In business, there’s a speed difference: It’s the difference between how important a firm’s leaders say speed is to their competitive strategy and how fast the company actually moves. The difference is important regardless of industry and company size. Companies fearful of losing their competitive advantage spend much time and money looking for ways to pick up the speed.
In our study of 343 businesses, the companies that chose to go, go to try to gain an edge ended up with lower sales and operating incomes than those that paused at key moments to make sure they were on the right track. What’s more, the firms that “slowed down to speed up” improved their top and bottom lines, averaging 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating incomes over a three-year period.
How did they disobey the laws of business physics, taking more time than competitors yet performing better? They thought differently about what “slower” and “faster” mean. Firms sometimes fail to understand the difference between operational speed (moving quickly) and strategic speed (reducing the time it takes to deliver value). Simply increasing the speed of production, for example, may be one way to try to reduce the speed difference. But that often leads to reduced value over time, in the form of lower-quality products and services.
In our study, higher-companies with strategic speed always made changes when necessary. They became more open to ideas and discussion. They encouraged new ways of thinking. And they allowed time to look back and learn. By contrast, performance suffered at firms that moved fast all the time, paid too much attention to improving efficiently, stuck to tested methods, didn’t develop team spirit among their employees, and had little time thinking about changes.
Strategic speed serves as a kind of leadership. Teams that regularly take time to get things right, rather than plough ahead full bore, are more successful in meeting their business goals. That kind of strategy must come from the top.
1.What does the underlined part “gain an edge” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Get an advantage. B.Increase the speed.
C.Reach the limit. D.Set a goal.
2.What can we learn from the text?
A.How fast a firm moves depends on how big it is.
B.How competitive a firm is depends on what if produces.
C.Firms guided by strategic speed take time to make necessary changes.
D.Firms guided by operational speed take time to develop necessary team spirit.
3.According to the author, what is the key to deciding strategic speed?
A.Pausing at key moments. B.The size of company.
C.The boss. D.The quality of the products.
4.Which could be the best title for the text?
A.Improve Quality? Serve Better. B.Deliver Value? Plough ahead.
C.Reduce Time? Move Faster. D.Need Speed? Slow Down.
Around the world, there are about 7,000 National Parks. Most of them cover huge areas of land where nobody lives. However, the National Parks in England include places where people live and work, as well as wild areas where there are few human activities.
The National Parks in England are called “England’s Breathing Spaces” because they are places where people can go to be in the open air, away from the dirt and noise of cities. They provide wonderful scenes of mountains, woods, grasslands and wetlands. And there are plenty of activities to do in all of the National Parks in England. Visitors can walk or ride bikes for fun. Many of the parks put on activities for families.
Every year there are about 110 million visitors to the parks, bringing many benefits（益处）to the areas. At the same time, it creates problems too. First, life can be difficult for local people. Car parks and roads are too crowded. Gift shops and cafes take the place of many everyday shops. Even house prices in some areas can become too high. Besides, country roads can be damaged, for too many people walk, cycle or ride horses on them. Roads can be rebuilt, but then they look less natural. Another big problem to the National Parks is litter. In the parks it is a danger to wild animals. Broken glass can also cause fires by focusing the rays of the sun. Such fires in wild places can be out of control.
? All National Parks in England are making more rules, which tell people how to take good care of their environment. If these rules are followed, the National Parks will be well kept and continue to give pleasure to many people for a very long time.
1.Visitors to the National Parks in England can .
A.give food to wild animals B.drive cars on the grasslands
C.enjoy fresh air and peaceful time D.have fun farming with local people
2.The third paragraph mainly tells us .
A.the problems of the National Parks B.the pollution caused by visitors
C.the development of the National Parks D.the benefits brought by visitors
3.Which of the following is the best sentence to fill the blank in Paragraph 4?
A.What can people get B.How can people help
C.What are the National Parks like D.How are the National Parks set up
4.The passage is probably taken from the part of a magazine.
A.transport B.wildlife
C.history D.geography
Volunteer Day
What better way is there to enjoy your own hobbies while helping others at the same time? Come to Volunteer Day and choose an activity you’d like to join for the day. See below for a schedule of events on Volunteer Day.
Volunteer Day Schedule:
■7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Community Center for juice and bagels.
■8；00-8：30 a.m.: Choose which activity you’d like to help with for the day.
■8:30 a.m.: Board the bus to your activity site.
■9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.: Work as a volunteer.
■3:30 p.m.: Board the bus that will take you back to the Community Center.
See below for a list of volunteer opportunities for Volunteer Day so you can begin thinking about which activity you might want to join.
A list of volunteer activities:
Paint Houses: Happy Homes is a local organization that provides home painting. For elderly or physically disabled people who cannot do repairs to their homes. Happy Homes provides volunteer painters to repair old houses.
Plant flowers: Help plant flowers and bushes in city parks, help lay paths at Cave Springs Park, or help pick up rubbish around the river banks.
Read to children: Love and Learning is an organization that provides volunteers to help children with learning disabilities. Read books out loud to groups of children four to six years old, or read one-on-one with struggling readers seven to eight years old.
Play with animals: Lovely Friends is an organization that visits local animal shelters and provides volunteers to spend time with the animals while their cages are being cleaned.
1.At what time do volunteers leave for their activity sites?
A.7:30 a.m. B.8:00 a.m.
C.8:30 a.m. D.9:00 a.m.
2.An outdoor lover probably takes part in .
A.Plant flowers B.Paint houses
C.Read to children D.Play with animals
3.What do Lovely Friends volunteers do?
A.Read books to children. B.Spend time with animals.
C.Help plant bushes in parks. D.Pick up garbage along the river
4.The purpose of the passage is to .
A.educate children B.attract volunteers
C.comfort the elderly D.encourage the disabled
I had an interesting question from my 10-year-old daughter Claire. She asked me if I had always been this confident. I thought about it for a while and gave her the best answer in terms of my own personal development.
I was born and _______ in a small town in Zambia. From a very young age I was encouraged to_______the world and ask as many questions as I could. My grandfather was a(n)_______ holding a high position in the government, but he treated everyone with______like what others did to him. And I often watched him _______with people that way. As a child, I was determined to be like him _______ I grew up. I wanted to make people feel good about_______ and have meaningful conversations that would ______ people to take action and create a better world for everyone.
As an ordinary African girl, I know what life had to______. And I also knew that I would have some bad days as well as good days. I saw this with my parents, as they________hid their feelings or situations. And from that, I had a_________ view of my reality.
I tell Claire that my confidence comes from within and I am bound to ______moments when I’m worried about whether things will work in my______ , but I have the courage not to give up on my dreams. It’s the strong belief that I am good enough and I can do it that has had me going for the last 20 years. A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid that the branch will _________because its trust in not on the branch but on its own _______. Always believe in yourself.
1.A.called on B.taken in C.brought up D.turned down
2.A.conquer B.change C.rule D.explore
3.A.clerk B.official C.guard D.servant
4.A.respect B.pride C.justice D.coldness
5.A.argue B.reason C.communicate D.negotiate
6.A.before B.until C.if D.when
7.A.themselves B.herself C.ourselves D.himself
8.A.force B.inspire C.urge D.attract
9.A.demand B.reward C.offer D.compose
10.A.always B.never C.frequently D.occasionally
11.A.balanced B.casual C.cautious D.critical
12.A.remember B.ignore C.meet D.appreciate
13.A.taste B.sight C.place D.favor
14.A.grow B.break C.cross D.bend
15.A.legs B.feet C.wings D.eyes
________ is willing to volunteer in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is welcome to join us.
A. Whatever B. Whoever
C. Whenever D. Wherever
You ________ give me a lift. I want to walk home for exercise.
A.needn’t B.couldn’t C.can’t D.mustn’t
