Conventional wisdom is a major barrier to innovation that threatens the survival of companies everywhere．It’s based on the assumption that old ideas will always work，so they shouldn’t be challenged． While this may be a valid assumption in situations that don’t change，it’s unlikely to hold true in a changing situation．In today’s rapid changing global environment，old methods often don't work，and stubbornly using them can lead to major problems．

Most people seem to agree with conventional wisdom because it gives one a false sense of security．If everyone else believes it，then it must be true．Individuals who use conventional wisdom are certain that they are right，and being right is good． They want to continue using old ideas rather than take risks with changes that might not work．In 1977，Ken Olsen，co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)，stated “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home．” Despite being a dominant leader in the computer industry，DEC no longer exists．

People seem to forget that since innovation is a change，there can be no innovation without change．Unfortunately，conventional wisdom prevents leaders，followers and companies from changing and therefore innovating．If companies don’t innovate，but their competitors do，the future is likely to be problematic． Breaking from conventional wisdom has led to many of the most innovative companies and products in history across many industries，so it has a powerful effect on business success．

Ted Turner (founder of CNN) knew little，if anything，about the news business，but he knew it was inconvenient to watch news only at the dinner hour，as was common before CNN．Turner’s solution was to create a cable channel dedicated to news 24 hours a day．The news establishment reflected conventional wisdom at the time，and predicted his idea would fail because no one wanted to watch the news all day．However，it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that viewers don’t have to watch the news all day for the CNN to work．Viewers just have to watch when they want to get information．Due to conventional thinking，the critics failed to recognize the opportunity that was clear to Ted． They assumed that only what was familiar to them could work in the future．

Conventional wisdom prevents creativity，flexibility and risk-taking，so unconventional leaders enthusiastically break from it．To survive，thrive and maintain competitive advantage，companies must be flexible when reacting to change．

1.DEC has disappeared probably because ___________．

A． the consumers didn’t like its products

B． the leaders lacked the sense of security

C． the CEO stuck to the conventional ideas

D． the employees took many risks with changes

2.The founding of CNN is used as an example to prove _________．

A． missing opportunities could lead to failure

B． changing could contribute to business success

C． watching news at the dinner hour is convenient

D． conventional wisdom influences business success

3.What does the underlined part probably mean?

A． Rocket scientists can ensure the CNN works properly．

B． Most of the viewers don’t like to watch the news at work．

C． It’s necessary to understand when people watch the news．

D． It’s easy to know people needn’t watch the news all the time．

4.The passage is mainly written to tell us that ______．

A． old methods are changing with time

B． opportunities lead to business success

C． conventional wisdom limits innovation

D． successful companies need wise leaders

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閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

I was going to Paris, which I’d always wanted to see．But now I was frightened to travel alone．I arrived at the train station in Paris．I hadn’t spoken my college French for twenty years．On my first metro ride, I came across an incompetent（不勝任的）thief．I just stared at him, and he stopped his hand from my purse and disappeared into the crowd． Somewhere in this confusing city was my hotel hidden, but the directions suddenly weren’t easy to find． When I finally found the hotel, my heart was beating heavily, and I was sweating like a basketball player．I couldn’t stay．Could I? The wallpaper looked like it had been through a fire．The bathroom was downstairs, and the window looked out onto the brick wall of another building．Welcome to Paris．I sincerely wanted to die．I missed my friends．I was entering my third week away from home and my kids, and I had arrived in the most romantic city in the world, alone, lonely and frightened．

The most important thing I did in Paris happened at that moment．I knew that if I didn’t go out, right then, and find a place to have dinner, I would hide in this small room my entire time in Paris．I might never learn to enjoy the world as a single individual．So I went out．Evening in Paris was light and pleasant．I walked along a path, listening to birds sing, watching children float toy boats in a huge fountain．No one seemed to be in a hurry．Paris was beautiful．And I was here alone and suddenly not lonely．My sense of accomplishment overcoming my fear and weakness had left me feeling free．I wore out two pairs of shoes during my week’s stay in Paris．I did everything there was to do, and it was the greatest week of my European vacation．I returned home, becoming a believer in the power of traveling alone．Now when I meet difficulties I just say to myself, “If I can go to Paris, I can go anywhere．”

1.What happened on my first metro ride?

A． I came across a skillful thief．

B． I bravely caught a thief trying to steal

C． The thief successfully stole my purse

D． I scared away a thief trying to steal

2.The room in the hotel where I lived ______．

A． had just gone through a big fire

B． was in very poor conditions

C． had a good sight through the window

D． was very small and untidy

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A． I was not lonely when I got to Paris．

B． I felt frightened travelling alone in Paris at first．

C． I then felt not lonely for the people around me in Paris．

D． I had a lot of walking during my stay in Paris．

4.The lifestyle of French people can be considered as ________．

A． hasty B． relaxed C． anxious D． aggressive

5.As to the writer, the power of traveling alone is _______．

A． the power of being independent

B． the power of feeling free

C． the power of becoming optimistic

D． the power of overcoming difficulties

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The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to India’s Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai for their struggles 1. the suppression（壓迫）of children and for young people's rights, 2.(include) the right to education．

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Through her heroic struggle, Yousafzai has become a leading spokeswoman for girls’ rights to education．According to the Nobel committee, at 17 she’s the 6.(young) ever peace prize winner．“I’m proud that I’m the first Pakistani and the first young woman or the first young person 7. gets this award,” she said in Birmingham, England．

She doesn’t believe that she deserves the award but considers 8. an encouragement to continue her campaign and to know that she isn’t 9.．

Awarding the Peace Prize to a Pakistani Muslim and an Indian Hindu _10._(give) a message to people of love between Pakistan and India, and between different religions．

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“Mirror, mirror, which clothes suit me best?” Now, there is a magic mirror in the shopping center__1.__can answer the question.

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It has been foggy for five days． How I wish it______ sunny now!

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As people have accurately observed，smiles are absent from early photographs. In 1852，for instance，a girl sat for her Daguerrotype，her head slightly turned，giving the camera an unsmiling look. She is preserved forever as a very serious girl indeed. Charles Darwin，a loving and playful parent，looks frozen in photographs. Why did our ancestors，from unknown sitters for family portraits(肖像畫(huà)) to the great and famous，because so sad in front of the camera?

The severity is everywhere in Victorian photographs. However，you don’t have to look very long at these unsmiling old photos to see how incomplete the seemingly obvious answer is-that they are freezing their faces in order to keep still for the long exposure times. In Julia Margaret Cameron’s Portrait of Tennyson，the poet dreams，his face a shadowed mask of genius. This is not simply a technique. It’s an emotional choice.

People in the past did not go around in a continual state of sorrow. In fact，the Victorians had a sense of humor even about the darkest aspects of their society. Laughter was not just common in the past but accepted by society far more than it is today，from medieval carnivals(中世紀(jì)狂歡節(jié)) to Georgian print shops，where people gathered to look at the latest funnies. Far from preventing festivals and fun，the Victorians，who invented photography，also created Christmas as a celebration as it is today. So the severity of people in the 19th-century photographs cannot be the evidence of generalized sadness. This was not a society in permanent desperation. Instead，the true answer has to do with attitudes to portraiture itself.

People who sat for early photographs understood it as a significant moment. Sitting for the camera was cheaper，quicker and meant that people who never had a chance to be painted could now be photographed; but people seemed to have taken it seriously in the same way they would be a painted portrait. Like a portrait painting，it was intended as a timeless record of a person.

To me those unsmiling people probably had as much fun as we do，if not more. But they felt no need to prove it with pictures. Instead，when whey sat for a photograph，they thought about time，death and memory. Perhaps we should stop smiling sometimes，too.

1.What do we know about the people in Victorian times?

A． They laid importance on religious events.

B． They were skillful at portrait painting.

C． They valued their family life.

D． They enjoyed themselves.

2.The author mentions Portrait of Tennyson in Paragraph 2 to__________.

A． prove a theory

B． support his opinion

C． introduce a painting

D． describe a technique

3.The author thinks early people look frozen in old photos because____．

A． they lived in a traditional society

B． they had to stay still for a long time

C． they regarded photography important

D． they held negative views about painting

4.What is the author’s attitude towards people not smiling in old photos?

A． Skeptical.

B． Critical.

C． Neutral.

D． Positive.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2015-2016學(xué)年四川營(yíng)山縣回龍中學(xué)高一12月檢測(cè)英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit (精神)and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce (彈跳) back.

But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these， it will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life. How?

Don't look down on your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.

Don't let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid of difficulties. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly (緊緊地)；the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is a treasure (珍寶) you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. You can't get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery (秘密),and today is a gift: that's why we call it "the present". Life is not a competition, but a trip, step by step.

1.The passage tells us not to ________ because everyone is special.

A. be afraid of difficulties

B. be afraid to learn

C. run through life so fast

D. compare yourself with others to look down on your worth

2.The sentence " Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. " means that "________".

A. nothing is possible

B. if we don't give up,there is always hope

C. you should learn to give up

D. although you try, nothing will change

3.Why can't we use time carelessly?

A. Because time is too expensive.

B. Because time never returns.

C. Because we are too poor.

D. Because time will get back.

4.If you run through life so fast, you will________.

A. lose your own treasure that you can always carry easily

B. lose love by holding it too tightly

C. forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going

D. not be afraid of difficulties

5.According to the passage, which is the best title?

A. Nothing is impossible

B. Glass balls are easy to be broken

C. Things you can't do

D. Treat your life in a right way

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2016屆吉林長(zhǎng)春第十一高中高三12月月考英語(yǔ)試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Women are friendly. But men are more competitive. Why? Researchers have found it’s all down to the hormone oxytocin (荷爾蒙催生素). Although known as the love hormone, it affects the sexes differently.

“ Women tend to be social in their behavior. They often share with others. But men tend to be competitive. They are trying to improve their social status,” said Professor Ryan.

Generally, people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions (互動(dòng)) such as falling in love or giving birth.

But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy.

Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships, but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship.

Professor Ryan’s recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37. Half of the participants received oxytocin. The other half received placebo (安慰劑).

After a week, the two groups switched with participants. They went through the same procedure with the other material.

Following each treatment, they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions. Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions. The questions were about telling friendship from competition. And their answers should be based on gestures, body language and facial expressions.

The results indicated that, after treatment with oxytocin, men’s ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved, but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better.

Professor Ryan thus concluded: “ Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people’s abilities to better distinguish different social interactions. And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors that are mainly hormonal.”

1.What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?

A. Oxytocin. B. Placebo.

C. The gesture. D. The social status.

2.What can we learn from Professor Ryan’s previous experiment?

A. Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way.

B. Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love.

C. Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences.

D. Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others’success.

3.Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?

A. To know the differences between friendship and competition.

B. To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions.

C. To know the differences between friendship and competition.

D. To know people’s different abilities to answer questions.

4.The author develops the text by __________.

A. explaining people's behaviors

B. describing his own experiences

C. discussing research experiments

D. distinguishing sexual differences

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