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王蓉

我們生活在一个 “外向理想型性格”主导的价值体系中，人们普遍认为，理想的性格是善于交际，有领袖气质，在众人瞩目的场合收放自如。我们不难发现，生活中外向者总是人们关注并谈论的对象，而内向者却常常是被忽视的对象。事实上，内向者和外向者一样，有其独特的性格优势，甚至内向者比外向者更有潜力成为出色的领导者。你是否是内向者中的一员呢？你是否因性格内向而烦恼呢？读过本文后，你可能会对内向者有一个全新的认识，进而对不同性格有更大的包容心。

全文699词，建议用时13分钟。

1. 梳理文章结构，识别问题并找到解决方法;

2. 对语篇进行宏观和微观分析，把握语篇逻辑;

3. 辩证地看待文本和作者观点，形成自己独立的观点;

4. 以读促写，读写结合，思考不同性格的学生该如何相处。

1. introvert /ntrvt/ n. 内向的人

2. grunt /ɡrnt/ n. 工作乏味收入低的工人

3. analogy /nldi/ n. 类比

4. extrovert /ekstrvt/ n. 外向的人

5. selfeffacing /slffes/ adj. 谦逊的;不出风头的

6. marginalise /mɑdnlaz/ v. 使边缘化;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 It rests on an outdated analogy between intellectual and physical barriers between people.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.________.

【点石成金】阅读理解的脚手架是文章结构。在日常的阅读训练中，学生要熟悉各类文章的结构，并从文体学的角度分清各类文章的结构（structure or backbone），把握段与段之间的关系，从而形成对语篇的宏观认识，总结出各种语篇的结构特征和表现特征。就语篇的宏观分析而言，英语中存在着许多语篇模式，常见的模式有几种，如问题—解决模式（ProblemSolution pattern）、概括—具体模式（GeneralParticular pattern）、主张—反主张模式（ClaimCounterclaim pattern）、比较匹配型（Matching pattern）等。對语篇进行宏观分析有助于形成可迁移、可持续的阅读能力。

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？

【点石成金】探究英语文本时，要抓住what、 why和how三个核心要素。what是作者写了什么，即文章的主旨大意和主要内容;why是作者为什么写，即文本的写作意图;how是作者怎么写的，即用了什么语篇结构和语言修辞手法。通过回答第二层次的问题，学生能够掌握说明文的问题解决型模式：识别问题、分析原因、找到解决方法。此外学生也能够关注到说明文的说明方式。设置critical thinking的问题，可以引导学生辩证地看待文本内容和推断作者的写作意图，从而形成自己独立的观点并给出合理的依据。

Step 3 运用·读写整合

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？

【点石成金】此环节基于文本创设情境，引导学生学以致用。第一个读写活动与文本紧密相连，保持输入和输出的一致性。通过文本解读环节的问题链，教师给学生的输入搭建了脚手架，学生在此环节抓取原文关键词，转换语言表达，重新构建文本。第二个读写活动则进行了话题的拓展，贴近学生实际生活，引导学生思考不同性格的学生在相处过程中可能遇到的冲突以及可行的解决办法。这一环节，可以培养学生分析问题、解决问题的能力，从而培养其创新思维。