2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材3
The Founders of Rolls-Royce (I) Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it. -- Henry Royce Rolls-Royce is any of the large luxury cars manufactured by the British company Rolls-Royce. Many people recognize them by the small metal statue on the front of every Rolls-Royce. The company was founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce, who came from very different backgrounds with different educations and, until shortly before they met, their careers were going in very different directions. Yet in 1904, they joined forces to build and sell motor cars.
And, just two years later, the partnership had produced the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost: a car acclaimed as the "best in the world". In the late 1800's, Henry Royce and Charles Rolls were going through experiences which made their meeting and the cars they produce almost inevitable. Royce, the son of a miller, had, by any standards, a difficult start in life. He began work at 10, selling newspaper. But he soon found his first real job working as an apprentice for the Great Northern Railway in Peterborough. It was while he was there that he learnt most of the basics of engineering. Even at that age, Royce was determined to do well because he set about teaching himself foreign languages, algebra and the fundamentals of electricity. At 19, he went to Liverpool as technical advisor to the Lancashire Maxim and Western Electric Company. And then, just three years later, he and a partner set up business in Manchester, making electric light fittings and cranes. Such was Royce's determination that by the turn of the century the order books were full and the business was going from strength to strength. All this, of course, was quite an achievement for someone who had started almost literally with nothing. But the real turning point was yet to come. This happened in 1903 when Royce bought himself a second hand French car. The car was difficult to start; it overheated with depressing regularity; it vibrated; it was unreliable and the ignition system was hopelessly inefficient.
This may be the point which annoyed Royce the most. He was, after all, quite an expert in electricity in his own right. Royce later became so disappointed with the car that he decided, in his characteristic style, that he could do better himself. And just a few days later, he announced to his colleagues that he was going to build three 2 cylinder motor cars of his own design. The first of these, designed and built almost completely by Royce himself, rolled out the factory gates in the spring of 1904. The first car was a success in almost every way; it started easily, ran smoothly and quickly was very reliable, something which never failed to impress everyone who saw or rode in the car.
上一篇: 2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材2
下一篇: 2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材4
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修7 Module 1-2 Basketball & Highlights of My Senior Year(外研版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修6 Module 4 Music(外研版)
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解03
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修4 Module 2 Traffic Jam(外研版)
体坛英语资讯:Messi given four-match FIFA ban
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修6 Module 3 Interpersonal Relationship-Friendship(外研版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修4 Module 3 Body Language and Non-verbal Communication(外研版)
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:完形填空10
科学家:得不得癌症 基本看运气
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:完形填空09
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:虚拟语气01
专家:别吃了!寿司没有你想的那么健康
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解08
国际英语资讯:UN warns against military escalation in Yemen port city of Hodeidah
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修3 Module 5 Great People and Great Inventions of Ancient China(外研版)
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解04
川普女婿主导白宫“美国创新办公室”工作
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修5 Module 1 British and American English(外研版
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:虚拟语气02
国内英语资讯:China, Philippines to hold talks on maritime issues in May
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修5 Module 3 Adventure in Literature and the Cinema(外研版)
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解10
国际英语资讯:Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against Israeli army conscription
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解01
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修5 Module 5 The Great Sports Personality(外研版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修8 Module 1-2 Deep South & The Renaissance(外研版)
2016届广东省天河区高考英语二轮语法复习精讲精练:阅读理解05
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:必修4 Module 5 A Trip Along the Three Gorges(外研版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修6 阶段测试题(外研版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习练习:选修7 Module 5-6 Ethnic Culture & The World’s Cultural Heritage(外研版)