Question

When Mary Barra took the wheel at General Motors in January she inherited a company in good shape. Five years after bankruptcy(破產), its profits were beyond expectations and its share price was rising. But the new boss's to-do list was long: fixing GM's loss-making European arm, keeping up momentum(勢頭) in China amid signs of a slowdown and giving new life to the product line. The former CEO, Dan Akerson, warned her that she would also face unexpected challenges. The first has arrived sooner than she might have expected.
What appeared to be a routine recall(召回) of about 800,000 older models, linked to a faulty ignition(點火) switch, has turned out to be anything but. The number of cars recalled has leapt to more than 2.6 million. The company's clumsy handling of a safety problem that first became apparent a decade ago is now linked to the deaths of at least 13 motorists.
Called before Congress to answer for GM's failings Ms Barra said she was “deeply sorry” but insisted that the post-bankruptcy “new GM” was not like the “old GM”, which had failed to deal with the ignition switches for years. Politicians and the public alike want to know how such a problem could have remained unaddressed for so long.
Cars are becoming ever more complex machines, with thousands of mechanical and electronic parts. Last year it happened to 22 million vehicles in America, compared with 18 million in 2012. In fact, GM was one of only three brands that recalled fewer vehicles than it sold. Minor problems, like squeaks(吱吱響) or rattles(卡嗒響), that do not affect safety are more common still. They may be fixed at a routine service; the owner may never know. The growing number of recalls is proof to an improving system for picking up faults.
But it is very complicated. Dealers must record replacements of parts under warranty(保修). The carmaker needs to spot the trend, recognize it as a problem and then determine whether or not it is a design fault that requires an extensive replacement. It relies on accurate recording of every warranty replacement in every region. This system appears to have broken down at “old GM”. Ms Barra needs to find out why.
The core problem is a widely used ignition switch that has a tendency to slip from the “on” position to “off” if a driver uses a heavy key-chain or bounces down a rough road. An improvement was made in 2008 to prevent the problem, which can lead to the engine shutting off, disabling the airbags. But despite a growing list of crashes and deaths, GM failed to order a recall for a component that would have cost a few dollars at most.
This is odd. Most carmakers want to identify and fix problems speedily despite having to bear the cost of buying and fitting a new component. A small part can do great harm, if bad publicity leads to reputational collapse, lost sales and law suits, including heavy penalties. Appearing to put profits before safety is an invitation to battering a firm's shares, as GM has discovered.
So far Ms Barra has handled the situation well. She seems to have acted as soon as she found out something was wrong. GM has appointed a worldwide safety president to cut through the process that may have delayed investigation and action. And in a sweeping housecleaning, GM has recalled another 2 million vehicles in America alone. GM looks set to accept moral, if not legal, responsibility. The terms of its exit from bankruptcy give immunity to lawsuits for injuries arising beforehand. But GM is likely to compensate survivors’ and victims' families anyway.
It is not yet clear how much of a hammering GM will take. But hours before Ms Barra's meeting with Congress, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued a greatly desired “Top Safety Pick” for the new Chevrolet Malibu, one of a growing number of well-received cars from GM.
【小題1】When Mary Barra took office, there was plenty more room for GM's improvement in that ________.
a. the development of Chinese market appears to be slowing down
b. former bosses have failed to fix GM's loss-making European arm
c. some car models lack appeal in the market
d. Mr. Akerson has left some challenges for her to handle
e. GM’s management teams are made up mainly of men

A． a, b, and e

B． b, c, and d

C． a, b, and c

D．a, c and d

【小題2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

A．Problems like squeaks or rattles are frequent reasons for recalls.

B．Recalls are not uncommon in the auto industry.

C．Car companies welcome recalls to demonstrate improved products and services.

D．Minor problems may be fixed at a routine service without the owners’ knowledge.

【小題3】Mary Barra has carried out the following strategies to manage the crisis and quiet the critics EXCEPT that ________.

A．as soon as she learned about the problem, she acted without hesitation

B．she faced facts and apologized sincerely

C．she took the legal responsibilities for their previous mistakes

D．she appointed a new president for global safety for GM

【小題4】What does the underlined word “battering” in paragraph7 probably mean?

A．Benefiting.

B．Regulating.

C．Purchasing.

D．Damaging.

【小題5】What can we infer from GM's new Malibu being awarded “Top Safety Pick”?

A．GM's new model Malibu is specially designed to solve ignition problems.

B．GM products are gaining more and more popularity around the world.

C．GM seems to be on the road to saving itself from mistakes.

D．GM has worked out a solution to the broken-down recall system.

Answer 1

【小題1】C
【小題2】B
【小題3】C
【小題4】D
【小題5】C

解析試題分析：文章介紹通用汽車公司的新老板Mary Barra上任后擁有的機遇和遇到的挑戰(zhàn)，以及她是如何應對危機的。
【小題1】細節(jié)題：根據(jù)第一段的句子：But the new boss's to-do list was long: fixing GM's loss-making European arm, keeping up momentum(勢頭) in China amid signs of a slowdown and giving new life to the product line.可知當Mary Barra上任的時候，GM的提高空間很大，因為中國市場的發(fā)展似乎在下降，連續(xù)幾任老板都沒能改變其在歐洲不斷虧損的分支—歐寶。還有一些汽車的款型缺乏市場吸引力，所以選C。
【小題2】推理題：根據(jù)第四段的句子：Minor problems, like squeaks(吱吱響) or rattles(卡嗒響), that do not affect safety are more common still.可以推斷出召回在汽車行業(yè)是很普遍的，選B
【小題3】細節(jié)題：根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段的句子：可知Mary Barra采取的應對危機平息批評的方法有：立刻對問題采取行動，面對現(xiàn)實真誠的道歉，還有任命了一個新的的GM全球安全主席。沒有說她為以前的問題承擔法律責任。選C。
【小題4】猜詞題：根據(jù)第七段的句子：Appearing to put profits before safety is an invitation to battering a firm's shares,似乎將盈利放在安全的前面是破壞公司份額的誘因，可知“battering”的意思是“破壞”，選D
【小題5】推理題：根據(jù)最后一段的句子：It is not yet clear how much of a hammering GM will take.可知GM的新的Malibu 被授予“Top Safety Pick”可知GM正在盡力挽回自己的錯誤，選C
考點：考查新聞報道類短文