The chairman summed up the results of the discussion.() he thanked all the parti

第1题

听力原文： Akio Morita, chairman of Sony, was annoyed because his children constantly played loud music. He told his company engineers to devise some machine to make the music can only be heard by the user. They did, and the Walkman was born. This totally changed the way we listen to music. Morita personally insisted on using the name" Walkman" for the new machine. His advisers said the phrase meant nothing in English. But he knew it was easy to pronounce the word in nearly every language. So people all over the world will remember the name of this product. It was also short, catching and summed up the importance of the new device!

Now the personal stereo is used by everyone. There are new designs such as CD Walkmans, recording Walkmans, etc. As size, weight and cost get smaller, quality gets bigger.

Socially, however, the Walkman habit may not be so good. By playing their personal stereos at full volume in small spaces, listeners may disturb others. The repeated loud beat can also be annoying. That is why in London's Underground Railway System there are signs saying, "Keep Your Personal Walkman Personal." Furthermore, drivers listening to Walkmans may sometimes cause road accidents to happen. And the rise in hearing problems is often blamed on their misuse.

There is no doubt that modem society has a love-hate relationship with the Walkman. Yet even criticism proves how popular the Walkman has become. Rather like the television or the computer, it is hard to imagine how we ever lived without them.

Who Started the idea of creating the machine "Walkman"?

A.Akio Morita, chairman of the Sony Corporation.

B.Morita's children.

C.Engineers working in the Sony Corporation.

D.A customer.

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第2题

听力原文： Akio Morita, chairman of Sony, was annoyed because his children constantly playe

d loud music. He told his company engineers to devise some machine to make the music can only be heard by the user. They did, and the Walkman was born. This totally changed the way we listen to music. Morita personally insisted on using the name" Walkman" for the new machine. His advisers said the phrase meant nothing in English. But he knew it was easy to pronounce the word in nearly every language. So people all over the world will remember the name of this product. It was also short, catching and summed up the importance of the new device!

Now the personal stereo is used by everyone. There are new designs such as CD Walkmans, recording Walkmans, etc. As size, weight and cost get smaller, quality gets bigger.

Socially, however, the Walkman habit may not be so good. By playing their personal stereos at full volume in small spaces, listeners may disturb others. The repeated loud beat can also be annoying. That is why in London's Underground Railway System there are signs saying, "Keep Your Personal Walkman Personal." Furthermore, drivers listening to Walkmans may sometimes cause road accidents to happen. And the rise in hearing problems is often blamed on their misuse.

There is no doubt that modem society has a love-hate relationship with the Walkman. Yet even criticism proves how popular the Walkman has become. Rather like the television or the computer, it is hard to imagine how we ever lived without them.

Who Started the idea of creating the machine "Walkman"？

A．Akio Morita, chairman of the Sony Corporation.

B．Morita's children.

C．Engineers working in the Sony Corporation.

D．A customer.

点击查看答案

第3题

Now that many media chieftains have fallen into disrepute and have left, those who are still in positions feel the need to take the problem seriously.

"CEOs were overturned as were some stocks." That is how AOL Time Warner entertainment group Chairman Jeff Bewkes summed it up. The era of the "imperial" (one-man rule) CEO has come to an end, MTV Networks Chairman Tom Freston added.

The two executives agreed that the industry's complex and often ill-fated megs mergers had proven that bigger is not necessarily better, no matter how big the reputations of the personalities behind them.

The continuing flameout of media executives who a few years ago were hailed as visionaries was active this month, and the industry's fears reached into the executive ranks of music, publishing and TV.

Technology visionary Steve Case left as chairman of AOL Time Warner, replaced by Chief Executive Richard Parsons. Top executives at Sony Music, MCA Records and Random House were booted. And Walter Isaacson, chairman of CNN Networks, left for a think tank.

This shows just how difficult it has become to find the right managers for the terribly altered media. "Many executives got caught up in the late 90's boom in the media industry and got ahead of themselves in strategic vision for their companies," said Mark May, of US investment firm Kaufman Bros. "It takes more than a couple of years for these companies to be ready for another visionary."

The collapse of the dotcom bubble, the ability of music fans to get songs free on the Internet, sagging bottom lines and intense competition among cable TV news networks are some developments that helped trip up media executives recently. But the urge to merge was one of their weakest points.

It is not that media companies should avoid all mergers, said Larry Haverty, managing director at State Street Research, a US investment management firm. They need acquisitions for growth. But making them work is a real challenge. They need to choose what pieces fit together and how much they are worth. They need to adjust quickly when technology and consumer habit trends shift. And, more than ever, they must be careful not to promise too much.

Sony Corp. of America Chairman Howard Stringer said that an executive today is "the rarest of senior entertainment executives, equally adept at business, management strategy and value creation, as well as a consummate(完美的) and proven developer of content, talent and ideas".

Both Jeff and Tom agree that

A.media chieftains are visionary and active.

B.media executives have big reputations and nice personalities.

C.the media industry should be cautious about merger.

D.the media industry is too complicated to handle.

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第4题

Now that many media chieftains have fallen into disrepute and have left, those who are sti

ll in positions feel the need to take the problem seriously.