Why Doesn’t Anybody Copy Apple?
Apple’s products are the envy of the world. They have been spectacularly successful and are widely imitated, if not copied. The minute Apple crystallizes a product, everyone knows how to compete. This idea that the basis of competition is set by Apple and then the race is on to climb the path of improvement is unquestionable. When Apple releases a product that defines a category or dramatically changes the structure of an industry, it becomes obvious what needs to be built. But what I wonder is why everyone wants to copy Apple’s products but nobody wants to copy being Apple?
I can think of two reasons. Firstly, Apple is not worth copying because it’s not successful; secondly, Apple’s success cannot be copied because it is a magical process.
There is a great deal of evidence for the first hypothesis. The idea of Apple being successful is not something reflected in its stock price. Being valued lower than the average company in the S&P（标准普尔）500 indicates that to whatever degree Apple was successful in the past, it’s not seen by the vast majority of observers as successful in the future. Why should one bother copying Apple if it results in being punished with a low valuation? If one works really hard at innovation and then that innovation becomes commoditized（商品化）very quickly, why should one bother?
When innovation practitioners are asked what makes Apple successful,the answers regarding the cause of this success border on the mythical.The climax of this hypothesis is the “chief-sorcerer”theory of success which places one magician,like Steve Jobs,in charge of casting all the right spells（符咒）
What about Apple’s own opinion of what makes it tick? Tim Cook refers to a great team and integration of hardware, software and services as unique Apple advantages. It’s a better explanation. Integration is something that can take a long time, but it is possible with great effort. A few companies are starting to make moves in that direction, but efforts are half-hearted. There is no “move the Earth” panic to become an integrated company from Samsung, Google or Microsoft.
My own suspicion is that Apple is more aware of what makes it special than it lets out. However, as Tim points out, it’s not a formula. It’s complex, it’s subtle, but it’s not magic. It’s a process that requires a degree of faith and courage. When a new product of Apple comes out, often it ______.
| A．starts a revolution of an industry |
| B．ruins an industry dramatically |
| C．puts itself in an unbeatable position |
| D．is soon overtaken by imitated products |
According to the passage, other companies don’t “copy being Apple” because ______.
| A．Apple is not a successful company |
| B．they have no access to relevant resources |
| C．it’s hard to find a magician like Steve Jobs |
| D．being Apple takes more than time and efforts |
We can infer from Para.5 that ______.
| A．other companies are dedicated to integration |
| B．Apple itself is fully aware of its unique advantages |
| C．Apple will hold the leading position in this industry |
| D．other companies don’t have a great team as Apple does |
What does the author think of Tim Cook’s statement?
| A．Doubtful | B．Acceptable |
| C．Unbelievable | D．Disappointing |
Enough sleep is important to health. The amount of sleep needed depends on the age of the person and the conditions in which sleep takes place. The young may need more sleep than the old, but usually eight hours are enough for the health of grown-ups. Some can do with less than this amount, but others may need more. Every person knows his own need. It is then a matter of good judgment(判断) to satisfy his need. Sleep should always be enough to make one bring back his strength and get ready for a day’s work.
Fresh air is necessary to sound sleep. It is not without reason for some people to think that it is practicable to sleep in the open air. When one can keep himself warm, out-of-door sleeping probably gives the body its most complete relaxation(松弛).
Ability(能力) to sleep is largely a habit. The conditions referred to only lead to sleep. Out-of-door exercises, a good habit of regular hours and the avoidance(避免) of late eating and worry, which are largely within the control of any person, are all helpful to sound sleep.
A bath at bedtime, neither hot nor cool but of body temperature, may be helpful to sleep. Sleep-producing drug(药) should never be taken except when suggested by a doctor.We know from the passageis enough for the health of a pupil.
| A．equal or more than eight hours | B．seven hours or so |
| C．Eight hours or so | D．Less than eight hours |
If you want to have a good sleep, is helpful.
| A．forming the habit of taking sleep-producing drug. |
| B．keeping good habits. |
| C．staying up late night. |
| D．eating something at bedtime. |
The amount of sleep a person probably needs has something to do with.
| A．his character | B．his control | C．his age | D．his habit |
Before going to bed, you’d better not.
| A．take a bath | B．do any housework |
| C．go out for relaxation | D．think a lot |
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances(环境) don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable(不可忍受的) pain and will likely make you quit(放弃) well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent(坚持不懈的), hard work won’t guarantee(保证) you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.What can we learn from paragraph 1?
| A．the meaning of success | B．the reasons for success |
| C．the standards of success | D．the importance of success |
Paragraph 2 tells us.
| A．how to succeed | B．why to set a goal |
| C．how to get good at something | D．how to practice |
That successful people suggest doing what one loves is based on the fact that .
| A．work makes one feel pain | B．one tends to enjoy his work |
| C．it takes a lot of time to succeed | D．one gives up his work easily |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Having a goal is important to success. |
| B．Luck, talent and family help to achieve success. |
| C．Being good is different from being great. |
| D．One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “Elevators are socially very interesting but often very awkward (尴尬的) places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle（三角形）. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act according to their decisions. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people, we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be understood as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact(接触) ,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．try to keep a distance from other people |
| D．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator? (The point in the chart refers to one person.)
The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．ignore | B．judge | C．put up with | D．make the best of |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．the lack of space |
| B．someone’s odd behaviors |
| C．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at hospital.
On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him spread butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned toast."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He took me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's really tired. And besides – a little burned toast never hurt anyone!"
You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. This good quality is the base of any relationship --- husband-wife or parent-child or friendship! As far as I’m concerned, I’m not the best engineer as expected. However, I have made my efforts. That’s enough.
So learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life. Burnt toast isn’t a deal-breaker! Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket but into your own.When his mother put the burnt biscuit on the table, the author _____.
| A．wanted to see how his father reacted |
| B．pretended not to notice it |
| C．pretended to enjoy the burnt food |
| D．stopped his father eating the burnt toast |
We can infer from the passage that the author’s mother .
| A．She was not good at cooking. |
| B．She hardly had time to cook at home. |
| C．She felt sorry for the burnt food. |
| D．She spent more time on breakfast than dinner. |
How did the author feel when his father said he loved burnt toast?
| A．Moved. | B．Puzzled | C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
According to the text, to get a happy life, one should______ .
| A．give help to people in need | B．try to be a perfect person |
| C．learn from one’s mistakes | D．learn to be understanding |
Finding true happiness is a universal aspiration (渴望). We all want it, but can we all have it? Genuine happiness is written all over our faces when we are truly contented, and, likewise, a forced smile does nothing to hide underlying sadness.
Believing that everyone can create their own lasting joy, Matthieu Richard has been declared the Happiest Man in the World. Richard earned his “happiest man” status after a series of laboratory tests in 2004. Richard has shared his thoughts on happiness with a worldwide audience. As an experienced speaker, he has explained his insights into happiness to everyone, from students to corporate groups. Looking inwards to find joy rather than relying on outer conditions, he believes, is the way to achieve well-being.
“It’s quite clear that the outer conditions are not enough. The way we interpret those outer conditions in our inner experience is what determines either a sense of well-being or misery. We love to go jogging for fitness and we do all kinds of things to remain beautiful, yet we spend surprisingly little time taking care of what matters most: the way our minds function. It’s the essential thing that determines the quality of our experience.” Besides this, Richard stresses that it is not what’s happening around us that makes us unhappy, but rather the way we choose to react to it.
The pursuit of happiness is becoming a modern obsession（痴迷）. As life becomes more complex, our ability to process our reactions to various outside influences comes under strain. “Genuine happiness” he says, “doesn’t mean pleasant feelings one after the other. It’s more like a series of qualities that we can develop as skills — like openness, genuine love, compassion, inner strength and inner peace.”Richard has been declared the Happiest Man in the World _______.
| A．because he has shared his thoughts on happiness with a worldwide audience |
| B．after he has explained his insights into happiness to everyone |
| C．after a series of laboratory tests |
| D．because he tries his best to achieve happiness and well-being |
According to Richard, what is the best way to achieve well-being?
| A．Interpreting those outer conditions in our inner experience. |
| B．Looking inwards to find joy rather than relying on outer conditions. |
| C．Spending little time taking care of what matters most. |
| D．Reacting to various outside influences in the modern world. |
What determines the quality of our experience?
| A．The way our minds react to outer conditions. |
| B．Insights into happiness that we hold. |
| C．The constant pursuit of happiness in our life. |
| D．Those outer conditions affecting our happiness. |
How can we pursuit happiness?
| A．Go jogging for happiness. |
| B．Do everything to remain beautiful. |
| C．Make sure that our minds are functioning normally. |
| D．Develop necessary qualities. |