单选题 Once upon a time, innovation at Procter & Gamble flowed one way: from the United States outward. While the large Cincinnati based corporation was no stranger to foreign markets, it usually sold them products that were already familiar to most Americans. Many Japanese families, for instance, swaddle(用长布条缠包) their babies in Pampers diapers (尿布), and lots of Venezuelans brush their teeth with Crest. And of course company executives assumed Americans at home wanted these same familiar, red white and blue brands. We might buy foreign made cars, or chocolates, or cameras but household cleaners and detergents.
Recently, however, P&G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P&G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra, a super concentrated cleaner, are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles.
Ariel's appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics(西班牙的) the nation's fastest growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in Southern California have been "importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanics knew this product and wanted it," says P&G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldn't convince them to buy our other laundry detergents." P&G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try too.
Ariel's already strong presence in Europe may provide a springboard for the company to expand other markets as well. Recently P&G bought Rakona, Czechoslovakia's top detergent maker. Ariel, currently a top seller in Germany, is likely to be one of the first new brands to appear in Czech supermarkets. And Ariel is not the only foreign idea that the company hopes to transplant back to its home territory. Cinch, an all-purpose spray cleaner similar to popular European products, is currently being test-marketed in California and Arizona. Traditionally Americans have used separate cleaners for different types of surfaces, but market research shows that American preferences are becoming more like those in other countries.
Insiders note that this new reverse flow of innovation reflects more sweeping changes at Procter & Gamble. The firm has hired many new Japanese, German, and Mexican managers who view P&G's business not as a one-way flow of American ideas, but a two-way exchange with other markets. Bonita Austin of the investment firm Wertheim Schroeder says, "When you met with P&G's top managers years ago, you wouldn't have seen a single foreign face." Today, they could even be in the majority.
As Procter & Gamble has found, the United States is no longer an isolated market. Americans are more open than ever before to buying foreign made products and to selling U.S. made products overseas.

单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。文章第二段第二句捉到，宝洁公司的Ariel牌洗衣粉诞生于国外，由此可知，Ariel牌洗衣粉并非原产于美国，所以A正确。Ariel是洗衣粉而非多功能喷雾清洁剂，故排除B；第三段提到，AIiel将是出现在捷克市场上的新品牌，而不是最畅销的产品，故排除c；第二段提到，Ariel在美国还在试销阶段，受欢迎程度还不可知，故排除D。
单选题 What can we learn about Procter & Gamble from the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推断题。本题可采用排除法。文章第二段提到，宝洁公司利用Ariel打破了由美国到国外的单向流通传统，由此可排除A、B；文中并未提及宝洁公司打破传统的原因，故排除C；因此选D。由倒数第二段也可确定答案。该段最后两句指出，过去宝洁公司的高层中没有外国人，而如今的高层却大都是外国人，由此推断，与几年前相比，现在在宝沽公司里能看到更多的 外国人，所以D正确。
单选题 The "insider" (Line 1, Par
【正确答案】
【答案解析】语义题。被考查词所在句指出，insiders提到，这种倒转的革新流通新模式反映出宝洁公司更为彻底的改变；随后作者具体介绍了宝洁公司的改变——聘用了许多外国管理人员。聘用外国管理人员属于公司内部事宜，应该只有公司内部人员或是了解公司情况的人才能透露出这样的消息， 所以B正确。
单选题 According to the passage, Procter & Gamble hopes to transplant foreign idea back to its home territory because ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推断题。文章最后一段指出，宝洁公司发现，美国不再是一个与外界隔离的市场，对于购买外国制造的产品以及在海外销售美国产品，美国人持着比以往更开放的态度，由此推断，宝洁想要将国外的理念和产品引回美国 是因为美国人现在更有可能购买外国制造的产品，所以A正确。
单选题 The author may most probably agree that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推断题。作者在文章中讲述的是宝洁公司新的销售理念，主要谈到该公司比以前更加注意美国市场与其他国家市场之间的双向交流，这显然是商业全球化趋势的体现，所以A正确。B、C、D项内容与文章相悖，均应排除。