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Passage
One
On June
21, 1972, the board of Directors of the Standard Oil Company
(New Jersey) adopted a resolution that the company's name
be changed to Exxon Corporation. In November of that year,
the company accepted this new name, and "Exxon", undoubtedly
the most expensive name change in history, was on its way
to becoming one of the most commonly used words throughout
the world.
Why did the company go to such trouble and
expense to make such a change? Part of the reason stemmed
from a Supreme Court ruling of 1911 whereby the Standard
Oil Organization was dissolved into thirty-four unrelated
units. Some of these companies were held to have acquired
exclusive rights to use Standard Oil's name in separate
parts of the country. Although Standard Oil domestic affiliates
tried for a number of years to establish the right to use "Esso" as a national trademark, their efforts were opposed
in court on the basis of the antitrust laws because "Esso"
meant "Standard Oil" to the public. As a result, the company
had to market its product under the names Esso, Humble,
and Enco. Realizing it would be at a disadvantage until
it could advertise nationwide under one trade name, the
company began its search for a word that would identify
both its products and its services. The name Exxon was invented
in the company's ninetieth year. It succeeded in establishing
a new public image that eliminated much confusion in customers'
minds and allowed them to rely on a certain quality of goods
and services. It also increased the company's ability to
recruit employees and to communicate with the government,
press, and general public.
Finding the new trademark involved exhaustive
research, experimentation, and examination. Approximately
ten thousand names were produced from the computer, and
from this number a list of 234 was developed. This list
was further cut to sixteen names, and finally to eight.
Linguistic studies were made on these final eight words
in more than one hundred languages in order to insure that
none of them had an actual meaning or any adverse connotations.
Nearly 7 000 people were interviewed, including about 4
000 in forty different cities throughout the United States,
and over 15 000 telephone directories were examined. After
three years, the name Exxon was chosen, not only because
it was a memorable word but also because of its distinctive
design (the double "x"). Furthermore, Exxon was found easy
to pronounce in most languages, and it had no vulgar or
objectionable meaning.
In order to promote the new name, $100
million was spent. To begin with, all Esso, Enco, and Humble
signs for 25 000 United States' service stations had to
be replaced with the red, white, and blue Exxon rectangle.
Then at least fifty other signs, including the large one
first noticed on the freeway and the small ones on the gas
pumps, had to be changed. At least 300 million sales slips
and other service-station forms had to be reordered, credit
cards had to be replaced, and thousands of other things
had to be restenciled or repainted. These included the emblems
on trucks, plagues for 22 000 oil wells, and the names on
18 000 buildings, storage tankers, and other equipment.
Then, too, stock certificates had to be issued to shareholders.
(Approximately 224 million outstanding shares were held
by more than 780 000 company shareholders.)
Unquestionably, this was the most expensive
name change in history, but Exxon's management was willing
to pay for it. In 1975 Exxon was the country's number-one
leader in sales ($44 864 824 000), in assets ($32 839 398 000),
and in net income ($2 503 013 000).
(594 words)
1. As a result of a Supreme Court ruling in
1911, the Standard Oil Organization ________. ( C
)
(a) was established
(b) disappeared
(c) became dozens of unrelated units
(d) changed its name
2. The word "affiliates" in the second paragraph
means ________. (
A)
(a) auxiliaries
(b) products
(c) labels
(d) companies
3. The Standard Oil Company tried to use a
new name that ________ . (
C
)
(a) would stand for Standard Oil
(b) would enable it to get the exclusive rights to sell oil
(c) represent both its products and services
(d) would show the good quality of their goods
4. The name Exxon was accepted because
________.
( D
)
(a) it was chosen from ten thousand names
(b) 7000 people were interviewed about it
(c) no telephone directories had had such a name before
(d) it was easy to remember, pronounce and it had the double "x"
5. Which of the following is Not true? (
B
)
(a) The name change cost $ 100 million.
(b) Exxon Corporation had 100 000 company shareholders.
(c) In 1975, Exxon Corporation was the biggest leader in sales, assets and
net income.
(d) The name change of the company was the most expensive one in history.
TOP
Passage
Two After this first
burst of creative energy, the Americans went along, North
and South, for about a century with little change in their
naming-habits. Biblical names continued to give color in
New England, but elsewhere it was particularly true with
women's names, in the middle and southern colonies, and
the excessive use of Elizabeth, Ann, Mary, and Sarah was
only saved by the also liberal use of variations such as
Betsy, Sally, Nanny, Nancy, and Molly.
The great German immigration of the early
eighteenth century had some influence. Johann, often shortened
to Hans, was by far the commonest name among these Germans,
with Jocob and Heinrich following. Except where people continued
to talk German, these names were rapidly Anglicized, and
so increased the popularity of John, Jocob, and Henry. The
Scotch-Irish immigration also exerted an influence by building
up the already popular James, and adding Alexander and Archibald.
About 1740 the use of middle names began
to grow. Probably the Germans had some influence here, for
they generally, even as immigrants, bore two given names,
of which the first was usually Johann. Another strong influence
was family pride, which led to the desire to preserve the
mother's family name. Purely practical, as the towns grew
larger, was the need to distinguish a man more clearly from
others bearing the same names. Once started, the custom
grew steadily to popularity until by 1850 the man without
a middle name was in a small minority, as he has since remained.
The use of the middle name soon produced another typical
American habit. Since the full signature of three names
was too long for practical purposes, men began to use merely
the middle initial, and eventually the typical American
was John Q. Public.
In England, on the other hand, such a form
is not used. An Englishman has to be J. Q. Public, J. Qincy
Public, or John Quicy Public.
(378 words)
6. In the middle and southern colonies,
________.
(
A
)
(a) a small number of women's names were too often repeatedly
used
(b) women liked to use different names such as Betsy, Sally, Nanny, Nancy, etc.
(c) people preferred the use of Elizabeth, Ann, Mary and Sarah to that of Betsy, Sally, Nanny, Nancy, etc.
(d) the use of names such as Elizabeth, Ann was replaced by that
of names such as Betsy
7. In the early eighteenth century, the most
popular name used by the German immigrants was ________.
(
D
)
(a) Jocob
(b) Heinrich
(c) Henry
(d) Hans
8. Which of the following names was preferred
by the Scotch-Irish immigrants at first? (
C
)
(a) Alexander
(b) Archibald
(c) James
(d) Anglicize
9. About 1740, ________.
(
D
)
(a) the Germans began to use two given names
(b) the Germans became practical and used different names
(c) the Germans liked to preserve the mother's family name
(d) the Germans' habit of using middle names began to influence the naming
habit in America
10. Which of the following is NOT an Englishman's
name? (
A
)
(a) Thomas J. White
(b) Thomas John White
(c) T. J. White
(d) T. John White
TOP
Passage
Three
Also
serving to produce a distinctive usage was the practice
of distinguishing a son from a father by the use of Junior.
This typically American practice began in the middle of
the eighteenth century when most gentlemen had some knowledge
of Latin and were familiar with the use of the term Junior,
translated often into English as "the younger," as applied
to such Latin worthies as Cato and Pliny. The practice was
so well established by 1776 that three signers of the Declaration
added the Jr. Agai. British custom has been different; the
second of a pair of great statesmen is known as William
Pitt, the younger.
Still another important movement beginning
around 1750 was the rise of the name Charles. Earlier, Charles
is hardly found at all in New England, and is rare in the
other colonies. After that its growth was not only steady
but even spectacular. By 1850 it had become one of the commonest
names, and it has remained close to the top since that time.
Its curious nickname, Chuck, is typically American.
Almost at an equal pace with the rise of
Charles, the use of Biblical names, even in New England,
began to fall off. Ebenezer, and even Samuel and Benjamin,
came to have about them an old-fashioned aura.
The facts are clear enough; the causes remain
obscure. Immigration probably had little to do with such
changes. English influence, at the ideal level, may have
helped the growth of Charles. During these same decades
the name was increasing in popularity there, where Sir Charles
Grandison was a much read novel and Bonie Prince Charlie
had given the name a renewed vogue among those who still
held sentimentally to the Stuarts. But most of the other
new developments seem to be wholly native and even to run
counter to British practice.
(305 words)
11. In the middle of the eighteenth century,
people used Junior ________. (
C
)
(a) to show their distinctive American practice
(b) to show their knowledge of Latin
(c) to distinguish a son from a father
(d) following the examples of the three signers of the Declaration
12. The use of name of Charles ________. (
C
)
(a) was popular before the middle of the eighteenth century
(b) began to be noticeable in New England in the early eighteenth century
(c) was spectacularly popular by the middle of the nineteenth century
(d) is less popular now than before
13. Which of the following is true in the end
of the eighteenth century? (
D
)
(a) The use of Biblical names remained popular.
(b) The growing use of names such as Ebenezer and Samuel showed an interest
in religion.
(c) Samuel, Benjamin and Ebenezer were names no longer used by people.
(d) Names such as Ebenezer became old-fashioned.
14. Those who sympathized with the Stuarts ________,
(
D
)
(a) liked to read Sir Charles Grandison
(b) adopted the naming habit that was against British practice
(c) used Charles as their family names
(d) may have helped the popularity of the name Charles
15.The final paragraph mainly discusses
________.
(
B
)
(a) how novels helped the popularity of certain names
(b) new developments in naming habits of Americans
(c) immigration and naming habits of Americans
(d) Charles, the most popular name in America
TOP
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