1、In terms of pure quantity of research and debate, business schools have performed amazingly in promoting management as a distinctive activity. No other discipline has produced as much in such a short period. It is unclear yet how much of it will stand the test of time, but for sheer industry, the bu

2、siness school deserve credit. Not a day goes by without another wave of research papers, books, articles, and journals.In these terms, schools have produced a generally accepted theoretical basis for management. When it comes to knowledge creation, however, they find themselves in difficulties. They

3、 are caught between the need for academic rigor and for real-world business relevance, which tend to pull in opposite directions. The desire to establish management as a credible discipline leads to research that panders to traditional academic criteria. The problem for business school researchers i

4、s that they seek the approval of their academic peers rather than the business community. In the United States this has led to the sort of grand paper clip counting, exercises that meet demands for academic rigor but fail to add oneiota to the real sum of human knowledge.Business schools have too of

5、ten allowed the constraints of the academic world to cloud their view of the real world. Business school researchers seek provable theories - rather than helpful theories. They have championed a prescriptive approach to management based on analysis andz more recently, on fashionable ideas that soon

6、disappear into the ether. The one best way approach encourages researchers to mould the idiosyncrasies of managerial reality into their tightly defined models of behavior. Figures and statistics are fitted into linear equations and tidy models. Economists and other social scientists label this cure

7、smoothing. Meanwhile, reality continually refuses to co-operate.Central to this is the tension between relevance and rigor. In a perfect world, there would be no need to choose between the two. But in the business school world, the need to satisfy academic criteria and be published in journals often

8、 tilts the balance away from relevance. In other words, it is often easier to pursue quantifiable objectives than it is to add anything useful to the debate about management. To a large extent, the entire business school system works against useful, knowledge-creating research. Academics have five y

9、ears in which to prove themselves if they are to make the academic grade. It seems long enough. But it can take two or even three years to get into a suitable journal. They therefore have around three years, probably less, to come up with an area of interest and carry out meaningful and original res

10、earch. This is a demanding timescale. The temptation must be to slice up old data in new ways rather than pursue genuinely groundbreaking, innovative research.It is a criticism also made by some business school insiders. Academic journals tend to find more and more techniques for testing more and mo

11、re obscure theories. They are asking trivial questions and answering them exactly. There has to be a backlash, says Julian Birkinshaw of London Business School. In large part, the problem goes back to a time when business schools were trying to establish themselves. Up until the 1960s, American busi

12、ness schools were dismissed as pseudo-academic institutions, including the universities of which they often formed a part, regarded them as a little more than vocational colleges. Since then, most of the leading schools have undergone major reassessments and introduced sweeping changes. However, it

13、is questionable whether those changes have gone far enough.Questions:What does the first paragraph suggest about the research generated by business schools?A Its quality is variable.B Its lasting value is uncertain.C It has always been produced too quickly.D It has had no influence on management.In

14、paragraph twoz the writer argues that business school researchA takes a negative view of the business community.B as failed to give credibility to management as a discipline.C is directed at the wrong audience.D does not stand up to academic scrutiny.In the third paragraph, the writer criticizes the

15、 theories of management produced by business schools for beingA incomprehensible.B contradictory.C vague.D inflexible.In the fourth paragraph, the writer says that the business school system causes academics toA be satisfied with reinterpreting previous research.B avoid complicated business issues.C

16、 concentrate on very narrow fields of study.D focus on topics no longer relevant to business needs.What do we learn about business schools in the last paragraph?A They are reluctant to admit to failings.B They resent criticism of their academic journal.C They used to be looked down on by other insti

17、tutions.D They are comfortable with the current situation.What is the writer7 s purpose in this text?A to express regret at the growth of business schoolsB to point out a weakness in the approach of business schoolsC to criticize business school for producing bad academicsD to forecast the eventual

18、collapse of business schools這是2007年的題目，摘自人民郵電出版社編寫的劍橋BEC 真題集（高級）第58頁，大局部學生在閱讀文章的時候，對 17和18題都有共同的問題，所以出錯很多，現(xiàn)提供講解思路如 下：17 題,第三段第一行 Business school have too often allow the constrains of the academic world to cloud the view of the real world.是主題句，所以證明由于商學院的問題 導致很多觀點都因為學術(shù)方面的限制而被遮掩了，或者被制約了， 那么就證明，不會是不能理解

19、的，也不會是矛盾的，也不會是模 糊的，而是不靈活的。下文在證明，說商學院不去管那些真正有 幫助的理論，而去一味追求那些得到學術(shù)認可的東西，然后給了 一個例子支撐，后面又說了 the one best way approach encourages researcher to mould the idiosyncrasies of managerial reality into tightly defined models of behaviors.說的是為了所謂的最好的方法，那么必然鼓勵研究 人員把管理現(xiàn)實的一些特性硬梆梆地放進一些模型里，這些模型 是tightly defined的，和fle

20、xible剛好對立,后面的方程那些 是給的例子支撐這個觀點的。所以問題問的是觀點，而我們都知 道細節(jié)是一定支撐觀點的，所以我們只需要尋找觀點就可以了， 這道題選擇Do下面一段主題句就是第一句Central to this is the tension between relevance and rigor.言下之意就是商學院教育或者 學術(shù)上條條款款rigor,和現(xiàn)實生活的相關(guān)性relevance之間的 矛盾，下面分析說在理想世界里面不需要二者選一，因為可以達 到完美結(jié)合，但是在現(xiàn)實商界the need to satisfy academic criteria and be published in journals often tilts the balance away from relevance講的就是為了發(fā)表學術(shù)文章，為了到達學 術(shù)標準，那么天平失衡,而且是away from relevance ,