单选题 Compared with IBM, Microsoft is a mere young company. Founded in 1975, it rose swiftly to dominate the world of personal computing with its Windows operating system and Office suite of word-processing and other productivity tools. But the company is now showing some worrying signs of middle-age fatigue. In particular, it is struggling to find a growth strategy that will enthuse disappointed shareholders.
Complaint are understandable. Since Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates as chief executive in 2000, Microsoft's share price has decreased and the company has lost its reputation as a tech trend-setter. It has been left behind in hot areas such as search and social networking by younger companies, some of which love to thumb their noses at their older rival. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, recently proclaimed that leadership in the tech world had passed from Microsoft and others to a "Gang of Four" fast-growing, consumer-oriented businesses: Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
Few would object to that. The question is: what，if anything, can Microsoft do to change it? In at least some respects, the company appears to be suffering from similar ailments to those that laid IBM low before Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get it back on its feet. These include arrogance bred of dominance of a particular area-mainframe computers at IBM, personal computers at Microsoft—and internal fiefs that hamper swift change.
As IBM's experience shows, recovery in the tech world is possible. And some observers see encouraging signs of progress at Microsoft. Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester, a research firm, reckons that Windows 8, a forthcoming version of Microsoft's operating system, could be a serious competitor to Google's Android on tablet computers if the company can get it to market next year．Microsoft is also in far better shape financially than IBM was at its lowest point, so it can afford to splash out on acquisitions such as its recent $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, an internet-phone and video-calling service.
That bet and an alliance with Nokia in mobile phones show that Microsoft is trying to bulk up in promising areas. Yet sceptics worry that such initiatives are not the product of an comprehensive strategic vision, but are instead temporary moves designed to calm critics who fear Microsoft is drifting downwards. David Einhorn, a prominent hedge-fund manager whose fund holds shares in Microsoft, has publicly called for a change at the top of the firm, arguing that Mr Ballmer is "stuck in the past". So far, the company's board, chaired by Mr Gates, has backed its chief executive. But if IBM's history is a guide, Microsoft may yet end up jettisoning its leader.

单选题 It can be inferred from the first paragraph that______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。
[解题思路] 根据题干中的first paragraph可将答案定位至文章首段。在简要介绍了微软辉煌的发展历史之后，第三句指出微软面临的问题：目前呈现出一些令人担忧的中年疲惫迹象。最后一句也指出，微软正在努力寻找增长策略，以激发对其感到失望的股东们的热情。从disappointed shareholders可知，微软的经营表现让股东们感到失望，由此可以判断人们并不看好微软的发展前景，选项[B]“人们认为微软前景黯淡”符合文意，故为答案。
[干扰排除] 针对微软目前的状况，首段只提到微软呈现出一些令人担忧的中年疲惫现象，并未具体说明该公司的收入状况如何，因此选项[A]“微软收入大幅下降”为过度推断，故排除。第一段第一句指出，相对于IBM而言，微软还是一个年轻的公司，这里作者只是对比IBM和Microsoft两个公司成立时间的长短，并没有涉及公司经营状况的其他方面，选项[C]比较的是二者产品销售方面(sales)的情况，属于无中生有，故排除。同理，选项[D]涉及两个公司在其他方面的比较，本文首段并未提及，故排除。
单选题 According to the text, Microsoft's younger competitors ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。
[解题思路] 根据题干关键词younger competitors定位至第二段。该段第三句指出，在搜索和社交网络等热门领域，微软被年轻公司甩在身后，一些公司喜欢对这个年长的竞争对手不屑一顾。本题的解题关键在于理解thumb their noses(对……蔑视，不屑一顾)的含义。另外，末句也指出谷歌执行总裁埃里克·施密特认为高科技领域老大的位置已经由微软转移到谷歌等更年轻的公司。由此可看出埃里克·施密特自信满满，并未将微软放在眼里，故选项[D]为答案。
[干扰排除] 第二段第三句指出微软在有些热门领域(hot areas)已经落后于年轻公司，文中并未提及其他领域的情况，所以选项[A]“将战胜微软”与原文不符，故排除。该段第二句指出微软的现状，即“微软的股价一直低迷，公司已经失去了作为技术潮流领先者的名望”。但文中并未提及年轻公司挑战微软的威望，故排除选项[B]。文章也并未提及其股票低迷是由于新兴公司打压股价造成的，选项[C]属于无中生有，缺乏依据，故排除。
单选题 According to the text, which of the following is true of Microsoft?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[试题类型] 具体信息题。
[解题思路] 文章第三段第三句通过类比，指出微软似乎面临着曾让IBM状态低迷的类似问题(similar ailments)，并具体说明了两方面的问题：由于领先而滋生的傲慢以及公司内部山头主义。由此可以看出，微软犯了IBM曾经犯过的错误，故选项[D]符合文意。
[干扰排除] 选项[A]是根据第三段第三句中before Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get, it back on its feet设计的干扰项，路易斯·格斯特纳是IBM住1993年聘任的CEO，在他的领导下，IBM重振雄风。文章末段虽然提到有人呼吁微软易帅，但倒数第二句明确指出"So far, the company's board, chaired by Mr Gates, has backed its chief executive"，即微软的董事会目前仍然支持现任.CEO，没有换人的打算，显然，选项[A]错误。选项[B]是利用internal fiefs that hamper swift change(妨碍迅速变化的公司内部山头主义)设计的干扰项，文中并没有说微软正在进行内部改革(internal reform)，故排除该项。第三段未句提到的第一个问题是“在某一个领域占统治地位后滋生的做慢——对IBM而言，是大型主机领域，对微软而言则是个人电脑领域”，可见IBM在主机领域的统治地位无人能撼动，选项[C]与文意不符，故排除。
单选题 Some people are optimistic about Microsoft's future probably in that______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[试题类型] 推理引申题。
[解题思路] 根据题干中的people are optimistic about Microsoft's future可定位至文章第四段，该段第二句指出“一些观察家们注意到微软出现了少许令人鼓舞的进步迹象”，之后具体说明了这些迹象，包括即将推出Windows 8操作系统，微软的财政状况尚可，收购相关公司等。可见人们注意到了微软为了摆脱危机所作的努力，因此对微软的前景感到乐观，由此推断选项[C]符合文意，故为答案。
[干扰排除] 文中并没有提及微软的创新能力(innovation ability)，选项[A]属于无中生有，故排除。第四段末句提到微软目前的财政状况比IBM最低谷时要好得多，并没有说明“微软的经济状况比目前IBM的经济状况好”，故排除选项[B]。虽然该段提到微软即将推出Windows 8以及收购了Skype，但就两个产品的前景，作者只是引用了Sarah Rotman Epps的话指出“Windows 8操作系统如果在明年上市的话，对谷歌用在平板电脑上的安卓(Android)系统可能构成严重威肋”，对Skype的前景并未做任何分析，选项[D]过于绝对，与文意不符，故排除。
单选题 The word "jettisoning" (Last line, Paragraph 5) probably means______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[试题类型] 语义理解题。
[解题思路] 本题就jettisoning一词的含义进行提问，故可定位至文章最后一段。该段首先指出怀疑论者认为微软力求复兴的诸多措施都只是权宜之计(temporary moves designed to calm critics)，接着公开呼吁微软更换高层(called for change at the top of the firm)。对此呼吁，微软的态度是：依然支持现任首席执行管。jettisoning一词所在句意为“如果IBM的历史是个指引的话，那么微软最终会______它的领导”，由于前文第三段中提到IBM在最低谷的时候，聘用了新的领导者，使其重振雄风(Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get it back on its feet)，如果IBM在关键时刻聘用新领导人的历史是微软的榜样的话，那么微软最后也将更换领导人，四个选项中只有选项[A]abandoning与此处的文意最符合，故为答案。
[干扰排除] 选项[B1意为“批评”，选项[C]意为“说服，使信服”，选项[D]意为“训练”。关于CEO的问题，文中一直讨论的是换帅的问题，并没有涉及划CEO进行指责、批评，或者对其进行培训及说服微软CEO做什么事情等内容，故排除[B]、[C]、[D]三项。