Stories Behind Famous Company Names
| Inventor Caleb Bradham had originally wanted to be a doctor but started working in a pharmacy when he returned home to North Carolina. In 1893, he made up what he first called “Brad’s Drink,” a mix of water, sugar, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, and other flavors. Five years later, he renamed it Pepsi-Cola. He claimed the drink could help with digestion(消化), or dyspepsia, the term from which Bradham adapted the name Pepsi. |
| This luxury car maker combined elements from the Ford and Oldsmobile companies when it was started in 1902 and later became known for its innovation and high quality. The company was named after the French explorer Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded the city of Detroit in 1701. |
| Company co-founder Gordon Bowker has said that while brainstorming names, someone brought out a map that featured the old mining town of Starbo. That may have led him to think of Starbuck, the first mate in Herman Melville’s famous novel, Moby Dick. Not only the company name but also the origin of its logo has aroused great curiosity. |
| The inventor of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, was looking to make an elegant, yet precise, wristwatch. He wanted a name that was easy to say, worked in different languages, and looked good on the watches. He settled on Rolex in 1908. |
| A．Pepsi | B．Cadillac |
| C．Starbucks | D．Rolex |
| A．Caleb Bradham aimed to cure dyspepsia with Pepsi. |
| B．Hans Wilsdorf intended Rolex to be universally accepted. |
| C．Cadillac was named after the founding father of the company. |
| D．Starbucks was used due to the co-founder’s love for his hometown. |
| A．a famous company name is easy to spell |
| B．a special story can make a company famous |
| C．a company name usually has a special meaning in it |
| D．a company name is related to the founder’s profession |
One Mother to Another
On Wednesday evening, our daughter, who was at a boarding school over 200 kilometers away, told us that she had lost her phone when she took part in an activity off campus. We realized that we had little chance of finding it.
The next morning, my phone beeped (哔哔响) loudly. A kind voice announced that she had something that belonged to my daughter. I
After contacting the people I know who lived near the school, I was out of
I gave them directions and they
We had thought that the chance of getting back the phone was
| A．suggested | B．reported | C．explained | D．argued |
| A．date | B．luck | C．work | D．control |
| A．pick up | B．carry out | C．hand in | D．give away |
| A．find | B．show | C．miss | D．take |
| A．regret | B．surprise | C．amusement | D．disappointment |
| A．especially | B．certainly | C．definitely | D．probably |
| A．conducted | B．arranged | C．delivered | D．identified |
| A．doubts | B．interests | C．predicts | D．worries |
| A．free | B．slim | C．hard | D．fair |
| A．tell | B．face | C．mean | D．join |
Frederick Law Olmsted was born on April 26, 1822, and grew to become nineteenth-century America's number one landscape architect. To create the new park, partners and Olmsted removed nearly 5 million cubic yards of dirt,
How AI Will Impact the Future of Work and Life
AI, or artificial intelligence, seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days. While I’ve been aware of this major trend in tech development for a while, I’ve noticed AI appearing more and more as one of the most in-demand areas of expertise for job seekers.
I’m sure that for many of us, the term “AI” conjures up sci-fi fantasies or fear about robots taking over the world. The depictions of AI in the media have run the gamut, and while no one can predict exactly how it will evolve in the future, the current trends and developments paint a much different picture of how AI will become part of our lives.
In reality, AI is already at work all around us, impacting everything from our search results, to our online dating prospects, to the way we shop. Data shows that the use of AI in many sectors of business has grown by 270% over the last four years.
But what will AI mean for the future of work? As computers and technology have evolved, this has been one of the most pressing questions. As with many technological developments throughout history, the advancement of artificial intelligence has created fears that human workers will become obsolete.
The reality is probably a lot less dire, but maybe even more complicated.
What is AI?
Before we do a deep dive on the ways in which AI will impact the future of work, it’s important to start simple: what is AI? A straightforward definition from Britannica states that artificial intelligence is “the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.”
“AI” has become a catchall term to describe any advancements in computing, systems and technology in which computer programs can perform tasks or solve problems that require the kind of reason we associate with human intelligence, even learning from past processes.
This ability to learn is a key component of AI. Algorithms, like the dreaded Facebook algorithm that replaced all our friends with sponsored content, are often associated with AI.
AI will probably not make human workers obsolete, at least not for a long time.
1．According to the passage, what is “AI”?In some islands north of Scotland, head lice, which live on the hair or skin of people or animals, were a part of life. If the lice left their host, he became sick and feverish. Therefore, sick people had lice put in their hair intentionally. There was a method to their madness: As soon as the lice had settled in again, the patient improved. The story explains the confusion of cause and effect. If the lice leave the sick, it is because he has a fever and they simply get hot feet. When the fever breaks, they return. We may laugh at this story, but false causality misleads us practically every day.
Consider the headline: “Fact: Women Who Use Shampoo XYZ Every Day Have Stronger Hair.” This statement says very little—least of all, that the shampoo makes your hair stronger. It might simply be the other way round: Women with strong hair tend to use Shampoo XYZ—and perhaps that’s because it says “especially for thick hair” on the bottle.
A further example: Scientists found that long periods in the hospital did harm to patients. This was music to health insurers’ ears, who, of course, are keen to make stays as brief as possible. But, clearly, patients who are dismissed immediately are healthier than those who must stay on for treatment.
Recently I read that students get better grades at school if their homes contain a lot of books. This study was surely a shot in the arm for booksellers, but it is also an example of false causality. This simple truth is that educated parents tend to value their children’s education more than uneducated ones do. Plus, educated parents often have more books at home. In short, a dust-covered copy of War and Peace alone isn’t going to influence anyone’s grades; what counts is parents’ education levels, as well as their genes.
Another example of false causality was the supposed relationship between the birth rate and the numbers of stork (鹳) pairs in Germany. Both were in decline, and if you plot them on a graph, the two lines of development from 1965 to 1987 appeared almost the same. Does this mean the stork actually does bring babies? Obviously not, since this was a purely accidental connection.
In conclusion: Connection is not causality. Take a closer look at linked events: Sometimes what is presented as the cause turns out to be the effect, or just the other way around. And sometimes there is no link at all—just like with the storks and babies.
1．Which is an example of false causality?| A．Women with strong hair tend to use a certain shampoo. |
| B．Birth rate and the stork population are connected. |
| C．Longer periods in the hospital benefit patients. |
| D．Lice can make a person sick and feverish. |
| A．pain | B．defeat | C．guidance | D．encouragement |
| A．their homes are full of books | B．they have read War and Peace |
| C．their educated parents value education | D．their parents are successful booksellers |
| A．connections are pure accidents | B．cause and effect are interdependent |
| C．connections are mostly cause and effect | D．linked events may turn out to be unrelated |
Would you rather be an impressive employee in an ordinary firm, or land a role at the most well-known company in your industry?
The answer to that question might seem highly personal, based on factors like whether or not you are a competitive person and how much you enjoy a challenge. In fact, there’s another strong factor at play: People from different cultures react very differently to that question. The psychologists from the University of Michigan asked people theoretical questions about the decisions they take. Specifically, the researchers compared people with East Asian backgrounds and European American backgrounds. They found that Americans are much more likely to favor being a big fish in a small pond. East Asians, and specifically Chinese people, are much more likely than Americans to lean towards being a smaller fish in a bigger pond.
Researchers first asked 270 students at a large American university whether they would rather be a “big fish in a small pond” or the opposite. Of the students with East Asian American backgrounds, three quarters said they’d rather be a small fish, compared with just under 60% of students with European American backgrounds who said the same.
The researchers then compared American and Chinese adults. They asked the participants whether they would rather attend a top university but perform below average, and whether they would rather work for a top global company but do less well in comparison to their peers. Over half the Chinese adults chose the famous university, compared with just a third of Americans. In the case of the firms, well over half of people from both groups chose to do better at a less well-known firm, but Chinese people were still more likely to choose being a “small fish” than were Americans.
The final experiment sought to discover how American and Chinese people made judgments about whether they were succeeding. They found that Chinese people were more likely to compare their performance to the performance of people in other groups. Americans, meanwhile, were more likely to compare themselves to people within the same group, to judge whether or not they were doing well.
In East Asian cultures, it’s “not enough that you know you’re doing well in your school,” said Kaidi Wu, a PhD student in psychology who led the research. “It is much more important that other people — an outsider, a family relative, a future employer who has five seconds to glance through your resume — also recognize your academic excellence.”
America is the opposite: “Think about how many times themes like ‘You are your own person’ or ‘Stop worrying about what other people think’ course through song lyrics and self-help books,” Wu said, concluding: “The choices we make are the products of our culture.”
1．The psychologists from the University of Michigan find that ______.| A．Americans tend to achieve success in a big company |
| B．Chinese are likely to perform better in a big company |
| C．Americans prefer to shine in a relatively small company |
| D．Chinese are comfortable with working in a small company |
| A．compare different attitudes towards competition | B．find different views about personal success |
| C．judge performances of different groups | D．confirm which culture is better |
| A．his neighbors | B．his classmates | C．his teachers | D．his parents |
| A．plays a key role in people’s choice making | B．shows who we grow up to be in the future |
| C．is the most important factor behind success | D．determines students’ academic performance |
Lydia gave all the money to some charities which help the children
Last Saturday, David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yell. “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.
David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs Brown in middle school. After he entered a middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David behaved. But one day it all changed.
One day, in an English writing class, Mrs Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day, to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Mrs Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He never expected to be praised one day. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.
That day after he returned home, he wrote a short story and gave it to Mrs Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short stories and asked Mrs Brown to read them improve writing skills. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He was no longer that boy who lacked self-confidence. He gained his confidence, and was hopeful about his future.
He succeeded in entering a college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published. With some more books coming out, he became famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.
注意：Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The mother was ashamed when she heard that.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Yours,
Li Hua
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