1946年,世界上第一台电子计算机在( )诞生。 A . 中国 B . 美国 C . 日本 D . 英国 答案:B“My work is done.” Those words were
some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide
note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly
great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind.
Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged
financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have
foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century’s prosperity. One of America’s
bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed.
But George Eastman is not how he died, and
the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be
needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness
that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or
defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world.
It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of
the Eastman Kodak Company.
Kodak served mankind through entertainment,
science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us
to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us
to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne,
and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President
Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther
King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kissed the
nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a
nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak
took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift
to posterity from the Eastman Kodak Company.
In an era of easy digital photography, when
we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was
like before George Eastman brought photography to people. Yes, there were
photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take stilted
pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn’t afford
photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier
times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents
had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what
their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty
of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn’t just people
whose features were savable; it was events, the sacred and precious times that
families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity’s moment.
And it wasn’t just people whose features
were savable; it was events, the precious times that familes cherish.
Kodak let the fleeting moments of birthdays and weddings, picnics and parties,
be preserved and saved. It allowed for the creation of the most egalitarian art
form. Lovers could take one another’s pictures, children were photographed
walking out the door on the first day of school, the person releasing the
shutter decided what was worth recording, and hundreds of millions of such
decisions were made. And for centuries to come, those long dead will smile and
dance and communicate to their unborn progeny. Family history will be not only
names on paper, but smiles on faces.
The cash flow not just provided thousands
of people with job, but also allowed the company’s founder to engage in some of
the most generous philanthropy in America’s history. Not just in Kodak’s home
city of Rochester, New York, but in Tuskegee and London, and at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He bankrolled two historically black
colleges, fixed the teeth of Europe’s poor, and quietly did good wherever he
could. While doing good, Kodak did very well. Over all the years, all the
Kodakers over all the years are essential parts of that monumental legacy. They
prospered a great company, but they – with that company – blessed the world.
That is what we should remember about the
Eastman Kodak Company.
Like its founder, we should remember how it
lived, not how it died.
History will forget the small men who have
scuttled this company.
But history will never forget Kodak.
1.According to the passage, which of the
following is to blame for the fall of Kodak?
A.The invention of easy digital photography
B.The poor management of the company
C.The early death of George Eastman
D.The quick rise of its business competitors
2.It can be learnt from the passage that
George Eastman .
A.died a natural death of old age.
B.happened to be on the spot when President Kennedy was shot dead.
C.set up his company in the capital of the US before setting up its
branches all over the world.
D.was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the
improvement of other people’s lives.
3.Before George Eastman brought photography
to people, .
A.no photos has ever been taken of people or events
B.photos were very expensive and mostly taken indoors
C.painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their
ancestors.
D.grandparents never knew what their grandchildren looked like.
4.The person releasing the shutter
(Paragraph 5) was the one .
A.who took the photograph
B.who wanted to have a photo taken
C.whose decisions shaped the Eastman Kodak Company
D.whose smiles could long be seen by their children
5.What is the writer’s attitude towards the
Eastman Kodak Company?
A.Disapproving
B.Respectful
C.Regretful
D.Critical
6.Which do you think is the best title for
the passage?
A.Great Contributions of Kodak
B.Unforgettable moments of Kodak
C.Kodak Is Dead
D.History of Eastman Kodak Company