Federal Express is a company that specializes in rapid overnight delivery of high-priority packages. The first company of its type, Federal Express was founded by the youthful Fred Smith in 1971, when he was only 28 years old. Smith had actually developed the idea for the rapid delivery service in a term paper for an economics class when he was a student at Yale University. The term paper reputedly received a less-than-stellar grade because of the infeasibility of the project that Smith had outlined. The model that Smith proposed had never been tried; it was a model that was efficient to operate but at the same time was very difficult to institute.
Smith achieved efficiency in his model by designing a system that was separate from the passenger system and could, therefore, focus on how to deliver packages most efficiently. His strategy was to have his own planes so that he could create his own schedules and to ship all packages through the centralized hub city of Memphis, a set-up which resembles the spokes on the wheel of a bicycle. With this combination of his own planes and hub set-up, he could get packages anywhere in the United States overnight.
What made Smith"s idea difficult to institute was the fact that the entire system had to be created before the company could begin operations. He needed a fleet of aircraft to collect packages from airports every night and deliver them to Memphis, where they were immediately sorted and flown out to their new destinations; he needed a fleet of trucks to deliver packages to and from the various airports; he needed facilities and trained staff all in place to handle the operation. Smith had a $4 million inheritance from his father, and he managed to raise an additional 91 million dollars from venture capitalists to get the company operating.
Smith achieved efficiency in his model by designing a system that was separate from the passenger system and could, therefore, focus on how to deliver packages most efficiently. His strategy was to have his own planes so that he could create his own schedules and to ship all packages through the centralized hub city of Memphis, a set-up which resembles the spokes on the wheel of a bicycle. With this combination of his own planes and hub set-up, he could get packages anywhere in the United States overnight.
What made Smith"s idea difficult to institute was the fact that the entire system had to be created before the company could begin operations. He needed a fleet of aircraft to collect packages from airports every night and deliver them to Memphis, where they were immediately sorted and flown out to their new destinations; he needed a fleet of trucks to deliver packages to and from the various airports; he needed facilities and trained staff all in place to handle the operation. Smith had a $4 million inheritance from his father, and he managed to raise an additional 91 million dollars from venture capitalists to get the company operating.
单选题
The most appropriate title for this passage is ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章分析，适合这段文字的最恰当的题目应该为“一家成功企业的运作”。
单选题
What is stated in the passage about Smith"s term paper?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第一段第五行提到The term paper reputedly received a less-than-stellar grade“期末论文的成绩不高”，因此选择C，成绩不是很令人满意。
单选题
What was Smith"s key idea?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段第一句提到Smith achieved efficiency in his model by designing a system that was separate from the passenger system and could，therefore，focus on how to deliver packages most efficiently.“史密斯设计了一个系统模式使邮递(飞机)与旅客(飞机)分开从而提高邮递的效率。他的这套系统更重视如何更高效的运送包裹。”因此本题选择B选项。
单选题
Which of the following drawings most closely resembles a hub?
A．
B．
C．
D．
A．
B．
C．
D．
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] hub的含义是“中心”，根据文章的叙述可以推知B选项中的放射性图案更符合这个单词的含义。
单选题
It can be inferred from the passage that Smith selected Memphis as his hub city because it ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段第三行提到the centralized hub city of Memphis根据地理位置，孟菲斯是美国中部的城市，因此选择A。