About500yearsago,theSpanishexplorerChristopherColumbusp...

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About 500 years ago, the Spanish explorer Christopher ColumBus proved the Earth was round. Now American author Thomas Friedman tells us the Earth is flat in his bestseller: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.

If he is not joking, then why is the world flat? Friedman owes it to technological forces. Because of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he believes geographical barriers are disappearing. Individuals and companies around the world can cooperate or compete on the same level.

Bill Gates explains the meaning of this transformation best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a genius in Shanghai and an average person in Poughkeepsie (a city in southeast New York), you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a prosperous life were much greater there. "Now," Gates says, "I would rather be a genius born in China than an average guy born in Poughkeepsie." This shows that success today is determined more by ability than by location.

Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven by ambitious individuals: freelancers (自由撰稿人) and creative new businesses all over the world, especially in India and China. They can compete not just for low-wage manufacturing but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well.

Big companies have played another important role in this globalization process. They move their factories from one country to another to cut costs. It's usual now for an engineer in China to be working for an American company. The Internet keeps them in constant touch with their American partners. People everywhere, from the US to China, have procedures of the same standard for getting their work done.

The Reuters news agency provides a good example. The company moved its operation offices from London and New York to India. The Indian employees have the necessary technical skills. But the salaries and office rents are less than one-fifth of what they would be in New York or London.

1．The fact that Bill Gates made a different choice shows that ______.

A．success is largely determined by where you live

B．a genius is sure to succeed

C．Shanghai has taken the place of New York now

D．one can succeed from anywhere as long as he is intelligent enough

2．Why is the world flat according to Friedman?

A．Because the Earth has changed 500 years later.

B．Because geniuses can be found everywhere all over the world .

C．Because great progress in science and technology makes the world seem smaller.

D．Because the 21st century makes travel easier.

3．Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the advantages of globalization?

A．Lower cost for factories B．Low-wage manufacturing