
18. A research project must precede such a move.   
①  substitute  ②  go before  ③ initiate  ④  scrutinize 
19. The pace of change is dictated by which industry section you are in.     
①  denoted  ②  reinforced  ③  enhanced  ④  determined 
20. He is in a precarious situation.   
①  reciprocal    ②  rigorous    ③  subsidiary    ④ perilous 
21. The government was reluctant to sanction intervention in the crisis.     
①  counteract    ②  ascertain    ③  approve    ④  continue 
22. She told me about the ramifications of my plan.   
① implications  ②  adjustments    ③  incentives    ④ attributes 
【說明:第 23 至30 題,請依照文意,選出最適當的答案】 
When Air Liquide, the French industrial gases group, acquired two-thirds of its German rival 
Messer  Griesheim,  the  newly  combined  business  was  a  breeding  ground  for  cross-cultural 
misunderstanding  and  resentment.  Just  beneath  the  surface,  conflicting  work  styles,  national 
stereotypes and insecurity about the future threatened to undermine the new entity, Air Liquide 
Deutschland,  formed  two  years  ago  from  the  German  operations  of  Air  Liquide  and  Messer 
Griesheim. 
The  management  team decided  to  take swift  action  to expose  problems  and  address  them 
head-on.  With  the  help  of  JPB,  a  specialist  consulting  firm,  it  interviewed  employees  and 
identified 12 “emotional viruses” that could weaken the merger. “The main challenge was how 
to  get  people  working  together  and  retain  customers  so  that  we  didn’t  lose  business,”  says 
Markus Sieverding, Air Liquide Deutschland’s chief executive. 
Mr. Sieverding’s challenge will be familiar to senior executives from many other companies. 
Among the “viruses” discovered were a strong belief by both sides in their own superiority, a 
fear of job losses at Messer and anxiety at Air Liquide that its flexible management style would 
be deadened by German “rationality”. 
Management appointed 35 employees across the merged business to raise awareness of the 
“viruses”, spot outbreaks and prevent them spreading. The list was used as a light-hearted means 
of airing anxieties at workshops where hundreds of employees were asked to help define a new 
way of working together. 
23. What business is Air Liquide in?   
①  chemical liquids  ②  gases  ③ air travel  ④  construction