题目内容

In business, there's a speed difference: It's the difference between how important a firm's leaders say speed is to their competitive(竞争的) strategy(策略) and how fast the company actually moves. The difference is important regardless of industry and company size. Companies fearful of losing their competitive advantage spend much time and money looking for ways to pick up the speed.

In our study of 343 businesses, the companies that chose to go, go, go to try to gain an edge ended up with lower sales and operating incomes than those that paused at key moments to make sure they were on the right track. What's more, the firms that “slowed down to speed up” improved their top and bottom lines, averaging 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating incomes over a three-­year period.

How did they disobey the laws of business physics, taking more time than Competitors yet performing better? They thought differently about what “slower” and “faster” mean. Firms sometimes fail to understand the difference between operational speed (moving quickly) and strategic speed (reducing the time it takes to deliver value).Simply increasing the speed of production, for example, may be one way to try to reduce the speed difference. But that often leads to reduced value over time, in the form of lower­-quality products and services.

In our study, higher ­performing companies with strategic speed always made changes when necessary. They became more open to ideas and discussion. They encouraged new ways of thinking. And they allowed time to look back and learn. By contrast (相比而言), performance suffered at firms that moved fast all the time, paid too much attention to improving efficiency, stuck to tested methods, didn't develop team spirit among their employees, and had little time thinking about changes.

Strategic speed serves as a kind of leadership. Teams that regularly take time to get things right, rather than plough ahead full bore, are more successful in meeting their business goals. That kind of strategy must come from the top.

1.What does the underlined part “gain an edge” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. Increase the speed. B. Get an advantage.

C. Reach the limit. D. Set a goal.

2.The underlined part “the laws of business physics” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A. spending more time and performing worse

B. spending more time and performing better

C. spending less time and performing worse

D. spending less time and performing better

3.What can we learn from the text?

A. How fast a firm moves depends on how big it is.

B. How competitive a firm is depends on what it produces.

C. Firms guided by strategic speed take time to make necessary changes.

D. Firms guided by operational speed take time to develop necessary team spirit.

4.Which could be the best title for the text?

A. Improve quality? Serve better.

B. Deliver value? Plough ahead.

C. Reduce time? Move faster.

D. Need speed? Slow down.

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根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处得最佳选项,选项中有两个选项为多余选项。

Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit — and that can be a very annoying thing. __1.__ Read on for some techniques worth trying.

1.__2._

People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. _3.__ Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

2.Go for a walk.

Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain. __4.__

3.Learn something new.

Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. __5.__ Or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that processed meat may be carcipogenic(致癌). Do you still dare eat cancer-linked processed meat ? Here are some comments on the website.

Bill (Australia) I’d rather live a short, pleasant life than a long, unhappy one, denying(拒绝给予) myself tasty food just because some experts say it’s not healthy. We should all enjoy the one life we have ---if I had listened to every piece of health advice I would never go anywhere, eat anything or enjoy life in any way. So, I won’t change my habit. I am going to have bacon sandwich, glass of wine, burger, can of coke whenever I fell like it.

Tim (America) Is meat really as bad as smoking: I don’t think so. According to the WHO 34,000 people die worldwide per year because they eat processed meat. In 2012, 8.2 million people died of cancer worldwide. That means if you eat a lot of processed meat you have a chance of being among the 0.41 percent of people dying of cancer because of processed meat. I’ll take the chance.

Helen (Switzerland) The WHO doesn’t say that just one bite of meat causes cancer, it is rather saying that people should vary their diet. People who eat more meat often have other unhealthy habits. They usually eat fewer fruits and vegetables and they also often exercise less.

Van (China) Perhaps this report will make people consider becoming vegetarians ( 素食者). So for your health, the environment and future generations, it is not difficult; it just needs a change of attitude. There is a vast variety of other delicious food available to enjoy.

1.What if Bill has to change his habit ?

A. He’ll feel unhappy.

B. He’ll live a pleasant life.

C. He’ll go on a diet.

D. He’ll become a vegetarian.

2.What does Tim think about eating processed meat ?

A. Too risky. B. Fairly safe.

C. Popular worldwide. D. Very unhealthy.

3.What may be Helen a response to WHO’s warning ?

A. Caring little about it.

B. Eating whatever she likes.

C. Varying the diet and doing exercise.

D. Taking a diet without meat.

4.Who have the most similar viewpoints ?

A. Bill and Tim. B. Tim and Helen.

C. Helen and Van. D. Bill and Van.

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