FederalExpressisacompanythatspecializesinrapidovernightdeliveryofhigh-prioritypackages.Thefirstcompanyofitstype,FederalExpresswasfoundedbytheyouthfulFredSmithin1971,whenhewasonly28yearsold.SmithhadactuallydevelopedtheideafortherapiddeliveryserviceinatermpaperforaneconomicsclasswhenhewasastudentatYaleUniversity.
Thetermpaperreceivedaless-than-stellargradebecauseoftheinfeasibilityoftheprojectthatSmithhadoutlined.ThemodelthatSmithproposedhadneverbeentried;itwasamodelthatwasefficienttooperatebutatthesametimeverydifficulttoinstitute.
Smithachievedefficiencyinhismodelbydesigningasystemthatwasseparatefromthepassengersystemandcould,therefore,focusonhowtodeliverpackagesmostefficiently.HisstrategywastohavehisownplanessothathecouldcreatehisownschedulesandtoshipallpackagesthroughthecentralizedhubcityofMemphis,aset-upwhichresemblesthespokes(轮辐)onthewheelofabicycle.Withthiscombinationofhisownplanesandhubset-up,hecouldgetpackagesanywhereintheUnitedStatesovernight.
WhatmadeSmith’sideadifficulttoinstitutewasthefactthattheentiresystemhadtobecreatedbeforethecompanycouldbeginoperations.HeneededafleetofaircrafttocollectpackagesfromairportseverynightanddeliverthemtoMemphis,wheretheywereimmediatelysortedandflownouttotheirnewdestinations;heneededafleetoftruckstodeliverpackagestoandfromthevariousairports;heneededfacilitiesandtrainedstaffallinplacetohandletheoperation.Smithhada$4millioninheritancefromhisfather,andhemanagedtoraiseanadditional91milliondollarsfromventurecapitaliststogetthecompanyoperating.
练习题：
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Themostappropriatetitleforthispassageis”_____”.
A.TheProblemsandFrustrationsofaBusinessStudent
B.TheImportanceofBusinessStudies
C.TheCapitalizationofFederalExpress
D.TheImplementationofaSuccessfulBusiness
2.WhatisstatedinthepassageaboutSmith’stermpaper
A.Smithsubmitteditthroughadeliveryservice.
B.ItwaswrittenbyastudentofSmith’s.
C.Thegradewasnotquitesatisfactory.
D.Theprofessorthoughtithadgreatpotential.
3.WhatwasSmith’skeyidea
A.Thatheshouldfocusonpassengerservice.
B.Thatpackagedeliveryshouldbeseparatefrompassengerservice.
C.Thatpackagescouldbedeliveredonothercompanies’planes.
D.Thatpassengerservicehadtobeefficient.
4.ItcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatSmithselectedMemphisashishubcitybecauseit____.
A.wasnearthemiddleofthecountry
B.hadalargenumberofpassengeraircraft
C.alreadyhadalargepackagedeliveryservice
D.wasafavoritepassengerairport
答案：
2.[C]事实细节题。本题考查名词infeasibility的理解。第1段第4句中的less-than-stellar和infeasibility都有助于推断史密斯论文的情况。虽然stellar是超纲词，但是利用构词法可以推断infeasibility是由in+feasibl(e)+ity构成的，并由此可推断其意义为“不可行”,不可行的方案自然分数也不会令人满意了，因此选项C是正确答案。
4.[A]推理判断题。第2段第2句提到通过中心枢纽城市孟菲斯(throughthecentralizedhubcityofMemphis)运送所有的包裹，由此可推断孟菲斯处于美国中部，选项A正确