【1】 Ford
1 Ford's great strength was the manufacturing process--not invention. Long before he started a car company, he was a worker, known for picking up pieces of metal and wire and turning them into machines. He started putting cars together in 1891. Although it was by no means the first popular automobile, the Model T showed the world just how creative Ford was at combining technology and market.
2 The company's assembly line alone threw America's Industrial Revolution into overdrive (高速运转). Instead of having workers put together the entire car, Ford's friends, who were great toolmakers from Scotland, organized teams that added parts to each Model T as it moved down a line. By the time Ford's Highland Park plant was humming(嗡嗡作响) along in 1914, the world's first automatic conveyor belt could turn out a car every 93 minutes.
3 The same year Henry Ford shocked the world with the $5-a-day minimum wage scheme, the greatest contribution he had ever made. The average wage in the auto industry then was $2.34 for a 9-hour shift. Ford not only doubled that, he also took an hour off the workday. In those years it was unthinkable that a man could be paid that much for doing something that didn't involve an awful lot of training or education. The Wall Street Journal called the plan "an economic crime", and critics everywhere laughed at Ford.
4 But as the wage increased later to daily $10, it proved a critical component of Ford's dream to make the automobile accessible (可及的) to all. The critics were too stupid to understand that because Ford had lowered his costs per car, the higher wages didn't matter--except for making it possible for more people to buy cars.
第 23 题 Paragraph 1_________
A.Ford's opponents
B.The assembly line
C.Ford's great dream
D.The establishment of the company
E.Ford's biggest contribution
F.Ford's great talent
【正确答案】： F
第 24 题 Paragraph2_________
【正确答案】： A
第 25 题 Paragraph 3_________
【正确答案】： E
第 26 题 Paragraph 4_________
【正确答案】： C
第 27 题 The assembly line made it possible to_________
A.criticized by the media
B.the low wage in the auto industry
C.their lower prices
D.produce cars in large numbers
E.the 8-hour shift
F.combined technology and market
【正确答案】： D
第 28 题 Ford was the first to adopt _________
【正确答案】： E
第 29 题 Ford's cars became available to ordinary people thanks to_________
【正确答案】： C
第 30 题 Ford's higher-wage and lower-cost strategy was strongly_________
【正确答案】： A
【2】 Radio and Television
There are few homes in Britain today that do not have either a radio or television set. Both of them have become an essential part of our life, keeping us informed of the news of the day, instructing us in many field of interest, and entertaining us with singing, dancing and acting.
Marconi, the Italian inventor who gave us the radio, probably didn’t realize what effects his great invention would have on the world in the years to come. Radio has, perhaps, had as much influence on the world as any other communications device. Events of universal interest can be reported to the entire globe a few seconds after they happen. Explorers in remote areas, ships at sea, even astronauts circling the earth are able to keep in touch with civilization by means of radio.
Television is another major instrument of communication, permitting us to see as well as to hear the performer. Since its appearance, TV has had a tremendous effect on the daily life of people everywhere.
Improvements of all kinds are constantly being made in television so that reception will be as close to perfect as possible. Perhaps the most recent advancement of significance has been "Telstar". The specially-equipped space capsule, orbiting the globe, make it possible for the entire world to be closer than ever before. Now a family in Manchester can watch on TV a football match in France , a ski tournament in Norway, or a parade in Japan as these events are actually happening.
EXERCISE：
1. Paragraph 1____________.
2. Paragraph 2____________.
3. Paragraph 4____________.
A) The popularity radio and TV in Britain
B) The invention of the radio
C) The latest development of TV
D) The importance of the radio
4. In today’s world radio and TV have become ___________.
5. People make constant efforts to improve __________.
6. A telstar is a satellite that _____________.
7. With the help of the telsar, events can be reported to listeners and viewers and
almost _____.
A) at the same time as they occur
B) a basic necessity of life
C) sends out signals all the time
D) travels around the globe
E) the reception of their TV sets
答案：1. A 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. E 6. D 7. A
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