王蓉

我們生活在一個 “外向理想型性格”主導(dǎo)的價值體系中，人們普遍認(rèn)為，理想的性格是善于交際，有領(lǐng)袖氣質(zhì)，在眾人矚目的場合收放自如。我們不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，生活中外向者總是人們關(guān)注并談?wù)摰膶ο螅鴥?nèi)向者卻常常是被忽視的對象。事實上，內(nèi)向者和外向者一樣，有其獨特的性格優(yōu)勢，甚至內(nèi)向者比外向者更有潛力成為出色的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。你是否是內(nèi)向者中的一員呢？你是否因性格內(nèi)向而煩惱呢？讀過本文后，你可能會對內(nèi)向者有一個全新的認(rèn)識，進而對不同性格有更大的包容心。

全文699詞，建議用時13分鐘。

1. 梳理文章結(jié)構(gòu)，識別問題并找到解決方法;

2. 對語篇進行宏觀和微觀分析，把握語篇邏輯;

3. 辯證地看待文本和作者觀點，形成自己獨立的觀點;

4. 以讀促寫，讀寫結(jié)合，思考不同性格的學(xué)生該如何相處。

1. introvert /ntrvt/ n. 內(nèi)向的人

2. grunt /ɡrnt/ n. 工作乏味收入低的工人

3. analogy /nldi/ n. 類比

4. extrovert /ekstrvt/ n. 外向的人

5. selfeffacing /slffes/ adj. 謙遜的;不出風(fēng)頭的

6. marginalise /mɑdnlaz/ v. 使邊緣化;排斥

7. dominate /dmnet/ v. 支配;控制

Most companies worry about discrimination against their employees on the basis of race， gender or sexual preference， but they give little thought to their unfair treatment of introverts.

The biggest reason is the fashion of openplan offices and socalled “group work”. Companies rightly think that the recipe for growth in a world where computers can do much of the grunt work is innovation， but they wrongly conclude that the best way to encourage creativity is to knock down office walls and to hold endless meetings. This is illjudged for a number of reasons. It rests on an outdated analogy between intellectual and physical barriers between people. It ignores the fact that noise and interruptions make it harder to concentrate. And companies too often forget that whereas extroverts gain energy from other people， introverts need time on their own to recharge.

The recent fashion also strengthens an ancient prejudice against introverts when it comes to promotion. Many companies unconsciously identify leadership skills with extroversion. Yet in his book Good to Great， Jim Collins， a management scientist， suggests that the chief executives who stay longest at the top of their industries tend to be quiet and selfeffacing types. They are people who put their companies above their egos and frequently blend into the background.

What can companies do to make life better for introverts？ At the very least， managers should provide private office space and quiet areas where they can recharge. Firms need to recognise that introverts bring unique skills to their jobs. They may talk less in meetings， but they tend to put more thought into what they say. Leaders should look at their organisations through the introverts' eyes. Does the company hold large meetings where the loudest voices gain the upper hand？ That means that it is marginalising introverts. Does it select new members mainly on the basis of how they perform brilliantly in interviews？ That could be blinding it to people who dislike performing in public.

Some of the cleverest companies are beginning to look at these problems. Amazon has radically overhauled its meetings to make them more focused. Every meeting begins in silence. Those attending must read a sixpage memo on the subject of the meeting before they make a speech. This shifts the emphasis from people's behaviour in the meeting to focused discussion of the memo's contents. Google has underestimated the importance of interviews in recruiting and put more emphasis on candidates' ability to carry out tasks like the ones that they will have to do at the firm， such as writing code or solving technical problems.

Managers cannot be on top of the very latest research on personality types. Nonetheless， they should pay more attention to the way that groups of people interact when it comes to designing teams. One study that looked at operations lower down an organisation shows that extroverts are better at managing workers if the employees are just expected to carry out orders， but those who tend towards introversion are better if the workers are expected to think for themselves.

Introverts must also work harder at adapting to corporate life， since work is essentially social. They could communicate over the keyboard rather than in meetings， or by arranging smaller gatherings rather than rejecting them altogether. This is important for climbing the ladder. Karl Moore of McGill University in Montreal， who has asked over 200 CEOs about introversion on the radio show he hosts， says that introverts who make it to the top usually learn how to behave like extroverts for some of the time. Claude Mongeau， the former CEO of Canadian National Railway， for example， set himself the goal of acting like an extrovert five times a day.

Business has long been dominated by an “extrovert ideal”. Fortunately， some trends do now push in the other direction. The field of technology， an industry where introverts are common， has made it easier for everyone to communicate at a distance. The aim of enlightened management is not to tilt an extrovertoriented company rapidly towards the introverts. It is to create a new kind of firm， in which introverts， extroverts and all the inbetweeners are equally likely to flourish.

Step 2 理解·文本解讀

Ⅰ. Reading for the main idea

1. What's the type of this writing？

2. The passage is mainly intended to ___________.

A. argue in favor of the strengths of introverts in companies

B. illustrate how companies can help introverts to succeed

C. illustrate the benefits that companies can have from introverts

D. show the prejudices facing introverts in companies

Ⅱ. Reading for the structure

Para. 1 1. ________：Most companies paid little attention to their unfair treatment of introverts.

Para. 2～3 2.________.

Para. 4～7 3.________to the problem from different aspects.

Para. 8 The author's 4.________.

【點石成金】閱讀理解的腳手架是文章結(jié)構(gòu)。在日常的閱讀訓(xùn)練中，學(xué)生要熟悉各類文章的結(jié)構(gòu)，并從文體學(xué)的角度分清各類文章的結(jié)構(gòu)（structure or backbone），把握段與段之間的關(guān)系，從而形成對語篇的宏觀認(rèn)識，總結(jié)出各種語篇的結(jié)構(gòu)特征和表現(xiàn)特征。就語篇的宏觀分析而言，英語中存在著許多語篇模式，常見的模式有幾種，如問題—解決模式（ProblemSolution pattern）、概括—具體模式（GeneralParticular pattern）、主張—反主張模式（ClaimCounterclaim pattern）、比較匹配型（Matching pattern）等。對語篇進行宏觀分析有助于形成可遷移、可持續(xù)的閱讀能力。

Ⅲ. Reading for comprehension

1. What's the problem facing most companies in terms of introverts？

2. What factors contribute to the abovementioned problem？

3. What are companies likely to do to encourage creativity？ What does the author think of it？ Why？

4. Why is it improper to equate leadership skills with extroversion？

5. What solutions does the author put forward to solve the problem？

6. What techniques of explanation does the author use？ Why？

7. What's the author's conclusion？

Ⅳ. Reading for critical thinking

1. Why does the author write this article？

2. What do you think of the author's writing？ If you are asked to add something to make the article more thorough， what kind of contents do you want to add？

【點石成金】探究英語文本時，要抓住what、 why和how三個核心要素。what是作者寫了什么，即文章的主旨大意和主要內(nèi)容;why是作者為什么寫，即文本的寫作意圖;how是作者怎么寫的，即用了什么語篇結(jié)構(gòu)和語言修辭手法。通過回答第二層次的問題，學(xué)生能夠掌握說明文的問題解決型模式：識別問題、分析原因、找到解決方法。此外學(xué)生也能夠關(guān)注到說明文的說明方式。設(shè)置critical thinking的問題，可以引導(dǎo)學(xué)生辯證地看待文本內(nèi)容和推斷作者的寫作意圖，從而形成自己獨立的觀點并給出合理的依據(jù)。

Step 3 運用·讀寫整合

Ⅰ. ?Activity within the text

Supposing you were a boss of a company， what changes would you make to the organization of the company after reading this passage？ What benefits do you think the company can get from doing so？

Ⅱ. Activity beyond the text

Conflicts may arise among students of different personalities， which poses a threat to the construction of harmonious class atmosphere. What may these conflicts be？ What are the solutions accordingly？

【點石成金】此環(huán)節(jié)基于文本創(chuàng)設(shè)情境，引導(dǎo)學(xué)生學(xué)以致用。第一個讀寫活動與文本緊密相連，保持輸入和輸出的一致性。通過文本解讀環(huán)節(jié)的問題鏈，教師給學(xué)生的輸入搭建了腳手架，學(xué)生在此環(huán)節(jié)抓取原文關(guān)鍵詞，轉(zhuǎn)換語言表達，重新構(gòu)建文本。第二個讀寫活動則進行了話題的拓展，貼近學(xué)生實際生活，引導(dǎo)學(xué)生思考不同性格的學(xué)生在相處過程中可能遇到的沖突以及可行的解決辦法。這一環(huán)節(jié)，可以培養(yǎng)學(xué)生分析問題、解決問題的能力，從而培養(yǎng)其創(chuàng)新思維。