单选题
Professor Kumar Bhatt, founder and head of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), and Rob Meakin, a personnel director at Marconi, have developed a partnership to train engineers and managers to become e-literate. The New Knowledge Partnership will include a team of 40 Marconi managers in what Professor Bhatt calls electronic engineering management or E2. A wide range of engineering and non-engineering companies has expressed interest in these exciting programs.
Professor Bhatt believes that e-commerce is changing the business environment to a huge extent. Many chief executives do not understand the power of the new technologies and, in some cases, are actually resisting change. He says, "as long as enough industry leaders realize its potential benefits, e-business will make possible a second productivity revolution in Britain. This could take the economy close to eliminating the still substantial competitiveness gap with its main rivals. Over the last five years in the US there has been a 30% improvement in manufacturing sector productivity because of information technology. In Britain we can achieve more than that and successful e-business will be worth billions to the UK economy." Already Britain makes more use of computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) and management information technology systems than other European countries, and has a government that actively promotes e-business.
But, observes Professor Bhatt, Britain has never used technology as a growth driver. "The thing about electronic engineering management is that you can keep your legacy systems; you just need to link those systems with an information engine. At the touch of a button it will allow project managers to see the status of a project, identify problems precisely and make virtually immediate decisions based on information that will be much more complete than in the past."
The E2 program is the result of an alliance by the Warwick Manufacturing Group with America"s leading e-commerce study center, Carnegie Mellon. The latter will be responsible for training many of the Marconi managers in America, where the group has half its business. In Britain, Professor Bhatt has linked up with Sun Microsystems, Oracle and Parametric Technology, to set up a multi-million pound E2 design and manufacturing center at the university which will be used for training and research.
Professor Bhatt believes that e-commerce is changing business to such an extent that WMG is likely to be renamed Warwick Electronic Manufacturing Group. But, he warns "The move to globalize because of e-commerce is racing ahead. Although the net allows British industry to overtake their European peers, it also offers Asian countries to leapfrog (跃过) the West. For the first time it is not the privilege of the western world because this technology is universal."
单选题
Professor Bhatt and Rob Meakin have developed a method to ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。根据第一段首句提到的“...have developed a partnership to train engineers and managers to become e-literate”可知,此处的e-literate指“了解或熟悉电子商务”,B项表述与此相符。
单选题
How does Professor Bhatt feel about many leaders in companies?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。第二段第二句Many chief executives do not understand the power of the new technologies and, in some cases, are actually resisting change表明,很多高层主管不了解这项新技术,甚至抵制新科技带来的变化。D项是对这句话的同义转述,因此正确答案为D。
单选题
According to the passage, what do you know about e-business in Britain?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。由第二段第三句中的as long as enough industry leaders realize its potential benefits, e-business will make possible a second productivity revolution in Britain可知,电子商务潜力巨大,将会给英国带来变革,D项符合原文表述。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 是非判断题,采用排除法。B项表述过于绝对;而C项未在文中体现,D项与文中表述不符,故排除。第二段倒数第三句指出美国信息技术对制造业的贡献为“...has been a 30% improvement”,而同时又指出“In Britain we can achieve more than that...”,由此可知教授认为英国和美国在信息技术领域具有一定的竞争性,所以正确答案为A。
单选题
WMG would like to change its name because ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。文章末段首句中提到的e-commerce is changing business to such an extent that WMG is likely to be renamed Warwick Electronic Manufacturing Group指出,改名的理由是电子商务极大地改变了商业,B项是对此的同义转述,故为答案。