If U.S.software companies don't pay more attention to quality, they could kiss their business good-bye.Both India and Brazil are developing a world-class software industry.Their weapon is quality and one of their jobs is to attract the top U.S.quality specialists whose voices are not listened to in their country.
Already, of the world's 12 software houses that have earned the highest rating in the world, seven are in India.That's largely because they have used new methods rejected by American software specialists.For example, for decades, quality specialists, W.Edwards Deming and J.M.Juran had urged U.S.software companies to change their attitudes to quality.But their quality call mainly fell on deaf ears in the U.S -- but not in Japan.By the 1970s and 1980s, Japan was grabbing market share with better, cheaper products.They used Deming's and Juran's ideas to bring down the cost of good quality to as little as 5% of total production costs.In U.S.factories, the cost of quality then was 10 times as high: 50%.In software, it still is.
Watts S.Humphrey spent 27 years at IBM heading up software production and then quality assurance.But his advice was seldom paid attention to.He retired from IBM in 1986.In 1987, he worked out a system for assessing(evaluating) and improving software quality.It has proved its value time and again.For example, in 1990 the cost of quality at Raytheon Electronics Systems was almost 60% of total software production costs.It fell to 15% in 1996 and has since further dropped to below 10%.
Like Deming and Juran, Humphrey seems to be winning more praises overseas than at home.The Indian government and several companies have just founded the Watts Humphrey Software Quality Institute at the Software Technology Park in Chennai, India.Let's hope that U.S.lead in software will not be eaten up by its quality problems.
72.What country has more highest-rating companies in the world than any other country has?
A.India. B.The US. C.Brazil. D.Germany.
73.Which of the following statements about Humphrey is true?
A.He is now still an IBM employer.B.He has worked for IBM for 37 years.
C.India honors him highly.
D.The US pays much attention to his quality advice.
74.By what means did Japan grab its large market share by the 1970s and the 1980s?
A.Its advertising was most successful.
B.Its products were cheaper in price and better in quality.
C.The US hardware industry was lagging behind
D.Japan hired a lot of Indian software specialists.
75. What is the writer worrying about?
A.Many US software specialists are working for Japan.
B.The quality problem has become a worldwide problem.
C.India and Japan are joining hands to compete with the US.
D.The US will no longer be the first software player in the world
Many people know the names Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. However, most people don’t know the name of the man who invented the television, Philo Farnsworth.
Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906 and grew up on a potato farm. As a boy, he loved to learn about science, and he read a lot of science books. When he was only thirteen years old, he drew a picture of a machine that could send pictures as radio sends sounds. He got the idea from the way the potatoes were planted in the field. The potatoes grew in long lines, side by side. This made a shape in Philo’s mind. This shape helped Philo think of a way to send the TV picture onto a piece of glass. But he was poor, so Philo could not try to make his idea into a machine at that time.
Later, Philo worked at many different jobs. He worked with trees. He worked on broken radios. He worked on trains. He also worked as a street cleaner. At last, two rich men heard about his idea for television, and they gave him the money to make it. On September 7th, 1927, they watched Philo test the machine he built. When Philo turned on the machine, a small line could be seen on the glass. Philo said, “There you have it, electric television.”
Later, a big company, RCA, said they had made the first television. Philo had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to fight them. Finally, he won. Then, World War Two started in 1939. During the war, Philo spent a lot of money helping the US army instead of building up his television company. After the war, other bigger, richer companies started making televisions. In the end, Philo had to sell his company.Why does the author mention Bell and Edison at the beginning of the text?
A.To remember both of them. | B.To prove their wisdom. |
C.To introduce the topic of the text. | D.To explain their relationships. |
According to the text, how old was Philo when he finished his invention of TV?
A.27 years old. | B.21 years old. | C.33 years old | D.39 years old |
Philo Farnsworth got the idea for TV from ______.
A.the radio | B.science books | C.potato fields | D.a machine |
The underlined part “building up” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.
A.starting | B.selling | C.putting up | D.making bigger |
Which is the correct order of the following events?
a. Two rich men gave Philo money to do experiments.
b. Philo sold his own company.
c. Philo beat RCA in law.
d. Philo fixed broken radios.
e. Philo showed his invention to others.
A.d, a, e, c, b | B.e, d, c, b, a | C.d, c, e, b, a | D.a, c, b, d, e |
Everyone has got two personalities (性格) —the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control yourself, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, you often change your sleeping positions. The important position that best shows your secret personality is the one that you go to sleep.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by new ideas. You don’t like to make people unhappy, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a person who likes to keep secrets. You worry a lot and you’re always easily becoming sad. You never want to change your ideas, but you are satisfied with your life the way it is. You usually live for today not for tomorrow.
If you sleep on curled up (蜷缩), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and often protect yourself from being hurt, so you are very defensive. You’re shy and you don’t usually like meeting people. You like to be on your own.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced (平衡的) personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel worried, but you don’t often get unhappy. You always say what you think, even if it makes people angry.You may find the passage in_____.
A.a science magazine | B.a guide book |
C.a sports newspaper | D.a story book |
When does the sleeping position best show your secret personality?
A.In the daytime. | B.At the beginning of sleep. |
C.At night. | D.During the deep sleep. |
Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep _______.
A.on curled up | B.on her stomach |
C.on her back | D.on her side |
What does the word "defensive" mean in the passage?
A.易怒的 | B.攻击性的 | C.外向的 | D.有戒心的 |
What does the passage tell us?
A.Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping. |
B.Changing positions will cause sleeping problems. |
C.Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities. |
D.Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier. |
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Food
British people like good food, and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month. Fast food is also very popular---30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but 46% have fish and chips!
Sports
British people don’t do a lot of sports. Only 17% of people go swimming every week, about 9% go cycling and 8% play golf--- and only 6% of people play football (but 32% go to watch it).
Cinema and TV
Films are very popular in Britain, and about 60% of the young people go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day ---30 minutes more than women.
Holidays
British people love going on holiday, and have 56 holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren’t spent in the UK---27% are in Spain. 10% are in the USA, and 9% are in France. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn’t very good!
Presents
British people don’t send others expensive presents like other Europeans. They often send chocolates, wine and flowers of good quality. Which food could be more popular among British adults, a hamburger or fish and chips?
A.A hamburger. | B.Fish and chips. | C.Both. | D.Neither. |
Those who are interested in movies are _____.
A.men | B.women | C.young people | D.old people |
How long do British women spend watching TV every day?
A.Three hours. | B.Three hours and a half. | C.Two hours. | D.Two hours and a half. |
British people’s favorite country for a holiday is _____.
A.Spain | B.France | C.America | D.Australia |
What present don’t British people often send?
A.Chocolates. | B.Wine. | C.Flowers. | D.Money. |
BEIJING (Associated Press美联社)—China has a growing middle class, a tradition(传统) of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year.Selling educational toys should be easy.
While China may be the worlds biggest toy maker, many of the best are exported.Department stores here do not have enough high quality toys.It is said that the demand for educational toys is low.
A US company, BabyCare, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China.
BabyCare works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospitals. People who join the company’s "mother club" can get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost, if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and child care books.
"We want to build a seven-year relationship with those people," said Matthew J.Estes, BabyCare’s president."It starts during pregnancy (孕期), when the anxiety and needs are highest." BabyCare works on a one to one basis.Doctors, nurses, and teachers paid by BabyCare advise parents, explain toys that are designed for children at each stage (阶段) of development to age six.
BabyCare opened its first store in China last June in a shopping center in central Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo.It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years.
It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in.What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?
A.Educational toys and foreign toy markets. |
B.Problems with China’s toy market and education. |
C.Reasons for pushing sales of educational toys in China. |
D.Baby population and various kinds of toys made in China. |
.Which of the following is a fact according to the passage?
A.Club members buy BabyCare products for free child care advice. |
B.Doctors in Beijing help in making BabyCare products. |
C.Parents are encouraged to pay $ 18 for club activities. |
D.BabyCare trains Chinese doctors at no extra cost. |
BabyCare is developing its business in China by.
A.opening stores in Beijing hospitals |
B.offering 18-month courses on child care |
C.setting up children’s education centers |
D.forming close relationships with parents |
Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?
A.Mother’s Club in China. | B.BabyCare and Doctors. |
C.American Company Model. | D.Educational Toys in China. |
In the modern world more and more people meet the problem of identity.The most interesting example is that of a so – called “banana”, which refers to an American who has an Asian face but holds Western values.
In Shanghai, there now live a group of people from abroad.They look no different from the locals and speak fluent Chinese or even Shanghai dialect, but when it comes to writing Chinese characters, they are almost illiterate(文盲).Jack is such an example.He never learned to read or write Chinese characters, which he finds mysterious and difficult.From time to time, he files to the US as he does not feel Shanghai is where he comes from.“But when I am in the States, I feel that’s not my home either,” he said.
At De Gaulle Airport in France, there is a Swiss man who has been living in the waiting – room for a long time because he lost h is passport during his travels.He was refused entry into several countries.But when he was eventually allowed to return to Swizerland, he refused to leave the airport.His reason was very simple—“I am sure who I am.I need no acknowledgement from others,” he said during an interview.For th is reason he was honored by the Western media as “the Hero of identity.”
As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the problem of identity becomes more serious.In a virtual world, people can have different addresses registered with different names.In the Internet chat room, even one’s gender(性别) is hard to determine.It seems that in the glohal village, people are saying hello every day to each other without knowing whom they are talking to.
What will be the next crisis(危机) of identity? With the development of cloning technology, it might be: who is the real “I”?What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The importance of identity. |
B.The crisis of identity. |
C.Differences between Eastern and Western cultures. |
D.Difficulty in living in foreign counties. |
The Swiss man had to live in De Gaulle Airport in France because.
A.he needed to board a plane at any time
B.he couldn’t afford to live in a hotel
C.he needed others acknowledgement
D.he couldn’t prove who he was
65.A “banana” in the passage is in fact an.
A.American traveling to Asia B.American keeping Eastern culture
C.American born in Asia D.America – born AsianWe can infer from the passage that the author believes.
A.there will be more problems relating to identity in the future |
B.Internet technology helps solve problems of identity |
C.only people traveling abroad have problems of identity |
D.people don’t need to worry about identity |