阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

I took home a briefcase full of troubles . As I sat down on that hot and damp  36  , there seemed to be no  37   to the problems hanging around in my brain . So I picked up a book , settled into a comfortable chair and  38  my own special therapy (疗法):  39  reading .

I  40  three or four hours on two short chapters of Personal History by Vincent Sheean—tasting each paragraph , staying over a sentence , a phrase , or even a single word , building a detailed mental picture of the scene . No longer was I in Sydney , Australia , on a sticky hot night . Enjoying every word , I  41  foreign journalist Vincent Sheean on a tour to China and another to Russia . I was  42  in the author’s world . And when finally I put it down , my mind was totally  43 .

Next morning , four words from the book—“take the long  44 ” were still in my mind . At my desk , I had a long-view look at my  45  . Once more , super-slow-reading had given me not only  46  but perspective (视角)， and helped me in my everyday affairs .

I discovered its  47  years ago . Before that , if I had been really interested in a book , I would  48  from page to page ,  49  to know what came next . Now , I decided , I had to become a miser （守财奴）with  50  and stretch every sentence like a poor man spending his last dollar .

I had started with the practical object of making my book last . But by the end of the second week I began to realize  51  I was getting from super-slow-reading itself . Sometimes just a particular phrase  52  my attention , sometimes a sentence . I would read it slowly, analyze it , read it again—perhaps changing down into an even  53  speed—and then sit for 20 minutes thinking about it before moving on . I was like a pianist  54  a piece of music , phrase by phrase , practicing it , trying to discover and  55  exactly what the composer(作曲家) was trying to convey.

1.A．day                         B．morning              C．afternoon            D．evening

2.A．solutions                 B．doubt                  C．wonder               D．courses

3.A．tried on                   B．applied                C．practiced             D．managed

4.A．fast                         B．super fast            C．super slow           D．slow

5.A．spent                       B．wasted                C．cost                    D．took

6.A．united                     B．attended              C．attracted              D．joined

7.A．found                      B．lost                     C．persuaded            D．accepted

8.A．broken                    B．discouraged         C．refreshed             D．awakened

9.A．view                       B．care                    C．walk                   D．distance

10.A．therapy                  B．problems             C．reading               D．work

11.A．difficulty               B．success                C．achievement        D．pleasure

12.A．use                        B．disadvantage        C．value                  D．importance

13.A．look                      B．read                    C．analyze               D．digest

14.A．worried                 B．eager                  C．glad                    D．anxious

15.A．books                    B．troubles               C．words                 D．music

16.A．how well               B．how long             C．how many           D．how much

17.A．caught                   B．missed                C．escaped               D．paid

18.A．faster                    B．higher                 C．lower                  D．slower

19.A．playing                  B．studying              C．writing                D．singing

20.A．realize                   B．recognize            C．repay                  D．understand

In business, there is a speed difference: It's the difference between how important a firms 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 choose 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 operation 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.
【小题1】 What does the underlined part “gain an edge ”in Paragraph 2 mean ? 

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

I took home a briefcase full of troubles . As I sat down on that hot and damp  36  , there seemed to be no  37   to the problems hanging around in my brain . So I picked up a book , settled into a comfortable chair and  38  my own special therapy (疗法):  39  reading .

I  40  three or four hours on two short chapters of Personal History by Vincent Sheean—tasting each paragraph , staying over a sentence , a phrase , or even a single word , building a detailed mental picture of the scene . No longer was I in Sydney , Australia , on a sticky hot night . Enjoying every word , I  41  foreign journalist Vincent Sheean on a tour to China and another to Russia . I was  42  in the author’s world . And when finally I put it down , my mind was totally  43 .

Next morning , four words from the book—“take the long  44 ” were still in my mind . At my desk , I had a long-view look at my  45  . Once more , super-slow-reading had given me not only  46  but perspective (视角)， and helped me in my everyday affairs .

I discovered its  47  years ago . Before that , if I had been really interested in a book , I would  48  from page to page ,  49  to know what came next . Now , I decided , I had to become a miser （守财奴）with  50  and stretch every sentence like a poor man spending his last dollar .

I had started with the practical object of making my book last . But by the end of the second week I began to realize  51  I was getting from super-slow-reading itself . Sometimes just a particular phrase  52  my attention , sometimes a sentence . I would read it slowly, analyze it , read it again—perhaps changing down into an even  53  speed—and then sit for 20 minutes thinking about it before moving on . I was like a pianist  54  a piece of music , phrase by phrase , practicing it , trying to discover and  55  exactly what the composer(作曲家) was trying to convey.

A．day B．morning   C．afternoon  D．evening

A．solutions       B．doubt       C．wonder     D．courses

A．tried on  B．applied     C．practiced   D．managed

A．fast B．super fast  C．super slow       D．slow

A．spent     B．wasted      C．cost   D．took

A．united    B．attended    C．attracted   D．joined

A．found    B．lost   C．persuaded D．accepted

A．broken   B．discouraged      C．refreshed  D．awakened

A．view      B．care   C．walk  D．distance

A．therapy       B．problems  C．reading     D．work

A．difficulty     B．success     C．achievement     D．pleasure

A．use      B．disadvantage    C．value D．importance

A．look     B．read  C．analyze     D．digest

A．worried       B．eager C．glad  D．anxious

A．books   B．troubles    C．words       D．music

A．how well     B．how long  C．how many D．how much

A．caught  B．missed      C．escaped     D．paid

A．faster   B．higher      C．lower       D．slower

A．playing       B．studying   C．writing     D．singing

A．realize  B．recognize  C．repay D．understand

I took home a briefcase full of troubles．As I sat down on that hot and damp  1 , there seemed to be no  2   to the problems hanging around in my brain ．So I picked up a book , settled into a comfortable chair and  3 my own special therapy （疗法）:  4  reading ．

       I  5  three or four hours on two short chapters of Personal History by Vincent Sheean—tasting each paragraph, staying over a sentence, a phrase, or even a single word, building a detailed mental picture of the scene．No longer was I in Sydney, Australia, on a sticky hot night．Enjoying every word, I  6  foreign journalist Vincent Sheean on a tour to China and another to Russia．I was  7  in the author’s world．And when finally I put it down , my mind was totally  8 ．

       Next morning , four words from the book—“take the long  9 ” were still in my mind ．At my desk , I had a long-view look at my  10 ．Once more , super-slow-reading had given me not only  11  but perspective （视角），and helped me in my everyday affairs ．

       I discovered its  12  years ago．Before that , if I had been really interested in a book, I would  13  from page to page,  14  to know what came next．Now, I decided , I had to become a miser （守财奴）with  15  and stretch every sentence like a poor man spending his last dollar．

       I had started with the practical object of making my book last．But by the end of the second week I began to realize  16  I was getting from super-slow-reading itself．Sometimes just a particular phrase  17  my attention, sometimes a sentence．I would read it slowly, analyze it , read it again—perhaps changing down into an even  18  speed—and then sit for 20 minutes thinking about it before moving on．I was like a pianist  19 a piece of music , phrase by phrase , practicing it, trying to discover and  20  exactly what the composer（作曲家） was trying to convey．

1．A．day                       B．morning              C．afternoon            D．evening

2．A．solutions               B．doubt                  C．wonder               D．courses

3．A．tried on                 B．applied                C．practiced             D．managed

4．A．fast                      B．super fast            C．super slow          D．slow

5．A．spent                    B．wasted                C．cost                    D．took

6．A．united                   B．attended              C．attracted              D．joined

7．A．found                   B．lost                     C．persuaded            D．accepted

8．A．broken                  B．discouraged         C．refreshed             D．awakened

9．A．view                     B．care                    C．walk                   D．distance

10．A．therapy               B．problems             C．reading                D．work

11．A．difficulty             B．success               C．achievement        D．pleasure

12．A．use                     B．disadvantage        C．value                   D．importance

13．A．look                    B．read                    C．analyze                D．digest

14．A．worried               B．eager                   C．glad                    D．anxious

15．A．books                 B．troubles               C．words                 D．music

16．A．how well             B．how long             C．how many           D．how much

17．A．caught                B．missed                C．escaped               D．paid

18．A．faster                  B．higher                 C．lower                  D．slower

19．A．playing                B．studying              C．writing                D．singing

20．A．realize                B．recognize          C．repay           D．understand