Multiple choice

Directions: The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage. Key in the number of the option you choose as your answer.

In the past, businesses got away with poor execution by pleading for patience. “The business environment is tough right now” is one typical excuse; or “Our strategy will take time to produce results”. But the business environment is always tough, and success is no longer measured over years. A company can win or lose serious market share before even it realises what has hit it.

  1. Business environment today has evolved dramatically warranting prompt execution.

  2. Business environment today hard presses employees to get positive results.

  3. Time had never in the past been as important and determinant in the business environment as it is today.

  4. The excuses of the past have lost both their relevance and significance in today’s tough business environment.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
  1. Not true. Business environment has not evolved and become tough. It was always tough.
    1. True, however, the emphasis here is on employees; their role is not the essence of the paragraph.
    2. True. The last line makes it clear that time is of great importance and no longer can patience be an excuse.
    3. Not true. The business environment had always been tough. Only the result or success has become a thing that doesn’t take much time to unfold or realise as it was in the past.

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