阅读理解。
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.
(
) 1. What does the underlined part “gain an edge” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Increase the speed.
B. Get an advantage.
C. Reach the limit.
D. Set a goal.
(
) 2. The underlined part “the laws of business physics” in Paragraph 3 means ___________.
A. spending more time and performing worse.
B. spending more time and performing better
C. spending less time and performing worse
D. spending less time and performing better
(
) 3. What can we learn from the text?
A. how fast a firm moves depends on how big it is.
B. how competitive a firm is depends on what it produces.
C. Firms guided by strategic speed take time to make necessary changes.
D. Firms guided by operational speed take time to develop necessary team spirit.
(
) 4. Which could be the best title for the text?
A. Improve quality? Serve better.
B. Deliver value? Plough ahead.
C. Reduce time? Move faster.
D. Need speed? Slow down.
【参考答案】1---4、BDCD
【浙江省金华十校2017高考英语模拟试题】A
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model．Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer．
In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co．,he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time． At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor． Edison was impressed． Edison is said to have slammed his fist down and shouted ¨Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant．" Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one．
The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T．6．The two men became f'ast friends and would go on camping trips together．When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race．At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison．When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford:“ As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings．I can only say that he is my friend．" Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931．
Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath． Ford was a man with many strange behaviors（ as was Edison）including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism（夏活通灵术）and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life．
The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled “Henry Ford-A Personal History"
in the Henry Ford Museum．It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled “Edison's Last Breath"．
There is a further mystery of this “last breath"
test tube． It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath．
Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning．Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards ．their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration．
41．The passage can be sorted as a
．
A．science research
B．short story
C．news report
D．self-introduction
42．From the underlined sentence in Paragraph2 we can learn that
．
A．Edison envied what Ford had achieved
B．Edison was annoyed that Ford did better him
C．Edison was angry because Ford stole his idea
D．Edison was extremely amazed at Ford's new idea
43．In Paragraph 3,the writer mentions Ford bought an extra wheelchair
．
A．to remind Edison was Ford's role model
B．to suggest Ford was a man of strange behavior
C．to tell us the importance of a creative idea then
D．to show the close friendship between Henry Ford and Edison
44．¨The 61ast breath' test tube" can probably be regarded as
．
A．a symbol of a friendship and memory
B．a witness to a scientific breakthrough
C．a failure to bring Edison back to life
D．a sign of the two inventors' poor behavior
45．It can be learned from the last paragraph that“
” ．
A．Great minds think alike
B．Nobody is perfect
C．Two heads are better than one D．A friend in need is a friend indeed
【参考答案】41—45、BDDAB
阅读理解。
According to sociologists(社会学家), every modern industrial society has some form of social stratification(阶层)．Class, power and status are important in deciding people's rank in society.
Class means a person's economic position in society.A commonly used classification is lower class, middle class and upper class.While sociologists disagree on how these terms should be exactly defined, they do describe societies like the United States quite well.One study shows that 53% of Americans belong to the lower class, 46% the middle class, and 1% the upper class.Interestingly, a surgeon earning $ 500，000 a year and a bus driver earning $ 50，000 a year both regard themselves as the middle class!
Power refers to the amount of control a person has over other people.Obviously, people in positions of great power(such as governors) exercise(行使) big power, but people who take orders from others have less power.Power and class do not always go hand in hand, however.For example, the governor of a state has great power, but he or she may not belong to a corresponding(相应的) economic class.Generally, however, there is a relationship between power and class. To our knowledge, there aren't too many people who aren't millionaires in the U．S.Senate!
Status is the honor or respect attached to a person's position in society.It can also be affected by power and class, but not necessarily so.For example, a university professor may have a high status but not belong to a high social class or have a lot of power over others.
54．What can we learn about “the middle class” from Paragraph 2?
A．People earning $50，000 a year belong to the middle class.
B．Nearly half Americans belong to the middle class.
C．People generally consider bus drivers as the middle class.
D．Sociologists have a clear definition of the middle class.
55．According to the text, we know that
________．
A．power and class do not always correspond with each other
B．status refers to a person's economic position in society
C．people with high status have a lot of control over others
D．class is less important in deciding a person's social rank
56．Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?
A．
B.
C．
D.
【要点综述】 本文说明了一个社会现象：每个现代工业社会都有其社会阶层。阶级﹑权力和社会地位是判断一个人的社会阶层的重要标准。
54．B 推理判断题。由第二段倒数第二句中的“…46% the middle class”一句可知在美国，有差不多一半的人属于中产阶级，选B。
55．A 细节理解题。由第三段中的“Power and class do not always go hand in hand, however.”可知，权力和阶级并不总是保持一致。选A。
56．A 篇章结构题。本文第一段是主题段，“Class, power and status are important in deciding people's rank in society.”是本文的主题句，后三段分别从这三个方面来论述，故本篇文章是总分的结构。选A。
C7 [2017·四川卷] ----D
Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia(怀旧)．It's fun to come home. It looks the same. It smells the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. Home is where we can remember pain，love，and some other experiences：We parted here; My parents met here; I won three championships here.
If I close my eyes, I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home. I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glass－top wooden table. To the right of the living room is my first bedroom. It's empty，but it's where my earliest memories are.
There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays, and where I cried on Halloween—when I didn't want to wear the skirt my mother made for me.I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong. If I sit at this table, I can see my favorite room in the house，my parents' room. It is simple: a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side. Their bed is my safe zone. I can jump on it anytime—waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.
I'm lucky because I know my first home still exists. It exists in my mind and heart, on a physical property(住宅)on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles. It is proof I lived, I grew, and I learned.
Sometimes when I feel lost，I lie down and shut my eyes, and I go home. I know it's where I'll find my
family，my dogs, and my belongings.I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I'll be blamed by Mom. But I don't mind, because I want to hear her say my name，which reminds me I'm home.
43．Why does the author call her parents' bed her “safe zone”(Paragraph 3)?
A．It is her favorite place to play.
B. Her needs can be satisfied there.
C. Her grandparents' photos are lined on each side.
D. Her parents always play together with her there.
44．What can be learned from the passage?
A. The old furniture is still in the author's first bedroom.
B. The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles.
C. The author's favorite room in her first home is the dining room.
D. Many people of the author's age can still find their first physical homes.
45．Sometimes when she feels lost，the author will
________．
A. open the window at night
B. lie down in bed to have a dream
C. try to bring back a sense of home
D. go to Los Angeles to visit her mom
46．What is the author's purpose of writing this passage?
A. To express how much she is attached to her home.
B. To declare how much she loves her first house.
C. To describe the state of her family.
D. To look back on her childhood.
【要点综述】 这是一篇记叙文。作者采用回忆的手法，描写了对家的记忆和感怀。
43．B 推理判断题。根据第三段“Their bed is my safe zone.I can jump on it anytime—waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.”可知，他们的床是作者的安全地带，如果作者害怕的话，随时可以跳上床——叫醒父母；如果作者有重要的事要宣告，不必等到早上(作者可以随时叫醒父母)。故可以判断选B。
44．B 推理判断题。根据第四段“I'm lucky because I know my first home still exists.It exists in my mind and heart, on a physical property(住宅)on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles.It is proof I lived, I grew, and I learned.”可知，作者很幸运，因为作者知道她的第一个家仍然存在，它存在于她的头脑和心里。故可以判断选B。
45．C 细节理解题。根据最后一段“Sometimes when I feel lost, I lie down and shut my eyes, and I go home.I know it's where I'll find my family, my dogs, and my belongings.”可知，有时，当作者感到失落，就躺下，闭上她的眼睛，回家。作者知道在那里她会找到她的家人、她的狗、她的财物及回家的感觉。故选C。
46．A 归纳概括题。文章通篇描绘对家的思念，落脚点在对家的无限牵挂上。故选A。