Conventional wisdom is a major barrier to innovation (創(chuàng)新) 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.The author's attitude to conventional wisdom is .

A. disapproving B. approving

C. supportive D. indifferent

2.DEC has disappeared probably because .

A. the consumers didn’t like its products

B. the CEO stuck to the conventional ideas

C. the leaders lacked the sense of security.

D. the employees took many risks with changes

3.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

4.What does the underlined part probably mean in Paragraph 3?

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.

5.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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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：廣東省廣州市2017屆英語(yǔ)高考沖刺題（一） 題型：閱讀理解

Ever since the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago, mass communication has been growing and affecting the way communities and people behave. Where once the written word was used by those with power to keep control of populations, now everyone believes that they have power over governments because of the huge amount of knowledge available to them thanks to electronic communication. At every stage of the development of communication, from the telegraph through to the Internet, societies have had to adapt to its effects. But have the effects been more positive or negative?

The saying “knowledge is power” has been an excellent motivator for people to improve their lives, but today the massive amount of information available through the Internet doesn’t always seem to be helping people in the way we’d hoped. Rather than improving people’s lives and bringing us closer together, the information age is making us more divided and irresponsible.

Nevertheless, many people find comfort in their virtual (虛擬的) worlds and are happy to connect with real-life friends and online friends from the familiar surroundings of their living rooms. However, being able to reinvent themselves online and be whoever they want to be leads to the question of whether they are losing their identities by living in a virtual world.

It’s not all bad news, however. Mass communication has helped change some attitudes for the better. Take our views on the environment for example. Internet campaigns by governments and other organizations have helped popularize the ideas of recycling, protecting wildlife and reducing pollution.

Modern electronic communication now influences every aspect of our lives — it is a powerful tool that has raised some concerns for society. However, it has also brought countless benefits to society. At the end of the day, it can be used both for good or evil and ultimately relies on the morals and sense of responsibility of the individual or community involved. In short, it needs to be used with care.

1.What does the writer imply about life before the printing press?

A. Population levels were lower.

B. The general public had little power.

C. People wanted to have more control over their lives.

D. Countries were governed by poorly educated people.

2.The writer states that the saying “knowledge is power” has ________.

A. encouraged people to get an education

B. sometimes failed to have the expected results

C. motivated people to access as much information as possible

D. been the driving force behind the development of mass media

3.What does the writer think about socialising online?

A. It can be comforting for some people.

B. Virtual lives can stop people enjoying a real life.

C. People have too many friends online to be of any value.

D. Crime is a problem for people on social networking sites.

4.Which statement best summarises the writer’s overall view of electronic communication?

A. It should be used wisely.

B. It changes attitudes much too quickly.

C. It is more powerful than many people believe.

D. It should be better controlled by the government.

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假如你是李華，約好陪你校外教Mrs. Wilson到中國(guó)最美十大海島之一崳山島(Yushan Island)游玩，因故不能踐約，另安排李明同學(xué)陪同。請(qǐng)你給她寫(xiě)封郵件，表示歉意并說(shuō)明 理由。

注意：1.詞數(shù)100左右；

2.可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，使行文連貫。

Dear Mrs. Wilson,

I’m Li Hua.______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

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Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman.

A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his aim is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock (有現(xiàn)貨的), the business of trying it on follows at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone’s satisfaction.

For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants, or does not have exactly what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else. No good salesman brings out a substitute impolitely; he does so with skill: “I know this jacket is not the style you want, Sir, but would you like to try it on for size? It happens to be the color you mentioned.” Few men have patience with this treatment, and the usual response is: “This is the right color and may be the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.”

Now how does a woman buy clothes? In almost every aspect she does so in the opposite way. Her shopping is not often based on need. She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She is always open to persuasion; indeed she is influenced by what the saleswoman tells her, even by what companions tell her. She will try on any number of things. What she wants is to find something that everyone thinks suits her. Contrary to a lot of jokes, most women have an excellent sense of value when they buy clothes. They are always on the lookout for the unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend hours going from one shop to another, to and fro. It is a tiring process, but apparently an enjoyable one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

1.The underlined sentence “the price is a secondary consideration” in the second paragraph means when a man is shopping .

A. he buys things without considering its price

B. he buys whatever he likes without considering its value

C. he buys things of good quality even if they are very dear

D. he cares about whether the thing is what he needs first and then the price

2.What does a man do when he can not get exactly what he wants?

A. He usually does not buy anything.

B. So long as the style is right, he buys the thing.

C. He buys a similar thing because of the color he wants.

D. At least two of his requirements must be met before he buys.

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A. Women rarely consider buying cheap clothes.

B. They welcome suggestions from almost anyone.

C. They try to buy clothes for more than its real value.

D. Women buy things without giving the matter proper thought.

4.What is the main difference between men and women shoppers?

A. Women buy more clothes than men.

B. Women bargain for their clothes, but men do not.

C. Men go shopping based on need, but women often not.

D. Men do not try clothes on in a shop while women do.

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Many people rush into the commitment of bringing home a four-legged family member,only to find out that they are not ready for a pet.This often results in the dog being turned over to a shelter where it may not find another home.This can be avoided if potential pet owners take the time to figure out if they are truly ready for the responsibilities of pet ownership.

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D. Decide to be a pet owner without thinking about it carefully.

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假定英語(yǔ)課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請(qǐng)你修改你同桌寫(xiě)的以下作文。文中共有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤，每句中最多有兩處，錯(cuò)誤僅涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加，刪除或修改。

增加：在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)（∧），并在其下面寫(xiě)出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（╲）劃掉。

修改：在錯(cuò)的詞下面劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫(xiě)出修改后的詞。

注意：

1. 每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2. 只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計(jì)分。

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