocal direction. Leaders should not only grow a thicker skin, but also understand how important they can be to their own team by interpreting both the news and the disinformation. When some CEOs spoke to an audience, they were often required to talk about their reaction to some recent press story or the latest legislative debate. These are wonderful opportunities for leadership. Employees, investors, customers and business partners are heartened by those who can sift through the flood of opinion and clearly communicate what matters — and what doesn’t — to the enterprise. Of course, communication cannot be a one-way street. The central role of information in business life has made two other much neglected leadership tasks more urgent. The first is listening. Listening to your employees at every level is one of the best paths to new insights. Precisely because the Internet has made information so plentiful, your own team is likely to be full of ideas that should be tapped into. The second obligation that information creates for executives is to identify and mentor thought leaders. It is pressing to find those employees who have the ability to digest and interpret information for others. The flood of information is only going to rise. Leadership will increasingly mean leveraging that information, clarifying it, and using it to advance your strategy, engage customers and motivate employees. Business stakeholders are interested not only in your products and services, but also in your ideas.

What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．Challenges presented by information.

B．The change of information transmission.

C．Management of the online era.

D．Leaders in the information age.

Which of the following is NOT the unexpected result of the information surge?

A．Traditional management is out of date.

B．The command-and-control system is no longer useful.

C．Company information management is impossible.

D．Inside information can still exist.

The author compares the command-and-control management to “dial-up Internet“ (underlined in Paragraph 2) because______.

A．the management patterns are similar

B．both of them are no longer implemented

C．both of them are affected in the online era

D．both of them are time-consuming

A business leader in the information age needs to______.

A．be arrogant about decision-making without apologizing for any mistakes

B．remain confident without listening to different views

C．keep his head above the huge quantity of information

D．be a good spokesperson to the press and to the audience

Which of the following can be the title of this passage?

A．Leadership in the Information Age

B．Information Impact on Business Management

C．Leadership Styles in the Information Age

D．Employee-Employer Relationship in the Information Age

The fact that they reacted so differently was a reflection of their different______. preferences points personalities performances

Despite their good services, most inns are less costly than hotels of______standards. exceptional exact exclusive equivalent

Being both lazy and spoiled, some people tend to______everyone else for their failure to success. admire blame charge refuse

Some high-yield crops can be planted in preference to others to______food supply. handle generate enhance undertake

As a______of his pioneering work in the late 1930s, Earl Hines has been called the father of the modern jazz piano. result sign token mark

Our knowledge of dinosaurs is wholly______from the bones which have been found here and there. confirmed retained acquired sought

The managers got in quite a brawl over the decision for a new branch office. fight game parade riot

The secretary is very competent, and she can finish writing all these letters within one hour. careful clumsy clever capable

Financial consultants acknowledge that the value of common stock is inherently changeable. relatively intrinsically consequently accordingly

The merit of a sales tax is that it decreases government reliance on income taxes. supply balance outcome benefit

The scholar discoursed in detail on the poetic style of John Keats at the university hall. talked targeted touched thought

The reading group was homogeneous because all of the youngsters are two years below grade level. identical similar pluralistic uniform

The tiresome congressional investigations soon lost most of their listeners. laborious humorous tedious monotonous

Like sauces, without a certain amount of spice, conversations grow uninteresting. bleeding boring bursting bubbling

It is a market which sales value might be more than 10 billion RMB yuan a year. with a sales value which might be which might be sales value with sales might be a value with sales value might be

My teacher recommended me a dictionary, and yesterday I bought a copy in town. to me a dictionary a dictionary to me me to a dictionary dictionary to me

Hiram Revels, the first black member of the U.S. Senate, served as senator from Mississippi, an office where he was elected in 1870. on which at which to which for which

Man has used metals for centuries in gradual increasing quantities, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that they came to be employed in vast quantities. gradually increasing quantities increased quantities gradually gradual increased quantities increasingly gradual quantities

As much as we wish him prosperous, we have objections to his ways of obtaining wealth. Much as As much More as As more

The president’s tone of voice was so much that the students knew that the university authorities took the incident seriously. such as so that as such such that

What does the expression “the Niagara of information“ underlined in Paragraph 1 refer to?

What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

Which of the following is NOT the unexpected result of the information surge?

The author compares the command-and-control management to “dial-up Internet“ (underlined in Paragraph 2) because______.

The word “alarming“ underlined in Paragraph 2 means______.

According to the passage, what is the top concern for business leadership in this environment?

The word “those“ underlined in Paragraph 4 refers to______.

The phrase “sift through“ underlined in Paragraph 4 means______.

A business leader in the information age needs to______.

Which of the following can be the title of this passage?