Part I　Lead-in Activities

Directions:You will hear a passage about female leaders in professional service firms.The words or phrases listed below will be of some help to you.

respect n.particular aspect or detail方面；着眼点

comprise v.（not in the continuous tenses）be the parts or members of（sth）；together form为（某事物）的部分或成员；组成；包括

private equity n.an asset class consisting of equity securities and debt in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange私募股权，私人股本

executive suite n.a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives行政套房，商务套房

drain n.a gradual depletion of energy or resources消耗，逐渐流失

encounter v.（fml）meet or find oneself faced by（sth/sb unpleasant，dangerous，difficult，etc）遇到或发现自己面临（令人不快的、危险的、困难的……某事/某人）

navigate v.（fig比喻）find one's way through，over，etc（sth）设法穿越

Complete the following paragraphs according to the recording you have just heard.

Women now____1__more than 40 percent of employees in services such as____2__，finance，and private equity，far more than in the past.This____3__is likely to continue…

But few such gains are____4__in the leadership of professional service firms.Men continue to__5__the top ranks of nearly every big firm—fewer than 1 percent of professional services firm CEOs are women and corporate America isn't doing much better—only____6__of top earning positions in Fortune 500 companies are held by women.This gender____7__in the executive suites is costing firms money.Companies that fail to____8__and promote women to top leadership positions experience a significant drain on resources and talent.They must bring in new employees to balance the outflow of women，and they must reach deeper into the remaining ranks to fill management positions.

One reason why women fail to reach the top management positions of professional services firms is that they face a set of challenges not____9__encountered by men.What strategies have the most successful women___10___to navigate these___11___？To find out，we conducted___12___interviews with 19 of the most senior women in consulting，private equity and finance and asked them this question.All of them offered reflections and advice on the strategies that got them to the top of the___13___.

One conclusion is that there is no___14___strategy.Each individual developed a set of strategies__15__to her career ambitions，situation and personality…

Judge whether the following statements are true or false according to the listening material you have just heard.

1.Considering various factors，professional business services are regarded quite suitable for working women.

2.In America today，over 50 percent of females hold a degree of higher education.

3.In professional service firms all over the world，women account for more than 40 percent of the workforce.

4.Gender imbalance of the workforce in a professional service firm will cost the firm much money.

5.Women leaders in professional service firms are 35% more than male leaders.