Kodak’s decision to file for bankruptcy (破產(chǎn)) 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 (自滿) ,” that explanation doesn’t acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak predicted that digital photography would overtake film (膠片) — 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 (資產(chǎn)) into the new businesses.
Although Kodak predicted the unavoidable rise of digital photography, its corporate (企業(yè)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.
小題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.
小題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.
小題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.
小題4:What does the author say Kodak’s history has become?
A．A burden.B．A mirror.C．A joke.D．A challenge.

小題1:B
小題2:A
小題3:D
小題4:A

試題分析：柯達(dá)公司要破產(chǎn)了？曾經(jīng)生產(chǎn)過(guò)第一個(gè)數(shù)碼相機(jī)的柯達(dá)公司為什么輝煌不再了呢？究其原因還是太保守了。誰(shuí)不與時(shí)俱進(jìn)，就會(huì)被歷史前進(jìn)的腳步無(wú)情的淘汰。
小題1:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。全文的第一句話：柯達(dá)公司申請(qǐng)破產(chǎn)保護(hù)的決定是令人傷心的。和B選項(xiàng)的它正在接近破產(chǎn)。意思一致。所以選B。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章的Although many attribute Kodak’s downfall to “complacency（自滿）,” that explanation doesn’t acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself.盡管很多人把柯達(dá)的破產(chǎn)歸咎于自滿，但這種解釋并沒(méi)有看到其實(shí)這家公司也試圖在改造自己。 和A選項(xiàng)：為了說(shuō)明它早期改造自己的嘗試。意思一致。所以選A。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第四段 because there is a temptation to put existing assets into the new businesses. 因?yàn)橛幸粋�(gè)想要把現(xiàn)存的資產(chǎn)（也就是現(xiàn)有的商業(yè)運(yùn)作成果）運(yùn)用在新商業(yè)領(lǐng)域中的企圖。和D選項(xiàng)：它們都深深的過(guò)往的輝煌所束縛一致。第五段第一句中也提到：它的公司文化太過(guò)植根于過(guò)往的成功。也同樣可以提示答案選D。
小題4:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第五段的最后一句話意思是：現(xiàn)在它們的歷史已經(jīng)成為了障礙。根據(jù)上下文推斷得出太執(zhí)著與以往的輝煌會(huì)導(dǎo)致變革的減慢甚至失敗，判斷選A ，burden是負(fù)擔(dān)。
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In 1980，Candy Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter Cad was killed by a drunk driver as she walked down a suburban street in California. “I promised myself on the day of my daughter’s death that I would fight to make this needless accident count for something positive in the years ahead,” Candy Lightener later wrote.
The drunk driver received a two-year prison sentence. However, he avoided prison by serving time in a work camp and a halfway house. Ms. Lightner was very angry about that and so organized Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), which later changed to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The aim of her organization was to raise public awareness of the serious nature of drunk driving and to promote tough legislation against the crime.
Before Ms. Lightner’s MADD, intoxication (醉酒), including drunk driving, was not taken seriously. Intoxication was often used as an excuse for otherwise unacceptable behavior: “I didn’t know what I was doing—I was drunk.”
Candy Lightner appeared on major television shows, spoke before the US Congress, addressed professional and business, groups, and worked tirelessly for years to change public attitudes, change judicial(審判的) behaviour, and promote tough new legislation. Ms. Lightner left MADD because the organization that she herself created is changing its focus. “I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving.”
The President of the United States awarded her the President’s Volunteer Action Award and she was the subject of the movie “Mothers Against Drunk Drivers: the Candy Lightner Story”.
小題1:One of the purposes of MADD was to______ .
A．make the public aware of the danger of drunk driving
B．fight against the drunk hit-and-run drivers on the road
C．make new laws against crimes caused by drinking
D．warn people not to drink alcohol while driving
小題2:which way didn’t Ms. Lightner use to achieve her MADD’s goals?
A．Talking on major TV shows.
B．Giving a talk to businessmen.
C．Applying for a job with the government.
D．Giving suggestions to the US Congress.
小題3:We can learn from the passage that______.
A．the drunk driver had not been caught
B．drunk driving didn’t receive enough attention before MADD
C．Candy Lightner played a leading role in a film
D．MADD didn’t get much support from society
小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Ways to prevent drunk driving
B．Purposes of founding MADD
C．New law against drunk driving
D．Candy Lightner and her MADD

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

China Daily: As China comes down from a travel rush during the seven-day holiday for National Day, people called for a return of the Labor Day Golden Week holiday as a way to ease(緩解) the travel peak.
By Friday, 79 million passengers were expected to have used the railways up about 8 percent over last year. Waterways had shipped around 2 million, a rise of about 17 percent on last year, www. cntv. cn, the website of China Central Television, said on Saturday.
As large numbers of tourists swarmed scenic spots around China, it caused huge crowds and many complaints.
The Forbidden City in Beijing has long been a big draw for travelers. On Tuesday alone, the museum reported, it received more than 180,000 visitors, about six times higher than a regular day.
According to China Central Television, restless visitors demanded their money back from the tourism committee, and police were sent to help deal with the problem.
The Beijing-HongKong-Macao expressway, the Shanghai-Kunming expressway and the route from Beijing to Kunming saw large increases in traffic on Saturday, according to www. cntv. cn.
“As there are only two long holidays in the country and paid leave is not well carried out by employers（雇主）, people have limited chances for travel”, Dai Bin, the director of China Tourism Academy, said in a report by Beijing Times on Saturday.
“The travel rush during the ‘Golden Week’ holidays happens because people do not take long journeys during shorter holidays”, said Liu Simin, a researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences, in a report by Beijing Times on Saturday.
Liu said that now the most important task is to ease the pressure from the huge numbers of tourists. When the Labor Day Golden Week holiday came to an end in 2007, a chance to travel was reduced.
In 2008, the government shortened the Labor Day Golden Week holiday, usually lasting from May 1 to May 7, to three days and added three other short vacations to the list.
小題1:The Labor Day Golden Week holiday was shortened to __________________.
A．one dayB．two daysC．three days D．four days
小題2:The underlined word “swarmed” in the third paragraph probably means “_______”.
A．crowded into B．leftC．escaped from D．planned to go to
小題3:Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．People called for a return of the Labor Day Golden Week holiday.
B．The museum reported it received more than 180,000 visitors during the holiday.
C．Now the most important task is to ease the pressure from the huge numbers of tourists.
D．There are only two long holidays in the country.
小題4:What is the passage mainly about?
A．Seven-day Golden Week Holiday sees huge crowds on popular tourists spots
B．The problem during the seven-day Golden Week Holiday.
C．Travel complaints.
D．The pressure from the huge numbers of tourists.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped (圓頂形的) body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”
This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?
As you might already know, many islands in the sea are formed by volcanoes. There are numerous volcanoes under the sea. As the hot lava erupts and cools down, it piles up and forms the shape of a mountain. When the mountain “grows” to higher than the sea level, the part that’s above the water is what we call an “island”.
This is how the island was formed after the Pakistan earthquake, except that instead of a regular volcano, it was a “mud volcano” that brought about this island. Lava is not the only thing that’s locked under the Earth’s crust — there is also gas. When an earthquake happens and breaks part of the crust, the gas is released at an extremely high speed, pushing mud up to the surface, according to National Geographic.
But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands — and this 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan was strong enough. The island is about 20 meters high, up to about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long, nearly the size of a soccer field.
In fact, mud volcano islands aren’t new. This is the fourth island of this kind in the region since 1945. But those islands usually didn’t last long.
“It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” said Bill Barnhart, a researcher with the US Geological Survey. After all, “it’s just a big pile of mud that was on the seafloor that got pushed up”.
小題1:What is the article mainly about?
A．The disastrous effects of coastal earthquakes.
B．The difference between mud volcanoes and regular volcanoes.
C．How islands are formed by mud volcanoes.
D．The great natural wonders of Pakistan.
小題2:The underlined word “flabbergasted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to __________.
A．surprisedB．disappointedC．worriedD．curious
小題3:We can infer from the article that __________.
A．the new island near the coast of Pakistan actually took a few months to form
B．scientists still know little about different types of volcanoes
C．a(chǎn)nother earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan within a couple of months
D．not all volcanoes change the geological appearance of the Earth
小題4:According to the article, islands formed by mud volcanoes __________.
A．a(chǎn)re quite difficult to locate
B．usually disappear after a short period of time
C．a(chǎn)re formed by hot lava from volcanoes
D．used to be part of the Earth’s crust

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Russian President Putin named Time magazine's "Person of the Year"
　　Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine's’ "Person of the Year" on December 19th. 2007 for strengthening stability（穩(wěn)定）that made Russia a world power again.
　　The magazine recognized Putin's "extraordinary feat（技藝）of leadership in taking a country that was in a mess and bringing it stability，"said Richard Stengel，Time's managing editor.
　　The magazine noted that "Person of the Year" is not an honor or an endorsement（認(rèn)可）but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world.
　　Putin，who is 56 years old，is very popular in Russia，making a great effort to cause economy to come to life on revenue（收入）from oil and natural gas.
　　Putin recently supported vice-PM Dmitry Medvedev's presidential bid，and said he would accept Medvedev's offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected on March 2.
　　The Kremlin said Wednesday the Time recognition was seen there as an acknowledgement of Putin's role in helping Russia pull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s.
　　Others considered for "Person of the Year" included Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore and author J.K. Rowling.
　　This year's choice was a return to the magazine's tradition of picking an individual rather than last year's choice of "You"，which refers to anyone creating or using content on the World Wide Web.
　　Putin is the fifth Russian（or Soviet）leader to be named Person of the Year：Gorbachev，Andropov，Khrushchev and Stalin，who was named twice.
小題1:How did Putin try to make Russia a world power again？
A．By performing arms race.B．By making war.
C．By strengthening stability.D．By getting foreign help.
小題2:How many times have Russian leaders been named "Person of the Year" so far？
A．Five times.B．Six times.C．Seven times.D．Eight times.
小題3:Which of the following is Not True according to the passage？
A．Russia used to be in a mess.
B．Time always picks an individual to be the "Person of the Year".
C．Oil and natural gas caused Russia's economy to come to life.
D．Putin will leave office on March 2nd, 2007.
小題4:What is the author’s attitude towards the matter?
A．NegativeB．PositiveC．CriticizeD．Objective

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Just before midnight, six University of Cincinnati students were watching TV in an on-campus apartment when three men burst through the door. While one of the intruders pointed a gun at the group, the other two scooped up $4,400 worth of laptops, cell phones, video games and cash. Once they had what they wanted, the trio fled into the night.
Furious, the students chased down and tackled one of the burglars -- the one with the gun. In the struggle, it went off, and a bullet grazed a student's leg. His friends piled on the gunman and held him until police showed up.
By the next day, the injured young man was back in his apartment, and the suspect was in jail, charged with burglary, felonious assault and receiving stolen property. But how did the men manage to storm into an on-campus residence that November night in the first place? Simple: Students told police the building's main doors hadn't latched properly for days.
As parents confront ballooning college costs and shrinking acceptance rates, they are finding themselves with an even bigger, more basic problem: Which campuses are safe? Colleges seem like idyllic and secure places, and for the most part, they are. But ivy-covered walls can't keep out every bad element. This country's 6,000 colleges and universities report some 40,000 burglaries, 3,700 forcible sex offenses, 7,000 aggravated assaults and 48 murders a year. Other hazards -- fires, binge-drinking, mental-health problems -- are also on the rise.
Of course, that's not what parents and students see on America's serene campuses. There's a false sense of security, says Harry Nolan, a safety consultant in New York City. "Students see guards patrolling at night or a video camera monitoring the dorm entrance and think, nothing bad can happen to me," he explains. "People don't know that safety controls are often very lax."
小題1:What did the students do after the burglars fled into the night?
A．They stood there in surprise.
B．They ran after the burglars at once.
C．They waited for the police.
D．They phoned their teacher.
小題2:What does the underlined word “l(fā)atched” in the third paragraph probably mean?
A．watchedB．fixedC．lockedD．kept
小題3:What worries parents most except ballooning college costs and shrinking acceptance rates?
A．Their children’s grades in the universities or colleges.
B．Their children’s safety in the universities or colleges.
C．Their children’s behavior in the universities or colleges.
D．Their children’s relationship with classmates in the universities or colleges.
小題4:Which is right according to the passage?
A．Their children’s grades in are high.
B．Their children’s safety in the universities or colleges will be mornitored well.
C．The universities or colleges don’t pay much attention to the children.
D．The universities or colleges are not key educational departments in the local area.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There is no doubt that Apple is well aware of the increased competition in the market and could be in a hurry to put another device out there, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC Mobile Devices Technology and Trends. Given its history with product launches and business policy, though, Apple probably isn’t going to rush an iPhone release simply to put it on shelves, he said.
“If you’re Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), you’re thinking if you want to pay more attention to how to keep growing that bottom line and keep investors happy, or continue with the same approach from Apple, which is do what we can do and manage products and releases in the best way they can work for us. Apple usually does things in their own time ，and I’m having a hard time buying this May or June timeline.” Llamas told Mac News World.
While it，s probable that Apple is definitely in a testing stage for its next smartphone , consumers likely have a standard wait for the finished product, said Colin Gibbs, analyst at GigaOm Pro.
“It typically takes a year or longer to create a state-of-the-art smartphone, so no one should be surprised Apple is in the testing stages with the next iPhone. And while it’s possible that Apple could launch the next iPhone this spring or summer, I’m not expecting to see it until a little later in the year,” he told Mac News World.
When it does launch, though, it could be in a variety of colors, said Gibbs. “Apple has already tested the waters with releasing colored devices when it revamped(更新，翻新）its iPod line last fall, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe it would want the new twist with its smartphone, as well”.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the new iPhone becomes available in some new colors，’’ he said. “That could be done pretty cheaply ，and it would give Apple a new marketing angle.”
小題1:According to Ramon Llamas, Apple always______.
A．tries to pleases its investors
B．does things as planned
C．ignores the fierce market competition
D．rushes to put new products to market
小題2:As for the next iPhone, Colin Gibbs didn’t mention______ 
A．the stage of its being tested
B．the rough time of its being released
C．the wide variety of its color
D．the function to be improved
小題3:What’s Colin Gibbs ，attitude towards the next iPhone?
A．Disapproving.B．Casual
C．Objective.D．Doubtful.
小題4:This passage is presented in the form of______.
A．storiesB．commentsC．a(chǎn)dvertisementsD．debates

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The news that China bans time-travel TV dramas and movies got a lot of attention on the internet. Yet, time travel in China is a bit different from time travel in common sense．It is anything but science fiction and always goes backwards in time．There is minimum imagination involved--no ever-ending circles that mess up present and future, no advanced technology, no new social orders or new human forms from the twenty--whatever century, everything is a known historical fact when you travel through in China．
It is not even called time travel; rather the Chinese people refer it as time crossover．Time crossover has been an extremely popular theme for online novels for years(in fact , it is an indispensible part of China’s online culture), and didn’t get picked up by TV and the big screen until recent two years．Most of time-travel dramas and movies are adapted from popular online novels and like in other cases adaptations are never better than the original books．
The main plot of time-travel novels or TV dramas can be very well summarized in one sentence: from nobody to somebody．Time travel in China is more about escaping from the reality than about realizing wild dreams．
In China , there is no need of time machine either．People travel backwards in time via the possession of antiques presence at historical places of interest encounter of life-threatening accidents or simple a look into the mirror．Some time-travel novels even start with “I wanted to go back to history so much that one morning when I opened my eyes I was back．” Technology is not relevant at all．
Though China is not short of histories to go back to, people have their own preferences and it is pretty much a gender （性別）thing．If the main character is male then he usually goes back to special times in history when he is able to help build up or tear up a dynasty．A typical example is A Step Into the Past(尋秦記), the first time-travel TV drama in China, which tells the story of how a SWAT member helps to unite China and build up Qin Dynasty ．
On the other hand , female characters primarily go back to Qing Dynasty partly because Qing Dynasty has the most number of princes to fall in love with．Yongzheng Emperor is the favorite．As can be seen in Startling by Each Step（步步驚心）, a Qing time crossover classic, a girl goes back to Qing Dynasty and falls in love with Yongzheng Emperor and his brothers．
小題1:As for time travel in China, which of the following ideas does the writer agree to ?
A．it is complicated and can be classified into science fiction.
B．it is often based on the familiar story in history.
C．it sometimes messes up the times and social orders.
D．it always occurs in any times but the time before.
小題2:The writing purpose of this passage is to           .
A．a(chǎn)nalyze why the time -travel TV dramas are banned in China
B．introduce the characteristics of the time-travel TV dramas in China
C．show the difference between time travel in China and in other cultures
D．a(chǎn)dvise people to watch the time-travel TV dramas in China
小題3:It can be inferred from the passage that          .
A．China now has banned any forms of productions about time travel
B．a(chǎn)dapted from online novels, time-travel TV and movie productions enjoy more praise
C．the main character always follows a set pattern in the time-travel TV dramas in China
D．a(chǎn)ll the time-travel productions are about heroes and their success
小題4:The news mentioned in the very beginning is intended to         .
A．prove author’s viewB．introduce the topic
C．give an exampleD．work as a topic sentence

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India’s capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.
A Growing Problem
Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That’s why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.
The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program’s biggest partners. “Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year,” said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Lunch Is Served!
The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need — as long as they finish what’s on their plates.
小題1:The kitchen in Vrindaban supplies food to _____.
A．the poorB．the old
C．college students D．school children
小題2:Why is it difficult for children to go to school in India?
A．Because there are not enough teachers.
B．Because there are not enough schools.
C．Because they have to work to make money.
D．Because their parents refuse to send them to school.
小題3:Which of the following about the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is NOT true?
A．It is run by Narasimha Das.
B．It has been carried out for about 50 years.
C．It is to encourage children to go to school.
D．It is the largest school-lunch program in the world.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案