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(22)Shortly after he took over the Reader‘s Digest Association in 1984， George Grune unlocked the company’s boardroom and announced that the room was now open to the employees. It was a symbolic act， indicating that under Grune‘s leadership，Reader’s Digest was going to be different. True to his word，Grune has shaken up the culture here.
To get an idea of the culture we‘re talking about，consider the boardroom Grune opened up，it has artworks that any museum in the world would want to collect，paintings by many world famous artists like Monet and Picasso.Its headquarters‘houses sum 3，000 works of art.The Main building is topped with a Georgian Tower with four sculptures of the mythical winged horse， the magazine corporate logo. It sits on 127 acres of well trimmed lawns. The editor’s office used to be occupied by founder Dewitt Wallace， who， along with his wife Lila Acheson Wallace， launched Reader‘s Digest in 1922 with condensed articles from other publications.It has become the world’s most widely read magazine，selling 28 million copies each month in 17 languages and 41 different editions. (23)The Wallaces，both children of church ministers，had a clearly defined formula for their little magazine. As Reader‘s Digest was originally subtitled，articles were to be short，readable and uplifting. Subjects were picked to inspire or entertain. The Wallaces didn’t accept advertising in the US edition until 1955 and even then they didn‘t allow any ads for cigarettes，liquor or drugs. (24)The Wallaces also had a clear sense of the kind of workplace they wanted. It started as a mom-and-pop operation and the childless Wallaces always considered employees to be part of their family. Employees still tell stories of how the Wallaces would take care of their employees who had met with misfortunes and they showered their employees with unusual benefits like a turkey on Thanksgiving and Fridays off in May. This cozy workplace is no longer exists here.The Wallaces both died in their nineties in the early 1981s. George Grune，a former ad salesman who joined Reader’s Digest in 1960 has his eyes focused on the bottom line. In a few short years， he turned the magazine on its head， (25)he laid off several hundred workers，especially hard hit where the blue and paint color departments such as subscription fulfillment.
未听先知
预览四道题各选项,由 Revader's Digest、 articles, magazine和 subscriptions等词可以初步推测,讲 座内容与《读者文摘》这一杂志有关:再结合选项中的 company's culture、 profitable和 employees等词可以进 步推测,讲座可能涉及《读者文摘》这一杂志的企业文化、盈利状态和员工情况等方面内容。
详解详析
22. What did George Grune do in 1984？
A)。
讲座开头提到，1984年，George Grune接手了读者文摘集团，他向全体员工开放了董事会房间。正如Grune自己所说的那样，他颠覆了该公司的原有企业文化。也就是说，他彻底改变了读者文摘集团的企业文化，因此答案为A)。
23. How did the Wallaces find the formula for Reader‘s Digest？
B)。
讲座中提到，《读者文摘》的创始人Wallace夫妇二人都出生于牧师家庭，他们对杂志中的文章有一个明确的要求——简短易读，但却有激励人心或是让人愉悦的效果。因此答案为B)。
24. What do we learn about the founder of Reader‘s Digest Dewitt Wallace？
D)。
讲座中提到，《读者文摘》的创始人对企业文化也有着明确的定位，这家杂志最初是一个家庭式企业，Wallace夫妇没有子女，他们把员工当成家庭成员来对待。因此答案为D)。
25. What change took place in Reader‘s Digest after the Wallaces death？
C)。
讲座末尾提到，二十世纪八十年代，Wallace夫妇去世后，George Grune接手公司，在几年的时间里，他就解雇了几百名员工。因此答案为C)。