NeilKerwinbecameAmericanUniversity’s(AU)14thpresidentinSeptember2007.KerwinjoinedAUin1975andhasheldnumerousdepartmentandleadershippositionsincludingheadoftheSchoolofPublicAffairs.Inthisinterviewhespeaksabout

Question

Neil Kerwin became American University’s(AU) 14th president in September 2007. Kerwin joined AU in 1975 and has held numerous department and leadership positions including head of the School of Public Affairs. In this interview he speaks about developing leadership among AU students and inspiring them to public service and the lessons he has learned as the president of American University.

“The longer I do this kind of work the clearer it is to me that leadership is a collective activity. This happens here at American University hundreds of times every day at every level of the doing and managing hard work to reach those goals. Simply leadership cannot be the field or responsibility of one person or a small group at the top. At its best it is up to the organization.”

“A president’s role is to make that clear ensure  it  happens and provide space ideas encouragement and acknowledgment of accomplishments. Vision(有远见卓识) is important but one that colleagues have not contributed to or are not widely shared will not serve the purpose. I have also learned delegation(授权) is also important to success and that it is a process of constant adjustment not a single act. No one is perfect in the work we do and by recognizing this you’re developing a healthy culture that supports reform. And of course none of this relieves the president of most responsibility for the institution and the need to be clearly and visibly accountable.”

“Another lesson is that crises(危机) assume a life of their own. They are a great time to learn and a bad time to plan. It is when times are good and stable that you need to examine the things that are of the greatest risk to your organization in the long term. As a leader you must be able to provide the energy and motivation among your employees to ask these difficult questions because difficult times will come.”

41．According to Neil Kerwin leadership mainly depends on           .

A．the president himself      

B．students in the university

C．small group at the top

D．the organization itself

42．In the third paragraph “ it ” means           .

A．the management

B．the leadership

C．the responsibility

D．the institution

43．What are the important qualities of leadership mentioned in the third paragraph?

A．Vision and delegation.

B．Adjustment and contribution.

C．Responsibility and accountability.

D．Encouragement and acknowledgment.

44．What does the author mean by saying “…difficult times will come.”?

A．Crises provide us with energy.

B．Crises are quite likely to happen.

C．Crises are the greatest risks.

D．Crises help people make changes.

45．What does the passage mainly tell us about?

A．The lessons Neil learned in University.

B．The difficulty Neil has in his office.

C．Neil’s opinion on leadership.

D．Neil’s motivation and organization.

Answer 1

DBABC