下面的短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23～30题要求从所给的6个选项中为第1～5段各其中4段选择1个最佳标题；(2)第
27～30题要求从所给的4个选项中为每个句子确定1个最佳选项。 The Making of a Success Story
1. IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it
is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs (企业家). Born
in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural business man. As a child, he enjoyed
selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds and pencils in
his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward
for his good grades. Naturally he used it to start up a business — IKEA.
2. IKEA’s name comes from Kamprads’initials (I. K.) and the
place where he grew up (E and A). Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist
(最低限要求者) furniture, but it was not a furniture company in the beginning. Rather,
IKEA sold all kinds of miscellaneous (杂货) goods. Kamprad’s wares included
anything that he could sell for profits at discounted prices, including watches,
pens and stockings. 3. IKEA first began to sell furniture
through a mail-order catalogue in 1947. the furniture was all designed and made
by manufactures near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales were very encouraging, so
Kamprad expanded the product line. Furniture was such a successful aspect of the
business that IKEA became solely a furniture company in 1951.
4. In 1953 IKEA opened its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden. IKEA is
known today for its spacious stress with furniture in attractive settings, but
in the early 1950s, people ordered from catalogues. Thus response to the first
showroom was overwhelming (地法抵抗的) : people loved being able to see and try the
furniture before buying it. This led to increased sales and the company
continued to thrive. By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture.
5. In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling (分解) a table to make
it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great
idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA
and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales soared. The problem was
that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew
into an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having connotations
(内涵)of self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to
better sales and continued expansion. 6. Today there are over
200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a
privately-held company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He
currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of
IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing. A. Ingvar
Kamprad — a Born Businessman B. Success brought by the
introduction of Showrooms C. The origin Of IKEA
D. Specialization in Selling Furniture E. Flat packaging
— a Feature of IKEA F. World-wide expansion of IKEA As flat packaging saves money for both IKEA and the customers,