YANG YUANQING, Lenovo’s boss, hardly spoke a word of English until he was about 40: he grew up in rural poverty and read engineering at university. But when Lenovo bought IBM’s personal-computer division in 2005 he decided to immerse himself in English: he moved his family to North Carolina, hired a language tutor and -- the ultimate sacrifice -- spent hours watching cable-TV news.
Lenovo is one of a growing number of multinationals from the non-Anglophone world that have made English their official language. The fashion began in places with small populations but global ambitions such as Singapore and Switzerland.
Corporate English is now invading more difficult territory, such as Japan. Rakuten, a cross between Amazon and eBay, and Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo fashion chain, were among the first to switch. Now they are being joined by old-economy companies such as Honda, a carmaker, and Bridgestone, a tyremaker. Chinese firms are proving harder to handle/crack: they have a huge internal market and are struggling to enroll/recruit competent managers of any description, let alone English-speakers. But some are following Lenovo’s lead. Huawei has introduced English as a second language and encourages high-flyers(ambitious employees) to become fluent.
There are some obvious reasons why multinational companies want a lingua franca(共同语). Adopting English makes it easier to recruit global stars (including board members), reach global markets and assemble global production teams. Such steps are especially important to companies in Japan, where the population is shrinking.
Tsedal Neeley of Harvard Business School says that “Englishnisation” can stir up a hornet’s nest of emotions. Ms. Neeley argues that companies must think carefully about implementing a policy that touches on so many emotions. Senior managers should explain to employees why switching to English is so important, provide them with classes and conversation groups, and offer them incentives(刺激) to improve their fluency, such as foreign postings. Those who are already proficient in English should speak more slowly and try not to dominate conversations. And managers must act as referees and enforcers, resolving conflicts and discouraging staff from returning to their native tongues.
Intergovernmental bodies like the European Union are obliged to pretend that there is no predominant global tongue. But businesses worldwide are facing up to the reality that English is the language on which the sun never sets.
64. Lenovo’s boss made all the efforts to familiarize himself with English except __________.
A. hiring a language tutor B. resettling in an English-speaking environment
C. expanding the business overseas D. exposing himself to English Cable-TV news.
65. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Most Chinese firms would like to introduce corporate English.
B. Chinese firms are in great need of English majors as their managers.
C. Huawei followed Lenovo as the second largest multinational in China.
D. Adopting corporate English is more difficult in places with a large population.
66. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The decrease in population pushes the Japanese to learn English well.
B. Neither the governmental bodies nor businesses will regard English as
a global tongue.
C. Companies should handle employees’ emotions carefully during the switch.
D. Those good at English should be encouraged to speak more in the company.
67. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A. English-Global Tongue in Business.
B. English-Chinese Business Leaders’ New Fashion.
C. English-The Best Tool in Communication.
D. English-Dominating Factor of Successful Business.