Question

“Image is everything．” An entire industry has been built upon the assumption that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough．If there is no substance（事實(shí)） behind the image, the product, service or person will fail eventually．

First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services．Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection．Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies．But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back．For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness．But the recent scandal(丑聞) showed that behind that image, it cheated in business practices．Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit．Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm．

Similarly, personal advisers can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars．Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons．But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune．With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close．

To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person．But image is only half of the equation．What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success．

1.The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ________．

A. its dishonesty in business  B. its previous images

C. its bad management      D. its poor service

2.Why did some famous people fall from grace?

A. Their images were not well built up

B. They failed to live up to their images．

C. They felt much pressure from the public

D. They paid little attention to fame and fortune

3.The structure of the passage is ________．

A: Argument     P: Point     C: Conclusion

 

 

4.The author tries to argue that _________．

A. image creates everything

B. image is the key to success

C. truth is unlikely ever to be equaled

D. truth and image are equally important

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：文章大意：通過(guò)兩個(gè)實(shí)例來(lái)證明形象并非一切。產(chǎn)品或人物形象及其背后的產(chǎn)品、服務(wù)或人是同等重要的。

1. A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第二段中But the recent scandal(丑聞) showed that behind that image, it cheated in business practices．表示：最近的丑聞表明：在那個(gè)（完美的）形象之后，它在商業(yè)活動(dòng)中有欺詐行為。跟選項(xiàng)中的：dishonesty 一致。

2. B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第三段But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune．但是歷史上有許多政治家和電影明星，像向名聲和財(cái)富屈服的好萊塢演員的故事一樣，誤入歧途。（說(shuō)明他們本身的行為和為他們精心打造的形象不符，導(dǎo)致失敗。）

3. A 文章結(jié)構(gòu)題 第一段；引出話題，提出觀點(diǎn)；第二段用實(shí)例證明為銷售產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)精心打造的形象，如果名不符實(shí)，最終會(huì)失敗。第三段說(shuō)明，為捧紅某人而精心打造的形象，如果沒(méi)有本人行為的支持，同樣會(huì)以失敗告終。最后一段總結(jié)，點(diǎn)題：形象及其背后的產(chǎn)品、服務(wù)或人是同等重要的。產(chǎn)品或人不履行其所塑造的形象的話，是不可能獲得長(zhǎng)久的成功的。

4.D 主旨大意題 根據(jù)首段If there is no substance（事實(shí)） behind the image, the product, service or person will fail eventually．如果所塑造的形象背后沒(méi)有事實(shí)支持，產(chǎn)品、服務(wù)或人，最終會(huì)以失敗告終。尾段：the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success．產(chǎn)品或人不履行其所塑造的形象的話，是不可能獲得長(zhǎng)久的成功的。

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