Why Doesn't Anybody Copy Apple?
Apple’s products are the envy of the world. They have been amazingly successful and are widely imitated, if not copied. The minute Apple launches 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 assumption. 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, and 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（革新）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 fabulous part of this assumption is the " chief-sorcerer" theory of success which places one magician, like Steve Jobs, in charge of casting all the right spells．
What about Apple's own opinion of what makes it tick? Tim Cook refers to a great team and integration（一体）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" feeling 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．ruins an industry dramatically |
| B．puts itself in an unbeatable position |
| C．starts a revolution of an industry |
| 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 an extraordinary team as Apple does |
What does the author think of Tim Cook's statement?
| A．Neutral. | B．Disappointing. | C．Indifferent. | D．Acceptable. |
Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory. More importantly, the work provided the first solid indication of how alcohol works to protect the heart.
In the study, researchers from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvad Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attacks with those of healthy people of the same age and sex. The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are. The apparent source of the protection ： those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins (脂蛋白），the so called good cholesterol (胆固醇），which is known to prevent heart disease.
As evidence has mounted (增长），some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases. But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone. The risks of teetotal ling (绝对戒酒）are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles—not to mention violent behavior and traffic accident. Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer. Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose(吸收剂量）of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won't be able to take a doctor's prescription to the neighborhood bar or liquor store. The report mentioned in the first paragraph indicates __________.
| A．the way in which alcohol can help the heart |
| B．that a couple of cocktails daily can help stop heart problems |
| C．why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one's health |
| D．that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misled |
Experiments showed that nondrinkers had __________.
| A．larger amounts of good cholesterol |
| B．smaller amounts of good cholesterol |
| C．higher blood pressure |
| D．lower blood pressure |
According to the passage, moderate drinking __________.
| A．is recommended by most doctors for heart patients |
| B．should be allowed on prescription |
| C．is still not medically advisable |
| D．is not related to liver problems |
The main theme of this passage is __________.
| A．the change in recent drinking habits |
| B．the connection between cancer and alcohol |
| C．whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers |
| D．whether alcohol may be good for one's health |
Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine's Day. One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire. According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of his army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join. Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.
A priest(牧师)named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people. Finally, Claudius found out Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint (圣人），and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to send one another greetings of many kinds.
February 14，Valentine's Day, is sweethearts, day, on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的）emotions.
People sometimes put their love message in a heart shaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子）. Words of letters may be written on the flower-covered card, or some-thing else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same ： " Will you be my Valentine?" Valentine was put in prison because __________.
| A．he secretly got married |
| B．he didn't serve in the army |
| C．he married many young people secretly |
| D．he broke the rule |
This passage mainly tells us about __________.
| A．how Valentine died |
| B．the Emperor of Rome |
| C．how Valentine's Day is celebrated |
| D．the origin of Valentine's Day |
February 14 is chosen as Valentine's Day because __________.
| A．lovers express their tender emotions on this day |
| B．people want to remember Valentine |
| C．people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day |
| D．people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotions |
According to the rule，__________.
| A．no young men could get married unless they were old enough |
| B．young men could marry if they served in the army for several years |
| C．no one could get married without the emperor's permission |
| D．young men could many only in the army |
If you thought the Lantern Festival of China is just a day for family reunions and eating some yuanxiao, then, you are wrong. It is actually the Chinese carnival.
The Chinese traditional Lantern Festival, Yuanxiao Festival in Chinese, which is on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar and falls on Feb. 17 this year, is actually not just about getting together with family but also means a date that all people should cheer up and celebrate. It is an ancient Chinese carnival.
Cao Baoming, the vice president of Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society, said that the Yuanxiao Festival, also known as "Shangyuan Festival" and " Lantern Festival，" had become a popular folk custom during the Han dynasty more than 2，000years ago.
The festival is usually considered as the last peak of Spring Festival because people will start their life in the new year officially after the day. People of the whole country will cheer up to celebrate it and also they will pray that Heaven will offer them seasonable weather for a healthy harvest in the new year. Therefore, the custom of joining for celebrations at Yuanxiao Festival is widely spread among ordinary people.
Every year, when the day comes, people will go out of their own houses to the streets to look at various lanterns, guess lantern riddles and watch performances of Dragon Dances, Lion Dances, stilt-walking, fireworks show and so on. Some of those traditional custom and activities are national intangible cultural heritages now.
Actually, the Lantern Festival is not a single festival, and it only could be understood in the context of the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival eve is usually a night that people stay at home to wait for the coming of the new year. From then until the end of Lantern Festival, it is actually a whole process of people expanding their spaces of activities as well as interpersonal relation-ships. The Lantern Festival of China means __________.
| A．family reunions and eating some yuanxiao |
| B．a new starting of a year |
| C．reunions and celebration |
| D．saying good-bye between family members |
The Lantern Festival of China is considered as a new start of the year because __________.
| A．people will start their life in the new year officially after the day |
| B．people will separate each other to live after the day |
| C．there is no opportunity to reunite together again |
| D．there is no other festival to celebrate after the day |
On the Lantern Festival people all go out to __________.
| A．visit their friends and relatives |
| B．prepare for some lanterns |
| C．clean the streets and other places |
| D．guess Lantern riddles and watch various activities |
The activities on the Lantern Festival people do are the following except __________.
| A．dancing | B．fireworks show |
| C．stilt-walking | D．playing poker |
If there is one thing I'm sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a newspaper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives—the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic (基因）engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do—as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted (传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I'm pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read—sports and international news, etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media (媒体）. They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it's never really pleasant to read something just on a screen. What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Best Way to Get News |
| B．The Changes of Media |
| C．Make Your Own Newspaper |
| D．The Future of Newspapers |
In the writer's opinion, in the future，__________.
| A．more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news |
| B．newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer |
| C．newspapers will cover more scientific research |
| D．more and more people will watch TV |
What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
| A．Sports and international news. |
| B．A menu of important news. |
| C．The most important news， |
| D．What you are interested in. |
From the passage, we can infer __________.
| A．newspapers will win the competition among the different media |
| B．newspapers will stay with us together with other media |
| C．television will take the place of newspaper |
| D．the writer believe some media will die out |
Today most Chinese teenagers are happy to be favored by two parents and four grandparents in their families. But have you ever thought about how to take care of four to twelve old people when you grow up and get married? This could be a problem for most Chinese youths as China is entering a new stage of an aging society.
An aging society refers to one where 10 percent or more of its population is over 60. By the end of 2007，Chinese over 60 years old have made up 11. 7 percent of the nation's total population.
“ China is getting old before becoming rich，” said Cai Chuang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The population increase that has powered Chinese growth for three decades will give way over the next ten years to a rapid aging of the society. This will lead to weaker economic growth, because of a lack of labor resources.
As a result of the family planning policy, it is expected that the country's total working population will decrease after 2015.
China is not the only country getting old. More than 60 countries have become aging societies and one in three people in the European Union is a senior citizen.
However, experts said that China doesn't have a highly developed social security network to support the old. Social security is an insurance program protecting those in need, including the old, the disabled and others. An aging society is a society that __________.
| A．less than 10% of its population is over 60 |
| B．10% or more of its population is over 60 |
| C．there are four old people in a family |
| D．most of its population is over 60 |
If China enters an aging society，__________.
| A．there will not be enough labor resources |
| B．the family planning policy will be ended |
| C．everyone needs to take care of four to twelve old people |
| D．China will have a highly developed social security network |
What does Cai Chuang mean by saying “ China is getting old before becoming rich. ” ？
| A．China will be an aging society, then be a developed country. |
| B．China will be a rich country before being an aging society. |
| C．An aging society will affect Chinese economy development. |
| D．China will stop developing because of its aging problem. |
The passage mainly talks about __________.
| A．an aging society |
| B．Chinese social problem |
| C．family planning policy |
| D．aging problem in China |