Conventional wisdom is a major barrier to innovation (创新) that threatens the survival of companies everywhere. It’s based on the assumption that old ideas will always work, so they shouldn't be challenged. While this may be a valid assumption in situations that don't change, it’s unlikely to hold true in a changing situation. In today’s rapid changing global environment, old methods often don’t work, and stubbornly using them can lead to major problems.
Most people seem to agree with conventional wisdom because it gives one a false sense of security. If everyone else believes it, then it must be true. Individuals who use conventional wisdom are certain that they are right, and being right is good. They want to continue using old ideas rather than take risks with changes that might not work. In 1977, Ken Olsen, co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), stated “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” Despite being a dominant leader in the computer industry, DEC no longer exists. People seem to forget that since innovation is a change, there can be no innovation without change. Unfortunately, conventional wisdom prevents leaders, followers and companies from changing and therefore innovating. If companies don’t innovate, but their competitors do, the future is likely to be problematic. Breaking from conventional wisdom has led to many of the most innovative companies and products in history across many industries, so it has a powerful effect on business success.
Ted Turner (founder of CNN) knew little, if anything, about the news business, but he knew it was inconvenient to watch news only at the dinner hour, as was common before CNN. Turner's solution was to create a cable channel dedicated to news 24 hours a day. The news establishment reflected conventional wisdom at the time, and predicted his idea would fail because no one wanted to watch the news all day. However, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that viewers don’t have to watch the news all day for the CNN to work. Viewers just have to watch when they want to get information. Due to conventional thinking, the critics failed to recognize the opportunity that was clear to Ted. They assumed that only what was familiar to them could work in the future.
Conventional wisdom prevents creativity, flexibility and risk-taking, so unconventional leaders enthusiastically break from it. To survive, thrive and maintain competitive advantage, companies must be flexible when reacting to change.
1.The author's attitude to conventional wisdom is .
A. disapproving B. approving
C. supportive D. indifferent
2.DEC has disappeared probably because .
A. the consumers didn’t like its products
B. the CEO stuck to the conventional ideas
C. the leaders lacked the sense of security.
D. the employees took many risks with changes
3.The founding of CNN is used as an example to prove .
A. missing opportunities could lead to failure
B. changing could contribute to business success
C. watching news at the dinner hour is convenient
D. conventional wisdom influences business success
4.What does the underlined part probably mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Rocket scientists can ensure the CNN works properly.
B. Most of the viewers don’t like to watch the news at work.
C. It’s necessary to understand when people watch the news.
D. It’s easy to know people needn't watch the news all the time.
5.The passage is mainly written to tell us that .
A. old methods are changing with time
B. opportunities lead to business success
C. conventional wisdom limits innovation
D. successful companies need wise leaders
You know the saying “You’re as young as you feel." Well, there may be some truth to that, according to researchers at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who studies how the mind influences the body, and colleagues reviewed the scientific literature for evidence that a person’s perception of their age might influence their health. They published their results in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
In one study that Langer led, 47 women had their hair done. The women who thought their new hairdos made them look younger did look younger to objective observers, who were shown before-and-after pictures. The women who thought they looked younger also showed a drop in blood pressure. Another study involving 4,421 men found that those who became bald (秀顶)at a relatively young age were more likely to get cancer and heart disease than men who did not. Similarly, another study involving 2,017 men found that those who lost their hair early were more likely to develop heart disease. “We believe that the feelings associated with being older than one’s real age account for some of these health outcomes,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers also described studies that found that women who had children later in life were more likely to be healthier and live longer than those who had children early, which they attributed to the fact that these mothers tend to spend more time with younger women. Similarly, people who many younger partners tend to live longer than those who marry older partners, according to other studies.
Taken together, the research “supports the general mind-body hypothesis (假说）that when a younger mind is prepared, a younger body can accompany it.” While the mechanism（机制） remains unclear, the researchers figured that suggestions associated with aging can “make one unconsciously or consciously aware of old age and set in motion a series of physiological processes that can have real effects on short-term and long-term health."
1.The underlined word “perception” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
A. view B. appearance
C. influence D. creation
2.Which of the following statements is true according to Paragraph 3?
A. Blood pressure is highly related to hairdos.
B. Feeling older than real age may be tied to health problems.
C. Getting cancer or heart disease is the cause of hair losing.
D. The women who love hairdos look younger than those don’t.
3.It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ________.
A. a younger mother is more likely to live longer
B. the younger one of a couple lives much longer
C. often staying with younger people can benefit people's health
D. people who want to live longer need to many young
4.The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A. Getting bald too early is not good for health
B. Women had better give birth later in their life
C. Feeling younger to a couple is very important to their health
D. People’s feeling of their age may have an effect on their own health
5.From which page of a newspaper may the passage be most likely taken?
A. Entertainment B. Health
C. Economy D. Politics
My daughter Kelly is a cautious person. She needs to warm up to situations, and is hesitant to try new things. When with close friends, she becomes a leader who laughs loudly and chants, “Girls rule, boys drool.” But when that comfort zone is not around her, she is shy and nervous.
This has been challenging for me at times. “Shy” is not a word that I think has ever been used to describe me. But this bas been a year of firsts for my girl that has filled her with a new sense of confidence. This year she moved to lap lane in swimming where she was preparing for a swim team. This year she learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And this year she completed her first kids’ triathlon (三项全能).
On Saturday, with a thunderstorm coming soon and my son’s birthday party later in the day, we all went out in the dark of the morning for Kelly to participate in her first triathlon. We practiced transitions from swim to bike to run with her, we got all the equipment she'd need, and we kept talking about the race. But as we waited the two hours for the older kids to finish before her turn, she held my leg a little harder and told me she loved me a few too many times. She was nervous but trying to keep it together.
And then it was her turn. From the second she jumped into the water, my heart soared. My daughter transformed into the most confident human being I had ever seen. She dominated that swim, crushed that bike ride and ran to the finish with the biggest smile on her face.
I can honestly say that I never felt so proud of someone in my entire life. It wasn’t because she did a sport or anything like that. It was because she was afraid of something and conquered that fear with confidence and a fire I hadn't seen before.
All day I would find myself just looking over at her and smiling. She might be wearing the finalist medal but I felt like I won that day. I won the chance to see my girl shine.
Shine on, sweet baby.
1.Kelly is nervous when .
A. boys are around her
B. she changes into a leader
C. she is away from her mom
D. situations are new to her
2.We can know from Paragraph 3 .
A. the race began in the early morning
B. the whole family gave Kelly support
C. Kelly was eager for her turn in the race
D. Kelly prepared for her brother’s birthday party
3.Seeing Kelly’s performance in the race, the author felt .
A. excited and proud
B. anxious and uneasy
C. worried and hesitant
D. curious and concerned
4.In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “conquered” probably means .
A. to defeat someone especially in a competition
B. to succeed in dealing with or control something
C. to become very popular or successful in a place
D. to take control of a country or a city and its people by force
5.In the ending paragraphs the author “felt like I won that day” because Kelly .
A. overcame the fear
B. expressed love to her
C. won the gold medal
D. took part in the sport
Plan on traveling around the USA this summer? If you need help in arranging the trip, or want ideas about where to go and what to do, there are a number of outstanding websites that can make your American dream come true
http://byways.org The National Scenic Byways Program covers 150 memorable roads. Some are natural routes, such as Route 1 along the California coast. Others focus on history (such as Route 6) or man-made attractions (the Las Vegas Strip). For each, you are provided with a map, told the route’s length and how long is allowed, and given detailed suggestions on sights and stop-offs. |
www.oyster.com This is the best website for reviews of hotels in US cities and resorts. The reviews are impressively thorough, covering locations, rooms, cleanliness, food and so on. Importantly, these are not promotional photos by the hotels, but more honest and real ones taken by inspectors. Search facilities are excellent from the 243 hotels reviewed in the New York, you can narrow down what you are looking for by locations, facilities and styles, or just pick out a selection of the best. |
www.101 usaholidays.co.uk This is the latest offering that features 101 holiday ideas to the USA. It's an impressively diverse selection, ranging from touring in the footsteps of Martin Luther King to a golfing break in Arizona and a cycling and wine-tasting trip in California's Napa Valley. Narrow down what you are looking for — whether by price, region, theme and who will be traveling — and then just the photos of the relevant holidays remain on view. It’s a really clever design. |
www.mousesavers.com Walt Disney World in California can make dreams come true, but the price is not affordable for the majority of people. So turn to long established Mouscsavers.com, dedicated to giving big discounts on tickets, hotels and dining at Walt Disney World. The website also offers general money — saving tips, suggestions for cheap and free stuff and brief coverage of other Florida and California theme parks. |
1.If you are going to the USA for the man-made attractions, you can drive along ________.
A. Route 1 B. Route 6
C. the Las Vegas Strip D. the California coast
2.Why are the photos of the hotels in US cities and resorts real in www.oyster.com?
A. Because there are qualifications of the authority.
B. Because they are taken by inspectors of the website.
C. Because there are comments of customers on each photo.
D. Because they were taken by customers who once lived there.
3.Travel ideas for a big family with kids and the old are available at ________.
A. www.oyster.com B. http://byways.org
C. www.mousesavers.com D. www.101usaholidays.co.uk
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. California’s Napa Valley is famous for its wine.
B. www.mousesavers.com is a newly established website.
C. The National Scenic Byways Program covers all the roads in the USA.
D. Discounted tickets of Walt Disney World are not available for everyone.
5.Where does the text probably come from?
A. A news report. B. A tourist brochure.
C. A culture journal. D. A health column.
Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They found out that it was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael _______ to his sister in Mommy’s tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.
The pregnancy progressed _______ for Karen. In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes ... every minute. But something serious _______ during delivery. Finally, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in serious _______. With siren (警报) howling in the night, the ambulance _______ the infant (婴儿）to the Intensive Care Unit at St Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee.
_______ inched by. The little girl got worse. The doctors told the parents, “There is very little hope.” Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery (墓地）about a burial plot. They had _______ a special room in their home for the new baby — now they planned a funeral.
After two weeks in ICU, it looked as if a funeral would come _______ the week was over. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. “I want to sing to her,” he said. Kids were never _______ in ICU. But Karen made up her mind to take Michael ________ they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.
She ________ him in an oversized suit and ________ him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse ________ him as a child, “Get that kid out of here now!” The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually ________ lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, saying in a ________ tone of voice, “He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!” Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny baby ________ the battle to live. And he began to sing. ________ the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray...” ________ the baby girl responded. The pulse rate began to ________ down and became steady.
“Keep on singing, Michael,” encouraged Karen. “You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away...”As Michael sang to his sister, the baby’s breath became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.
“Keep on singing, Michael.”“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping…” Michael’s little sister relaxed as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her.
Funeral plans were ________. The next day — the very next day — the little girl was well enough to go home!
The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love!
1.A. talked B. sang C. played D. whispered
2.A. quietly B. peacefully C. hopefully D. normally
3.A. arose B. raised C. rose D. aroused
4.A. situation B. place C. condition D. position
5.A. took B. sent C. carried D. rushed
6.A. The years B. The months C. The weeks D. The days
7.A. fixed up B. made up C. built up D. set up
8.A. until B. before C. after D. when
9.A. asked B. allowed C. admitted D. acquired
10.A. no matter B. even if C. whether D. as if
11.A. put B. dressed C. wore D. fit
12.A. marched B. forced C. hid D. followed
13.A. required B. replied C. recognized D. regarded
14.A. warm-hearted B. well-managed C. mild-mannered D. cold-blooded
15.A. firm B. strong C. hard D. tough
16.A. losing B. withdrawing C. quitting D. exiting
17.A. In B. On C. At D. Under
18.A. Finally B. Instantly C. Patiently D. Interestingly
19.A. calm B. quiet C. slow D. die
20.A. delayed B. banned C. abandoned D. abolished
more energy to my study instead of being crazy about Interact games, I would be sitting in a comfortable office now.
A. If I devoted B. Had I devoted
C. Would I be devoted D. Should I be devoted
