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  3. History is more or less nonsense, declared Henry Ford in 1916. However, the company that bears his name is not so dismissive of

History is more or less nonsense, declared Henry Ford in 1916. However, the company that bears his name is not so dismissive of

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问题     History is more or less nonsense, declared Henry Ford in 1916. However, the company that bears his name is not so dismissive of the past. Ford’s website has a prominent heritage section captioned "Automotive history begins here." And Ford is not alone in seeking to capitalise on its history. Bruce Weindruch, founder of The History Factory, a "heritage management" firm that helps companies to document and exploit their past, says that his firm is growing by 30％～40％ annually.
    Some companies are more creative in their use of history than others. HSBC’s History Wall, a striking art installation at the bank’s London headquarters, is made up of 3743 images drawn from the bank’s archives and arranged in chronological order. Wells Fargo, a bank founded in 1852, plays heavily on its role in the development of the American West. It runs nine free museums that tell the story of its expansion and has a fleet of 21 reproduction stagecoaches that appear in some 900 parades and community events every year.
    The benefits of knowing your corporate history can be very practical. Disney constantly mines its archive of old films. Carmakers have overhauled old designs for the modern era: Volkswagen’s New Beetle and the new Fiat 500 are obvious examples. Stacey Schiesl, director of the Harley-Davidson museum, says designers use the company’s collection of historic bikes as inspiration for new products.
    But the bigger payoff tends to be less tangible—that of forging stronger bonds with customers and employees. Age can by itself confer a sense of trustworthiness: brewers and bankers boast deep roots. Jim Gilmore, co-author of "Authenticity", argues that history is also vital in giving companies a genuine sense of personality. Ritz-Carlton’s use of cobalt-blue glasses in its hotel dining rooms can be traced back to Boston in the 1920s, for example, where window glass that had been imported from Europe and turned blue in the New England air was a symbol of wealth. Rather than commissioning dusty biographies to mark anniversaries, Mr. Gilmore reckons that firms should trawl the archives for symbolic stories of this kind.
    Yet, companies still cannot avoid difficult episodes in their pasts. Transparency is a must. Union Carbide, a chemicals firm, has a link to information on the deadly Bhopal gas leak in India on its home page, for example. Far more truthfully, Coca-Cola does not shy away from the failed introduction of New Coke in 1985. "It’s like kids looking at the dirty words in a dictionary," says Mr. Weindruch. "people will notice if the awkward bits are missing. "
The phrase "capitalise on" (Line 4, Para. 1) is closest in meaning to________.
选项 A、dishonor
B、profit from
C、explore
D、invest in
答案B
解析 本题是词汇题。根据题干关键词capitalise on定位至首段的第四句And Ford is not alone in seeking to capitalise on its history。其中seeking to capitalise on its history是对上句福特公司网站有“历史遗产”版块的概括，not alone又引出后一句对一家帮助公司记录和利用其历史的历史遗产公司增长速度的描述。后一句中的companies to document and exploit their past与Ford…to capitalise on its history相呼应，因此与capitalise on接近的表达是document and exploit“记录和利用”，故答案选B项“得益于”，是对exploit(利用)的同义替换。另外，第二段首句Some companies are more creative in their use of history than others也提示capitalise on与use近义，进一步验证B项正确。A项是根据文章首句提到的History is more or less nonsense设置的干扰项，但从第二句However开始，是对历史的态度发生转变，因此A项dishonor“污辱”与文意相悖；C项explore“探索”是exploit的形近意异词. D项invest in“投资于……”是capitalise作及物动词的一种释义，属于字面意思，不符合语境，此三项均排除。
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