考前模拟：2008年12月阅读真题及名师精讲

　　Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete statements in the fewest possible words. Please write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.

　　One of the major producers of athletic footwear, with 2002 sales of over $10 billion, is a company called Nike, with corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Forbes magazine identified Nike’s president, Philip Knight, as the 53rd-richest man in the world in 2004. But Nike has not always been a large multimillion-dollar organization. In fact, Knight started the company by selling shoes from the back of his car at track meets.

　　In the late 1950s Philip Knight was a middle-distance runner on the University of Oregon track team, coached by Bill Bowerman. One of the top track coaches in the U.S., Bowerman was also known for experimenting with the design of running shoes in an attempt to make them lighter and more shock-absorbent. After attending Oregon, Knight moved on to do graduate work at Stanford University; his MBA thesis was on marketing athletic shoes. Once he received his degree, Knight traveled to Japan to contact the Onitsuka Tiger Company, a manufacturer of athletic shoes. Knight convinced the company’s officials of the potential for its product in the U.S. In 1963 he received his first shipment of Tiger shoes, 200 pairs in total.

　　In 1964, Knight and Bowerman contributed $500 each to from Blue Ribbon Sports, the predecessor of Nike. In the first few years, Knight distributed shoes out of his car at local track meets. The first employees hired by Knight were former college athletes. The company did not have the money to hire “experts”, and there was no established athletic footwear industry in North America from which to recruit those knowledgeable in the fielD) In its early years the organization operated in an unconventional manner that characterized its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to the industry. Communication was informal; people discussed ideas and issues in the hallways, on a run, or over a beer. There was little task differentiation. There were no job descriptions, rigid reporting systems, or detailed rules and regulations. The team spirit and shared values of the athletes on Bowerman’s teams carried over and provided the basis for the collegial

　　1. While serving as a track coach, Bowerman tried to design running shoes that were __________.

　　2. During his visit to Japan, Knight convinced the officials of the Onitsuka Tiger Company that its product would have ____________.

　　3. Blue Ribbon Sports as unable to hire experts due to the absence of ____________ in North America.

　　4. In the early years of Nike, communication within the company was usually carried out ___________.

　　5. What qualities of Bowerman’s teams formed the basis of Nike’s early management style?

　　试题详解

　　1. lighter and more shock-absorbent

　　根据题干关键词a track coach, Bowerman和design running shoes定位在第二段首句。本题考查设计的跑鞋有什么特征，而句中提及an attempt to make them lighter and more shock-absorbent，因此lighter and more shock-absorbent为正确答案。

　　2. the potential in the U.S.

　　根据题干中的Japan和the officials of the Onitsuka Tiger Company定位到原文第二段段末：Knight convinced the company’s officials of the potential for its product in the U.S.，意思是Knight使公司官员确信产品在美国具有潜力。题干中its product为主语，have为谓语动词，所填部分充当宾语，因此the potential in the U.S.。