Question

    When the weather’s hot, do you enjoy a glass of Brad’s Drink while watching your TV made by Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, and surfing the web using a search engine called BackRub? No? Neither do I. That’s because all these companies have changed their names.

Brad’s Drink is now Pepsi. The mouthful that was Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering has become, simply, Sony. And BackRub is now known as Google. Though I must admit, the idea of a back massage does sound good right now!

Joking aside, choosing the right name for your start-up is a serious matter. Think of the case of a small Canadian company called Research in Motion, who in 1998 had just developed a high-tech mobile phone that could send emails.

They were torn between names like MegaMail and ProMail. Then they sought the help of consulting firm Lexicon, who specialize in brand names. They had other ideas. They brainstormed words connected to enjoyment and freshness. Someone said.

Lexicon’s boss added two capital letters, and there you have it: BlackBerry was born. Since then it has sold over 33 million handsets to customers around the world. Would it have sold as well if it was called MegaMail? Who knows?

Recently, BlackBerry sales have been overtaken by Android phones and Apple’s iPhone. Lexicon’s founder David Placek is a big fan of simple brand names like those Apple chooses: the iPhone. They l0ok a household word and by putting one letter in font of it, it ends up being game changing.

So, for all you entrepreneurs(企业家)out there, make sure you allow time to develop a catchy and memorable name. Think about what makes your company different. What’s your USP (独特的销售主张) ? Maybe you can reflect that in your name.

What about you? What would you call a company if you had one?

1.Which of the following is the original name of BlackBerry?

A.Brad’s Drink.

B.Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering.

C.BackRub.

D.MegaMail and ProMail.

2.What is Lexicon?

A.A consulting company.

B.A handset company.

C.A drink company.

D.A telecommunication company.

3.What is Lexicon good at?

A.Giving proper names to persons.

B.Giving proper names to a brand.

C.Making Android phones.

D.Making its company different.

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A.The Art of Designing

B.Apple’s iPhone

C.The Art of Naming

D.Research in Motion

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章使用了大量例子来说明公司起名字和改名字的艺术。

1.细节推理题。根据第四段They were torn between names like MegaMail and ProMail.可知，他们在像MegaMail和ProMail这样的名字之间左右为难。所以MegaMail and ProMail是BlackBerry原来的名字，故选D.

2.细节推理题。根据第四段Then they sought the help of consulting firm Lexicon, who specialize in brand names.可知，然后他们向专门研究品牌名称的咨询公司Lexicon寻求帮助。所以Lexicon是一家咨询公司。故选A.

3.细节推理题。根据第四段Then they sought the help of consulting firm Lexicon, who specialize in brand names.可知然后他们向专门研究品牌名称的咨询公司Lexicon寻求帮助，Lexicon是一家咨询公司，他们专门给品牌起名字。故选B.

4.主旨大意题。通读全文本文使用了大量例子来说明公司起名字和改名字的艺术，所以The Art of Naming“ 起名字的艺术”概括全文内容，适合作为标题。故选C.