Selection to participate in a top executive-education program is an important rung on the ladder to top corporate jobs. U. S. corporations (1) billions of dollars in this form of management development -- and use it to (2) and train fast-track managers. Yet one (3) of executive education found that less than 5% of the managers (4) to these high-profile programs are women -- and minorities are terribly (5) as well.
The numbers are (6) . In regular business (7) usually paid for by the participant, not an employer -- there are plenty of women and minorities. Women, for example, (8) for about 30% of MBA candidates. Yet in the (9) programs paid for by corporations that round out a manager’s credentials at a (10) career point, usually at age 40 or 45, companies are making only a (11) investment in developing female and minority executives. A case (12) point: Only about 30% of the 180 executives in Stanford’s recent (13) management program were women.
Most companies say these days they are (14) hiring and promoting women and minorities-- and there are some (15) trends in overall employment and pay levels so why are companies (16) the ball when it (17) executive education The schools (18) that they are neither the cause of nor the cure for the problem. A Harvard Business School dean figures that companies are (19) of sending their female executives (20) they don’t want to lose them to competitors.
6（）
A.ridiculous
B.dreadful
C.shameful
D.cruel
参考答案：D
解析：
形容词辨析题。4个选项的意思分别是：ridiculous“荒谬的”；dreadful“可怕的，令人感到恐怖的”；shameful“可耻的”；cruel“无情的，严厉的，残酷的”。根据前一段中提到的只有不到5%的妇女被送去参加培训，并且少数民族的人就更少了，这个数字很残酷。根据以上意思，很容易判断出正确答案是cruel。