A
Akio Morita，cofounder of the Sony Corporation，was born on January 26th,1921 and died on October 3rd,1999 in Tokyo.
He created one of the first truly global companies.His strategy (策略) was so successful that Sony was recently chosen as the number one brand name by American consumers (消费者)，ahead of CocaCola and General Electric.
Morita had a comfortable childhood.He was the eldest son of a wealthy family from Nagoya.He trained as a physicist.Before he celebrated his 26th birthday，he had started his own company with a partner，Masaru Ibuka.In 1949 the company developed recording tape and in 1950 sold the first tape recorder in Japan.In 1957 it produced a pocketsized radio and a year later renamed itself Sony.For the new name Mr Morita combined the Latin word for sound，sonus，with the English expression “sonny boy” to give an impression of a company full of energy and youth.In 1960 it produced the first transistor television in the world.
Morita moved his family to the USA in 1963.This helped him to understand Americans，their market and customs.Many people believe this was the key reason for his global success.
Sony launched the Walkman in 1979 after Morita had noticed young people's love of music.
Morita was a workaholic (工作狂)，but he was also a playaholic.He loved art and music，and was a sports enthusiast.
He also wrote a book in the 1960s called Never Mind School Records which argued that academic (学术的) achievements are not important for success in business.
He is survived by his wife Yoshiko，two sons and a daughter.
【语篇解读】 本文是记叙文。文章主要介绍了索尼公司的联合创始人Akio Morita。
1．What do we know about Sony?
A．It topped some American brands.
B．It had a longer history than CocaCola.
C．It failed to meet customers' satisfaction.
D．It had fewer customers than General Electric.
A [细节理解题。由第二段中的“Sony was recently chosen as the number one brand name by American consumers...”可知，索尼超越了一些美国品牌。]
2．Why did Akio Morita rename his company Sony?
A．To make the company appear exciting.
B．To break into the American market.
C．To advertise his new products.
D．To attract young customers.
A [细节理解题。由第三段中的“to give an impression of a company full of energy and youth”可知，Akio Morita把他的公司更名为索尼是为了给人们一种印象：这家公司充满了青春和活力。]
3．What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A．Morita's family.
B．Morita's creativity.
C．America's lively market.
D．Morita's understanding of America.
D [代词指代题。由第四段的描述可知，Akio Morita在1963年把家搬到美国，这使得他对美国人、美国市场以及美国的风俗有了深入理解，很多人认为这正是他在全球获得成功的关键原因；由此可推断，this指的是Akio Morita对美国的了解。]
4．What do we know about Akio Morita?
A．He was a productive writer.
B．He was a low achiever in school.
C．He once taught physics in a college.
D．He was hardworking and enjoyed his life.
D [细节理解题。由倒数第三段中的“Morita was a workaholic(工作狂)，but he was also a playaholic.”可知，Akio Morita既是一个工作狂，也是一个会享受生活的人。]
