Henry Ford’s parents left Ireland during the potato famine and settled in the Detroit area in the.1840s. Ford was born in what is now Dearborn, Michigan. His formal education was limited, but even as a youngster, he was handy with machinery. He worked for the Detroit Edison Company, advancing from machine-shop apprentice to chief engineer.
In 1893, Ford built a gasoline engine, and within a few years, an automobile, still a novelty item of the rich or do-it-yourself engineers. In 1899, Ford left Edison to help run the Detroit Automobile Company. Cars were still built essentially one at a time. Ford hoped to incorporate ideas from other industries----standardized parts as Eli Whitney has used with gun manufacturing, or assembly line methods George Eastman tried in photo processing ----to make the process more efficient. This idea struck others in his field as crazy, so before long, Ford quit Detroit Automobile Company and began to build his own racing cars. They were good enough to attract backers and even partners, and in 1903, he set up the Ford Motor Company.
He still met resistance to his ideas for mass production of a car the average worker could afford. But he stuck to his goal and finally in 1908, began production of the Model T. Ford gradually adapted the production line until in 1913, his plant incorporated the first moving assembly line. Demand for the affordable car soared even as production went up: before Ford stopped making the model T in 1927, 15 million had been sold, and Ford had become the leading auto manufacturer in the country. In addition to the moving assembly line, Ford revolutionized the auto industry by increasing the pay and decreasing the hours of his employees, ensuring he could get enough and the best workers. During the Model T era, Ford bought out his shareholders so he had completed financial control of the now vast corporation. He continued to innovate, competitors (growing more powerful though fewer in number) began to cut into Ford’s market share.
Ford and his family spent a food deal of time and money on charitable work. They set up a historical museum in Greenfield Village, Michigan, and most notably set up the Ford Foundation, which provides grants for research, education, and development.
“A bore (讨厌鬼) is a fellow who opens his mouth and puts his feats (技艺) in it,” said Ford
51. The main idea of the first paragraph is _________.
A. Ford’s education B. Ford’s family
C. Ford’s quickness to learn D. Ford’s interest and handiness in machinery
52. Which of the following statements is right?
A. Ford created the idea of standardized parts in industry
B. Ford is the first to imply production line in manufacturing
C. Ford is the first to create the idea of mass production of a car affordable for the average workers.
D. Ford is the first to make cars.
53. The reason why Ford left Detroit Automobile Company probably was that _________.
A. he was fired for his crazy idea
B. he hoped to carry out his own idea on car-making
C. people didn’t like to work with him
D. he wanted to set up his own car factory
54. According to the passage, Henry Ford can be probably described as a man of _______.
A. stubbornness B. C. caution C. determination D. well-education
55. Which of the following quotes means most similarly with the last sentence of the passage?
A. You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
B. Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening.
C. The greatest thing you can do is surprise yourself
D. For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.
