The text has seven paragraphs, A - G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Words fail them
A. It seems companies will soon begin to say goodbye to the written word. The basic unit of communication will no longer be typed out in e-mails. It will be shot in pictures and shown on video. Companies have already discovered that the written word is failing them. Its feebleness compared with the moving image was rammed home in 2010 when the sight of BP's oil spewing out into the Gulf of Mexico on YouTube sent a message to the world far more compelling than any written statement could ever be.
B. If the word has become weak at conveying big corporate messages, it has become even weaker at conveying small ones. For years the in-boxes of all office workers have been overflowing with unread e-mails. But managers will do something about it and desist from communicating with staff in this way. E-mail will still exist as a way of talking to one person at a time, but as a means of mass communication it will be finished. Companies will find instead that to get a message over to employees, customers, shareholders and the outside world, video is far more effective.
C. In the past three years video has come from nothing to make up nearly half of internet traffic; in another three, it is likely to be more than three-quarters. So far corporations have taken a back seat in this growth, but they will soon need to climb into the front and start to drive it.
D. This shift in communications will have three important effects. It will change the sort of person who makes it to the corner office. It will alter the way that businesses are managed. And it will shift the position corporations occupy in society and possibly make us like some of them just a little bit more.
E. The new corporate leaders will no longer be pen pushers and bean counters. The 20-year reign of faceless bosses will come to an end. Charisma will be back in: all successful business chiefs will have to be storytellers and performers. Just as political leaders have long had to be dynamite on TV to stand much hope of election or survival, so too will corporate leaders. They must be able to sell not only their vision of their companies but their vision of themselves. The new big boss will be expected to set an example; any leaders showing signs of human frailty will be out on their ears. The moral majority will tighten its hold on corporate life, first in America, but then elsewhere too.
F. With this shift will come a change in management style. Numbers and facts will be supplanted by appeals to emotion to make employees and customers do what they are told. The businessperson's emotion may be no more genuine than the politician's, but successful bosses will get good at faking it. Others will struggle: prepare to cringe in as corporate leaders spout a lot of phoney stuff that used to look bad enough when written down, but will sound even worse spoken.
G. One good consequence of the change, however, will be a greater clarity in the way companies think about their businesses. The written word was a forgiving medium for over-complicated, ill-conceived messages. Video demands simplicity. The best companies will use this to their advantage by thinking through more rigorously what it is they are trying to say and do.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The need for managers to understand peoples' feelings | |||||||
| 2 | A tool which will be used when communicating with just a single person | |||||||
| 3 | How personality will become more important | |||||||
| 4 | An example of video fs power compared to the written word | |||||||
| 5 | A need for corporate change |
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Synonym match - understanding feelings = appealing to emotion and human qualities
Why this is correct: The answer is Paragraph E because it explains that future leaders must show charisma and be storytellers, which means connecting with people emotionally. This clearly shows managers need to understand and work with people's feelings, not just facts.
Passage Reference: The new corporate leaders will no longer be pen pushers and bean counters. The 20-year reign of faceless bosses will come to an end. Charisma will be back in: all successful business chiefs will have to be storytellers and performers. Just as political leaders have long had to be dynamite on TV to stand much hope of election or survival, so too will corporate leaders. They must be able to sell not only their vision of their companies but their vision of themselves. The new big boss will be expected to set an example; any leaders showing signs of human frailty will be out on their ears. The moral majority will tighten its hold on corporate life, first in America, but then elsewhere too. F.
Common Mistake: Students often choose Paragraph F because it mentions emotion, but that paragraph is about using emotion to control, not understanding it. This is a Context shift trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'charisma... storytellers and performers' = Statement: 'understand peoples' feelings'
Tips: When a statement is about personal qualities, look for paragraphs describing character, not methods.
Key Vocabulary:
- charisma = personal charm
- frailty = weakness
Question Focus: Direct detail match - one person at a time
Passage Reference: E-mail will still exist as a way of talking to one person at a time
Why this is correct: The answer is Paragraph B because it clearly says that e-mail will still be used to communicate with one person at a time. This exactly matches the statement.
Common Mistake: Some students choose Paragraph A because it discusses communication tools, but it does not mention single-person communication. This is a Wrong section trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'one person at a time' = Statement: 'just a single person'
Tips: For tool-based questions, scan for specific limits like numbers or quantities.
Key Vocabulary:
- desist = stop
- mass communication = communication to many people
Question Focus: Summary match - change in leaders and society
Passage Reference: This shift in communications will have three important effects. It will change the sort of person who makes it to the corner office. It will alter the way that businesses are managed. And it will shift the position corporations occupy in society and possibly make us like some of them just a little bit more. E.
Why this is correct: The answer is Paragraph D because it introduces how communication changes will affect the type of person who becomes a leader. This is a clear reference to personality becoming more important.
Common Mistake: Students may pick Paragraph E because it gives details about personality, but the question asks how it will become important, which is introduced in Paragraph D. This is a Wrong section trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'change the sort of person' = Statement: 'personality will become more important'
Tips: If a statement is general, look for overview paragraphs, not detailed examples.
Key Vocabulary:
- corner office = top management
- shift = change
Question Focus: Example identification - video versus writing
Passage Reference: Its feebleness compared with the moving image was rammed home in 2010 when the sight of BP's oil spewing out into the Gulf of Mexico on YouTube sent a message to the world far more compelling than any written statement could ever be. B.
Why this is correct: The answer is Paragraph A because it gives a clear real example of a video having more impact than written words, using the BP oil spill on YouTube.
Common Mistake: Some students choose Paragraph C because it talks about video growth, but it gives statistics, not an example. This is a Partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'far more compelling' = Statement: 'video's power'
Tips: When a question asks for an example, look for names, events, or real situations.
Key Vocabulary:
- feebleness = weakness
- compelling = powerful
Question Focus: Inference - companies must adapt to growth
Passage Reference: So far corporations have taken a back seat in this growth, but they will soon need to climb into the front and start to drive it. D.
Why this is correct: The answer is Paragraph C because it says companies will need to change and take an active role in video communication. This clearly shows a need for corporate change.
Common Mistake: Students sometimes choose Paragraph D because it mentions effects, but it does not say companies need to act. This is a Causation trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'will soon need to' = Statement: 'a need for change'
Tips: Words like need to or must signal change or necessity.
Key Vocabulary:
- back seat = passive role
- drive = control
General Tips:
- Matching Features questions can jump around the passage - do not assume answers follow paragraph order.
- Scan paragraph topic sentences first to understand what each paragraph is mainly about.
- Match meaning, not just repeated words. Look for paraphrases.
- If two paragraphs seem similar, ask which one introduces the idea and which one develops it.
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