Exercises
A. Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.
The main idea of the text is that ______. ( D )
(a) Henry's Ford's contribution to car industry was great
(b) Henry Ford produced motor cars that were very popular
(c) Henry Ford's car models were different from those of others'
(d) Henry Ford worked hard to invent, develop and mass-produce automobiles
B. Comprehending the text.
Choose the best answer.
1. After Henry saw the model engine invented by Herr Otto, he______. ( B )
(a) tried to buy one himself
(b) wanted to use one like it to drive a car
(c) knew immediately how to make one for a car
(d) tried to ask Otto to make one for him
2. Henry worked very hard to make his first petrol engine and the work was done ______. ( A )
(a) in his spare time
(b) in the Edison Electric Company
(c) as a full-time job
(d) with the help of his working group
3. Henry Ford's first cars can be suitably described as ______.( B )
(a) ugly and clumsy
(b) crude but functional
(c) good and practical
(d) beautiful and yet dangerous
4. Henry Ford started motor racing because ______. ( D )
(a) the money attracted him
(b) he was attracted to the glory of winners in motor racing
(c) he had to support his family
(d) he could test his cars
5. When Henry beat the world speed record in 1904, he drove his car ______. ( D )
(a) in a mountainous area
(b) in the city streets
(c) in a farm field
(d) on a frozen lake
6. When Henry had set up a factory himself, he tried to ______. ( A )
(a) make other factories produce car parts
(b) make the parts and put them together
(c) buy other factories and produce more car parts
(d) let other factories do the actual building of the cars
7. In the opinion of those who invested money in his business, Ford should be ______.( D )
(a) improving the then rough roads and bridges
(b) increasing modern assembly-lines
(c) decreasing the average wages of the workers
(d) building fashionable, bigger, and more expensive cars
8. Henry Ford ______ to raise his men’s wages and improve their working conditions.( B )
(a) was compelled by the powerful labour protests
(b) was among the first few
(c) was simply reluctant
(d) proved to be the last
9. This story is unfolded according to ______. ( A )
(a) the order of time
(b) the shift of places
(c) the relation of cause and effect
(d) the flow of stream of consciousness
10. This story presents the following aspects in Henry Ford’s character but ______. ( B )
(a) persistence
(b) narrow-mindedness
(c) originality
(d) boldness
C. Understanding vocabulary.
Choose the correct definition according to the context.
1. Herr Otto had invented an engine which ran on petrol. ( A )
(a) produced as something new
(b) improved a great deal
(c) put on exhibition
(d) succeeded in making
2. People paid good money to see the model engine working away by itself. ( B )
(a) running away
(b) working without stopping
(c) turning around
(d) working automatically
3. The engine coughed. Flames shot out of it. ( A )
(a) fire
(b) noise
(c) energy
(d) oil
4. It had an engine with two cylinders, two forward speeds and no brakes. ( D )
(a) tanks for containing petrol
(b) screens to keep out the wind
(c) devices to start the engine
(d) devices to stop a car
5. Racing cars were just becoming popular, and there was money to be made—if you won. ( D )
(a) just appearing
(b) acceptable
(c) seen everywhere
(d) liked by a great many people
6. As the car picked up speed, it slid about on the ice. ( A )
(a) gained speed
(b) lost control
(c) was taken to the spot
(d) started running
7. What he wanted to do was to produce cars in large quantities, all exactly the same, so that a part from one car would fit all the others. ( A )
(a) numbers
(b) sizes
(c) qualities
(d) varieties
8. He actually said, "My profits are awful." ( C )
(a) cars
(b) efforts
(c) gains
(d) ideas
D. Discussing the following topics.
1. "We want to make men in this factory as well as automobiles," said Henry Ford. What did he mean by these words?
答案
By this remark Henry Ford meant that his enterprise would not only produce dependable automobiles, but also train and cultivate reliable people, either assembly-line workers, or office-workers, or management executives. Henry Ford meant his factory to be far above an iron-and-steel workshop or labour-selling sweatshop. It was his ideal that the enterprise of his, while turning out novel vehicles, became a melting-pot or assembly-line in its new sense, from which front-line workers with adequate skills and satisfaction, and shift-heads or managers with rational concepts and human concerns are created.
2. In what sense can Ford’s business principles or strategies be regarded as modern?
First, they are creation-based. The life-line in the enterprise of Henry Ford proved to lay stress on creativity and originality. Never did the father of Ford cars and Ford business stop his efforts in the products improvement or in technical innovation and renovation. Second, they are human-centred. Wanting "to make men in this factory as well as automobiles", Henry Ford clearly realized the important role that manpower plays in the machinery of modern industrial society. His business strategies thus showed the brilliance of humanity and fraternity. Third, they are market-and/or consumer-oriented. When others were eager to make expensive "high-brow" cars and advised Henry Ford to follow the trend, the latter aimed firmly at the absolute majority of potential common car users. Actually it was Ford's different business concepts that prevented cars from turning into a rarity or something in "Ivory Tower". Therefore, they tend to establish a healthy cycle of mass-production with low costs, large-market with low-prices, and big-sales with high profits, which is what most nowaday entrepreneurs are driving at. So we have every reason to say that Henry Ford's business experiences and practices can work well as guidance to many present-day businessmen or businesswomen.
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