When Mary Barra took the wheel at General Motors in January she inherited a company in good shape. Five years after bankruptcy(破产), its profits were beyond expectations and its share price was rising. But the new boss's to-do list was long: fixing GM's loss-making European arm, keeping up momentum(势头) in China amid signs of a slowdown and giving new life to the product line. The former CEO, Dan Akerson, warned her that she would also face unexpected challenges. The first has arrived sooner than she might have expected.
What appeared to be a routine recall(召回) of about 800,000 older models, linked to a faulty ignition(点火) switch, has turned out to be anything but. The number of cars recalled has leapt to more than 2.6 million. The company's clumsy handling of a safety problem that first became apparent a decade ago is now linked to the deaths of at least 13 motorists.
Called before Congress to answer for GM's failings Ms Barra said she was “deeply sorry” but insisted that the post-bankruptcy “new GM” was not like the “old GM”, which had failed to deal with the ignition switches for years. Politicians and the public alike want to know how such a problem could have remained unaddressed for so long.
Cars are becoming ever more complex machines, with thousands of mechanical and electronic parts. Last year it happened to 22 million vehicles in America, compared with 18 million in 2012. In fact, GM was one of only three brands that recalled fewer vehicles than it sold. Minor problems, like squeaks(吱吱响) or rattles(卡嗒响), that do not affect safety are more common still. They may be fixed at a routine service; the owner may never know. The growing number of recalls is proof to an improving system for picking up faults.
But it is very complicated. Dealers must record replacements of parts under warranty(保修). The carmaker needs to spot the trend, recognize it as a problem and then determine whether or not it is a design fault that requires an extensive replacement. It relies on accurate recording of every warranty replacement in every region. This system appears to have broken down at “old GM”. Ms Barra needs to find out why.
The core problem is a widely used ignition switch that has a tendency to slip from the “on” position to “off” if a driver uses a heavy key-chain or bounces down a rough road. An improvement was made in 2008 to prevent the problem, which can lead to the engine shutting off, disabling the airbags. But despite a growing list of crashes and deaths, GM failed to order a recall for a component that would have cost a few dollars at most.
This is odd. Most carmakers want to identify and fix problems speedily despite having to bear the cost of buying and fitting a new component. A small part can do great harm, if bad publicity leads to reputational collapse, lost sales and law suits, including heavy penalties. Appearing to put profits before safety is an invitation to battering a firm's shares, as GM has discovered.
So far Ms Barra has handled the situation well. She seems to have acted as soon as she found out something was wrong. GM has appointed a worldwide safety president to cut through the process that may have delayed investigation and action. And in a sweeping housecleaning, GM has recalled another 2 million vehicles in America alone. GM looks set to accept moral, if not legal, responsibility. The terms of its exit from bankruptcy give immunity to lawsuits for injuries arising beforehand. But GM is likely to compensate survivors’ and victims' families anyway.
It is not yet clear how much of a hammering GM will take. But hours before Ms Barra's meeting with Congress, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued a greatly desired “Top Safety Pick” for the new Chevrolet Malibu, one of a growing number of well-received cars from GM. When Mary Barra took office, there was plenty more room for GM's improvement in that ________.
a. the development of Chinese market appears to be slowing down
b. former bosses have failed to fix GM's loss-making European arm
c. some car models lack appeal in the market
d. Mr. Akerson has left some challenges for her to handle
e. GM’s management teams are made up mainly of men
| A． a, b, and e | B． b, c, and d | C． a, b, and c | D．a, c and d |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Problems like squeaks or rattles are frequent reasons for recalls. |
| B．Recalls are not uncommon in the auto industry. |
| C．Car companies welcome recalls to demonstrate improved products and services. |
| D．Minor problems may be fixed at a routine service without the owners’ knowledge. |
Mary Barra has carried out the following strategies to manage the crisis and quiet the critics EXCEPT that ________.
| A．as soon as she learned about the problem, she acted without hesitation |
| B．she faced facts and apologized sincerely |
| C．she took the legal responsibilities for their previous mistakes |
| D．she appointed a new president for global safety for GM |
What does the underlined word “battering” in paragraph7 probably mean?
| A．Benefiting. | B．Regulating. | C．Purchasing. | D．Damaging. |
What can we infer from GM's new Malibu being awarded “Top Safety Pick”?
| A．GM's new model Malibu is specially designed to solve ignition problems. |
| B．GM products are gaining more and more popularity around the world. |
| C．GM seems to be on the road to saving itself from mistakes. |
| D．GM has worked out a solution to the broken-down recall system. |
Looking for a new weight loss plan? Try living on top of a mountain. Mountain air contains less oxygen than air at lower altitudes, so breathing it causes the heart to beat faster and the body to burn more energy. A handful of studies have found that athletes training at high altitudes tend to lose weight. Doctor Florian Lippl of the University Hospital Of Ludwig-Maximilians-university Munich wondered how the mountain air would affect overweight individuals if they weren’t doing any more physical activity than usual.
Lippl and his colleagues invited 20 overweight men to an environmental research station about 300 meters below the summit of Zugspitze, a mountain around 2,970 meters near the Austrian border. They were allowed to eat as much as they liked. The men also gave blood so that researchers could test for hormones linked to appetite and fatness. At the end of the week, the men, whose mean weight starting out was 105kg, had lost on average about l.5kg. The men’s blood pressure also dropped, which the researchers believed was due to weight lost.
Exactly what caused the weight loss is uncertain. Loss of appetite is common at higher altitudes, and indeed the men ate significantly less than usual—about 700 calories fewer per day. Lippl also notes that because their consumption was being recorded, they may have been more self-conscious about what they ate. Regardless, eating less accounts for just l kg of the l.5 kg lost, says Lippl. He thinks the increased metabolic (新陈代谢的) rate, which was measured, also contributed to weight loss but cannot separate the different effects with the given data.
Appetite loss at high altitudes could certainly be key, notes Damian Bailey, a physiologist at the University of Glamorgan, UK, who recently lost 11 kg during a 3-month expedition to the Andes in Chile.
Unfortunately, for the average person there is no treatment that can resemble living at high altitude, says Lippl. The only alternative is hypobaric chamber, which exposes subjects to low oxygen and isn’t practical as a treatment. He says, half- jokingly, “If fat people plan their holidays, they might not go to the sea, but maybe to the mountain.”What contributes the most to one’s heart rates according to the first paragraph?
| A．our bodyweight | B．the consumption of energy |
| C．the rates of our breathing | D．the amount of oxygen provided |
Hormones are tested in the research because they can affect ______.
| A．one’s bodyweight | B．one’s blood pressure |
| C．one’s way of living | D．one’s metabolic rate |
What was found about the 20 overweight men in the process of the research?
| A．They controlled what to eat self-consciously. |
| B．They took in much fewer calories than usual. |
| C．They lost appetite because of lack of physical activity. |
| D．They were provided with a healthier diet than before. |
Why does Damian Bailey agree with the idea of appetite loss at high altitudes?
| A．He experimented with the new weight loss plan in the Andes. |
| B．He found no other reasons for his loss of weight in the Andes. |
| C．He researched the related subject in the Andes. |
| D．He lost much weight in the high altitude Andes. |
In what manner does Lippl talk about the way of losing weight by spending holidays on mountains?
| A．casual | B．inaccurate | C．uncertain | D．confident |
_____Susan is a big eater. She usually has a lot at every meal. So she wonders whether she could only eat less for the first meal of a day to lose weight.
_____Tina is a fat girl who doesn’t like exercise much. She just wants to lose weight by eating less but not doing exercise.
_____Maggie is a busy office lady. She usually has to work overtime every day. So she could only have her dinner late at night. She wants to be slimmer so that she could be much more attractive.
_____ Judy is a fashionable designer. She hopes to have a slim shape as models. She usually doesn’t have any regular meal, but has some snacks when she is hungry.
| A．If you eat less for breakfast, you have a lower chance of losing weight. Breakfast is important. It gives the body sufficient energy to sustain itself through the morning, and it also stimulates metabolic (新陈代谢) activity in the body. Metabolism is what consumes fat and what makes us slimmer. So, don’t forget to eat something for the breakfast. |
| B．If you ate your last meal right before going to bed, the calories accumulated from this meal could be twice the amount accumulated from a same meal if you ate it another time during the day. |
| C．Many people stop doing exercise when they eat less. When you do this, your body will burn less fat. So even if people take in less calories, they get rid of less too. The balance is then unchanged. |
| D．People gain fat not from the food they eat, but from the number of calories in the food. For example, a bunch of vegetables has just one tenth the calories contained in a small bit of chocolate cake. So make sure you have adequate regular meals, but firmly say no to various snacks, milk tea or even instant noodles. |
When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but noting was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last. What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?
| A．a far better artist | B．a much more famous person |
| C．a much stronger person | D．a far more gifted artist |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by.
| A．back injuries | B．her bent spine | C．polio | D．the operations she had |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the.
| A．1930s | B．1970s | C．1950s | D．1940s |
What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?
| A．Devotion | B．Encouragement | C．Worry | D．Sympathy（同情） |
I moved to the small, busy town of Edison in New Jersey six years ago. It was during the second term of my fifth grade. My parents got new jobs and higher income, so they decided it was time to move from Woodbridge to a better, more educational town.
In the US, it is unnecessary to take a test to get into a “good” middle or high school. You just attend the school close to where you live. So, many parents will think about the quality of the local school when they decide to buy a new house. My parents did the same. We finally chose Edison mainly because of the high quality of its school.
In New Jersey, an area with a good school usually means a concentration of Asian people. There are about 300 students in our school. 55% are Asians and just under half of that are Chinese. There are so many Chinese people nearby that we even have our own Chinese school.
Edison is an old town, just like thousands of others in the United States. However, I have treated it as my hometown. That’s where I spend much of my youth, and the memories there can’t be moved anywhere else.Why did the writer’s parents move to Edison?
| A．Because they were born there. | B．Because it was a better educational town. |
| C．Because the writer began his fifth grade. | D．Because the writer didn’t need to take a test. |
How many students are from Asia in the writer’s school?
| A．About 80. | B．About 160. | C．About 220. | D．About 300. |
What does the underlined expression “a concentration of” mean in Paragraph 3?
| A．None of. | B．The whole of | C．A large number of | D．A small number of |
Why can’t the writer forget Edison?
| A．Because he regards it as his hometown. | B．Because his parents got new jobs there. |
| C．Because there are many Asians there. | D．Because it is in the state of New Jersey. |
The following diaries were written by an Australian boy named Tony. He was on holiday with his family in South Asia.
| 27 December, 2007 This morning I read an email about a boy in hospital looking for his father and I finally thought of a way to help. I took my camera to the hospital and took photos of the boy. Now I’m going to set up a website on my dad’s computer, upload the photos and add his name and information of the hospital. Hopefully it will help! |
2 January, 2008 At the end of the trip, I learned that the boy found his father! His Swedish uncle saw the email on my webpage and arranged the meeting. Is it my website that has made such a success? But at least I’ve done something. We’re returning home tomorrow but I will remember the experience and tell my friends: No matter what we are. We can think of a way to help others. |
Tony thought of the way to ______.
| A．forget the experience | B．take photos of the travelers |
| C．set up a website for the hospital | D．help the boy find his father |
______ saw the email and photos on the webpage and arranged the meeting.
| A．The boy’s uncle | B．Tony | C．Tony’s father | D．The doctor |
Tony was more likely to be ______ in South Asia.
| A．living | B．studying | C．shopping | D．traveling |
It can be learned from the diaries that ______.
| A．people are willing to set up websites |
| B．Tony’s father worked in the hospital there |
| C．people can do something to help each other |
| D．Tony went there to look for his family members |