Question

In his book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, the Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell explains how a trend can take many forms. It can be a general change in social behaviour, an idea or a fashion. However, why do some trends catch on and others not? What makes one particular brand of training shoes suddenly become the must-have product? How do people find out about trends and what makes people want to buy into them? Is it simply a question of keeping up with other people?

In his new work, Gladwell explore the moment when something becomes common and how products, ideas, messages and forms of behaviour spread. He looks at the reasons why trends are similar in the way they develop to outbreaks of disease, or medical epidemics （流行病）.

Epidemics, like trends, start in a very small way, maybe from a single person with a virus’ then spread very quickly until they take over the population and appear to be everywhere. Eventually, they will slow down gradually or die out suddenly. Gladwell shows how these changes happen not gradually but at one sudden moment.

Gladwell identifies three types of people who are influential in the development of these kinds of social epidemics:

Connectors are people in a community who have wide social circles. They know a lot of people and like to introduce people to each other. The people they know often come from a variety of social, cultural, professional and economic circles.

Mavens are people with a lot of knowledge or experts in a particular field. They wish to pass on their knowledge to others. Mavens collect and gather information so are the first to pick up on new trends.

Salesmen are people with charisma（魅力）. They have a “soft” influence over people rather than actual power. This means they are influential because people want to imitate them.

Overall, Gladwell’s book is a thought-provoking（引人深思的）read for anyone interested in the origins of trends. What’s more, he writes in a clear style so even the most difficult ideas are easy to understand.

1.What do we know about Gladwell?

A. He is a productive North American writer.

B. He has written many books on the subject of trends.

C. He thinks trends develop in the same way as illnesses.

D. He believes there are three types of people in the world.

2.According to the text, connectors       .

A. are very social persons

B. often follow others

C. know many people from the same circle

D. are knowledgeable and experienced

3.What do we learn from the text?

A. Salesmen try to control other people using their power.

B. Mavens quickly become aware of changes in fashions.

C. Connectors and Mavens try to get their information across.

D. Gladwell’s book is interesting but hard to understand for readers.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

【解析】这是一篇介绍说明类文章。Malcolm Gladwell在自己的书The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference中，阐述了对于新潮流的看法。他认为：潮流的发展方式和疾病或流行病的爆发是相似的。

1.细节理解题。由第二段中的“He looks at the reasons why trends are similar in the way they develop to outbreaks of disease, or medical epidemics （流行病）”可知，Gladwell认为潮流的发展方式和疾病或流行病的爆发是相似的。故C选项正确。

2.推理判断题。由第五段中的“Connectors are people in a community who have wide social circles. They know a lot of people and like to introduce people to each other. The people they know often come from a variety of social, cultural, professional and economic circles”可知，connectors有着广泛的社交圈。他们认识很多人，并且喜欢把人们介绍给彼此。由此可以推知，connectors是喜欢社交的人。故A选项正确。

3.推理判断题。由倒数第二段中的“Mavens collect and gather information so are the first to pick up on new trends”可知，mavens搜集信息，他们是第一个了解新潮流的人们。由此可以推知，他们很快可以了解时尚的变化。故B选项正确。