Kodak’s decision to file for bankruptcy (破产) protection is a sad, though not unexpected, turning point for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the film market for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital revolution.
Although many attribute Kodak’s downfall to “complacency (自满),” that explanation doesn’t acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak anticipated that digital photography would overtake film — and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975 — but in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditional film business.
It wasn’t that Kodak was blind to the future, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at Harvard Business School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the time the company realized its mistake, it was too late.
Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot of money trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching into new markets because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the new businesses.
Although Kodak anticipated the inevitable rise of digital photography, its corporate (企业的) culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fully embrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was so important to them. Now their history has become a liability.
Kodak’s downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded 90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s brought new competition from Japanese film company Fuji Photo, which undermined Kodak by offering lower prices for film and photo supplies. Kodak’s decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited its sponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the marketplace.
1.What do we learn about Kodak?
A.It went bankrupt all of a sudden.
B.It is approaching its downfall.
C.It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry.
D.It is playing a dominant role in the film market.
2.Why does the author mention Kodak’s invention of the first digital camera?
A.To show its early attempt to reinvent itself.
B.To show its effort to overcome complacency.
C.To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution.
D.To show its will to compete with Japan’s Fuji photo.
3.Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?
A.They find it costly to give up their existing assets.
B.They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges.
C.They are unwilling to invest in new technology.
D.They are deeply stuck in their glorious past.
4.What does the author say Kodak’s history has become?
A.A burden.
B.A mirror.
C.A joke.
D.A challenge.
5.What was Kodak’s fatal mistake?
A.Its blind faith in traditional photography.
B.Its failure to see Fuji photo’s emergence.
C.Its refusal to sponsor the 1984 Olympics.
D.Its overconfidence in its corporate culture.
Sunny countries are often poor. A shame, then, that solar power is still quite expensive. Eight19, a British company by Cambridge University, has, however, invented a novel way to get round this. In return for a deposit of around￡10 it is supplying poor Kenyan families with a solar cell able to generate 2.5 watts of electricity, a battery that can deliver a three amp (安培) current to store this electricity, and a lamp whose bulb is a lightemitting diode (二极管). The firm thinks that this system, once the battery is fully charged, is enough to light two small rooms and to power a mobilephone charger for seven hours. Then, next day, it can be put outside and charged back up again.
The trick is that, to be able to use the electricity, the system’s keeper must buy a scratch card — for as little as a dollar — on which is printed a reference number. The keeper sends this reference, plus the serial number of the household solar unit, by SMS to Eight19. The company’s server will respond automatically with an access code to the unit.
Users may consider that they are paying an hourly rate for their electricity. In fact, they are paying off the cost of the unit. After buying around￡80 worth of scratch cards — which Eight19 expects would take the average family around 18 months — the user will own it. He will then have the option of continuing to use it for nothing, or of trading it in for a bigger one, perhaps driven by a 10watt solar cell.
In that case, he would go then through the same process again, paying off the additional cost of the upgraded kit at a slightly higher rate. Users would therefore increase their electricity supply steadily and affordably.
According to Eight19’s figures, this looks like a good deal for customers. The firm believes the average energystarved Kenyan spends around￡10 a month on oil — enough to fuel a couple of smoky lamps — plus￡2 on charging his mobile phone in the marketplace. Regular users of one of Eight19’s basic solar units will spend around half that, before owning it completely. Meanwhile, as the cost of solar technology falls, it should get even cheaper.
1.The underlined word “get round” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
A.make use of B.come up with
C.look into D.deal with
2.What should the user do when the electricity in the battery is used up?
A.Buy a scratch card.
B.Recharge it outside.
C.Buy another solar cell.
D.Return it to the company.
3.How much would users pay for the cell and scratch cards before they own a 2.5watt solar cell?
A.Around￡10. B.Around￡80.
C.Around￡90. D.Around￡180.
4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
A.Kenyan families would find it difficult to afford the solar cell
B.using the solar cell would help Kenyan families save money
C.few Kenyan families use mobile phones for lack of electricity
D.the company will make a great profit from selling solar cells
The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.
My topic is not standards nor its decline. What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.
My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies. But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.
The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.
Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar to today’s young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not have a poor command of English.
1.In the author’s opinion, the speaker ______.
A.gave a correct judgment of the English level of the students
B.had exaggerated the language problems of the students
C.was right in saying that English teachers were not doing their jobs
D.could think and speak intelligently
2.The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ______.
A.neutral B.positive
C.critical D.compromising
3.It can be concluded from the passage that ______.
A.it is justifiable to include English as a school subject
B.the author disagrees with the speaker over the standard of English at Grade 9 level
C.English language teaching is by no means an easy job
D.language improvement needs time and effort
I’m not so sure I like my friends any more. I used to like them — to be honest. We’d have lunch, talk on the phone or exchange emails, and they all seemed normal enough. But then came Facebook, and I was introduced to a sad fact: many of my friends have dark sides that they had kept from me.
Today my friends show off the more unpleasant aspects of their personalities via Facebook. No longer hidden, they’re thrown in my face like TV commercials — unavoidable and endless advertisements for the worst of their personalities.
Take Fred. If you were to have lunch with him, you’d find him warm, and self-effacing (谦逊的). Read his Facebook and you’ll realize he’s an unbearable, foodobsessed boring man. He’d pause to have a cup of coffee on his way to save a drowning man — and then write about it.
Take Andy. You won’t find a smarter CEO anywhere, but now he’s a CEO without a company to run. So he plays Mafia Wars on Facebook. He’s doing well — level 731.Thanks to Facebook, I know he’s playing about 18 hours a day. Andy, you’ve run four companies — and this is how you spend your downtime? What happened to golf? What happened to getting another job?
Take Liz. She is positive that the flu vaccine will kill us all and that we should avoid it. And then comes Chris who likes to post at least 20 times a day on every website he can find, so I get to read his thoughts twice, once on Facebook and once on Twitter.
In real life, I don’t see these sides of people. Face to face, my friends show me their best. They’re nice, smart people. But face to Facebook, my friends are like a blind date which goes horribly wrong.
I’m left with a dilemma. Who is my real friend? Is it the Liz I have lunch with or the antivaccine mad woman on Facebook? Is it the Fred I can grab a sandwich with or the Fred who weeps if he’s at a party and the wine isn’t up to his standards?
1.What’s Andy probably busy in doing now?
A.He’s running his company.
B.He’s playing golf all day.
C.He’s looking for another job.
D.He’s playing computer games.
2.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
A.a dilemma B.my real friend
C.Facebook D.Twitter
3.The text is developed mainly by ______.
A.giving examples
B.following the time order
C.listing figures
D.raising questions
假定你是李华，你校打算组织一场英文演讲比赛，请你根据下列提示写一篇主题为“Environmental Protection”的演讲稿。内容包括：
1.保护环境的重要性；
2.如何从我做起去保护环境；
3.呼吁大家行动起来。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Good morning, everyone,
My topic today is “Environmental Protection”.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That's all Thanks for your listening.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线( \)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
It's impossible for anybody to succeed without making mistakes. I can clear remember that last year an English speech contest held in our school. Though my English was the best in our class and all my classmates encouraged me to take part in the contest, but I was so shy a girl that 1 even dared not answer questions in class. I was afraid of making mistakes in front of so many judge. At last, my classmate Wang Ying, her English was not very good, participated in the contest and won the third prize. Heard the news, I regretted not taking part. As the result, I missed a good chance to show myself.
Now, I have realized the fact which making mistakes is an unavoidable thing in our way to success. Only by making mistakes and correct them can we make progress step by step and finally achieve our goals.
