It is true that CEO pay has gone up—top ones may make 300 times the pay of typical workers on average, and since the mid-1970s, CEO pay for large publicly traded American corporations has, by varying estimates, gone up by about 500%. The typical CEO of a top American corporation now makes about $18.9 million a year.

The best model for understanding the growth of CEO pay is that of limited CEO talent in a world where business opportunities for the top firms are growing rapidly. The efforts of America’s highest-earning 1% have been one of the more dynamic elements of the global economy. It’s not popular to say. But one reason their pay has gone up so much is that CEOs really have upped their game relative to many other workers in the U.S. economy.

Today’s CEO, at least for major American firms, must have many mere skills than simply being able to “run the company.” CEOs must have a good sense of financial markets and maybe even how the company should trade in them. They also need better public relations skills than their predecessors, as the costs of even a minor slipup can be significant. Then there’s the fact that large American companies are much more globalized than ever before, with supply chains spread across a larger number of countries. To lead in that system requires knowledge that is fairly mind-boggling. Plus, virtually all major American companies are becoming tech companies, one way or another. Beyond this, major CEOs still have to do all the day-to-day work they have always done.

The common idea that high CEO pay is mainly about ripping people off doesn’t explain history very well. By most measures, corporate governance has become a lot tighter and more rigorous since the 1970s. Yet it is principally during this period of stronger governance that CEO pay has been high and rising. That suggests it is in the broader corporate interest to recruit top candidates for increasingly tough jobs.

Furthermore, the highest CEO salaries are paid to outside candidates, not to the cozy insider picks, another sign that high CEO pay is not some kind of depredation at the expense of the rest of the company. And the stock market reacts positively when companies tie CEO pay to, say, stock prices, a sign that those practices build up corporate value not just for the CEO.

1.Which of the following has contributed to CEO pay rise?

A The growth in the number of corporations.

B The general pay rise with a better economy.

C Increased business opportunities for top firms.

D Close cooperation among leading economies.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据CEO pay rise定位第一、二段，第一段说明现象，第二段讲明原因：顶级公司的商业机会迅速增加，而CEO人才有限。故选C。

2.Compared with their predecessors, today’s CEOs are required to _________.

A foster a stronger sense of teamwork

B finance more research and development

C establish closer ties with tech companies

D operate more globalized companies

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据today’s CEOs定位到第三段，可知如今的CEO需要具备更多技能：对金融市场有很好的判断力、更好的公关技巧、很多适应公司全球化的相关知识。选项中只有D“经营更加全球化的公司”更符合原文，故选D。

3.CEO pay has been rising since the 1970s despite _________.

A continual internal opposition

B strict corporate governance

C conservative business strategies

D repeated government warnings

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据the 1970s定位到第四段，可知自上世纪70年代以来，公司治理越来越严格，而CEO的薪酬也主要是在这段治理加强的时期不断上升，故选B。

4.High CEO pay can be justified by the fact that it helps _________.

A confirm the status of CEOs

B motive inside candidates

C boost the efficiency of CEOs

D increase corporate value

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据High CEO pay定位到第四、五段，根据第五段可知CEO的高薪不是以损害公司的其他部门为代价的，当公司将CEO的薪酬与股价挂钩时，股市的反应是积极的，表明这些做法不仅是为了CEO，也为公司创造了价值，故选D。

5.The most suitable title for this text would be _________.

A CEOs Are Not Overpaid

B CEO Pay: Past and Present

C CEOs’ Challenges of Today

D CEO Traits: Not Easy to Define

解析：选A。A 主旨大意题。根据全文可知，全文是围绕CEO高薪的合理性展开论述的，A“CEO的薪酬并不高”更符合原文，故选A。