Compared with IBM, Microsoft is a mere young company. Founded in 1975, it rose swiftly to dominate the world of personal computing with its Windows operating system and Office suite of word-processing and other productivity tools. But the company is now showing some worrying signs of middle-age fatigue. In particular, it is struggling to find a growth strategy that will enthuse disappointed shareholders.
Complaint are understandable. Since Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates as chief executive in 2000, Microsoft’s share price has decreased and the company has lost its reputation as a tech trend-setter. It has been left behind in hot areas such as search and social networking by younger companies, some of which love to thumb their noses at their older rival. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, recently proclaimed that leadership in the tech world had passed from Microsoft and others to a "Gang of Four" fast-growing, consumer-oriented businesses: Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
Few would object to that. The question is: what，if anything, can Microsoft do to change it In at least some respects, the company appears to be suffering from similar ailments to those that laid IBM low before Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get it back on its feet. These include arrogance bred of dominance of a particular area-mainframe computers at IBM, personal computers at Microsoft—and internal fiefs that hamper swift change.
As IBM’s experience shows, recovery in the tech world is possible. And some observers see encouraging signs of progress at Microsoft. Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester, a research firm, reckons that Windows 8, a forthcoming version of Microsoft’s operating system, could be a serious competitor to Google’s Android on tablet computers if the company can get it to market next year．Microsoft is also in far better shape financially than IBM was at its lowest point, so it can afford to splash out on acquisitions such as its recent $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, an internet-phone and video-calling service.
That bet and an alliance with Nokia in mobile phones show that Microsoft is trying to bulk up in promising areas. Yet sceptics worry that such initiatives are not the product of an comprehensive strategic vision, but are instead temporary moves designed to calm critics who fear Microsoft is drifting downwards. David Einhorn, a prominent hedge-fund manager whose fund holds shares in Microsoft, has publicly called for a change at the top of the firm, arguing that Mr Ballmer is "stuck in the past". So far, the company’s board, chaired by Mr Gates, has backed its chief executive. But if IBM’s history is a guide, Microsoft may yet end up jettisoning its leader.
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that（）
A. Microsoft’s revenue is on a dramatic decline
B. people have a bleak view of Microsoft’s future
C. Microsoft kept pace with IBM in terms of sales
D. Microsoft once surpassed IBM in many aspects
参考答案：B
解析：
[试题类型] 推理引申题。
[解题思路] 根据题干中的first paragraph可将答案定位至文章首段。在简要介绍了微软辉煌的发展历史之后，第三句指出微软面临的问题：目前呈现出一些令人担忧的中年疲惫迹象。最后一句也指出，微软正在努力寻找增长策略，以激发对其感到失望的股东们的热情。从disappointed shareholders可知，微软的经营表现让股东们感到失望，由此可以判断人们并不看好微软的发展前景，选项[B]“人们认为微软前景黯淡”符合文意，故为答案。
[干扰排除] 针对微软目前的状况，首段只提到微软呈现出一些令人担忧的中年疲惫现象，并未具体说明该公司的收入状况如何，因此选项[A]“微软收入大幅下降”为过度推断，故排除。第一段第一句指出，相对于IBM而言，微软还是一个年轻的公司，这里作者只是对比IBM和Microsoft两个公司成立时间的长短，并没有涉及公司经营状况的其他方面，选项[C]比较的是二者产品销售方面(sales)的情况，属于无中生有，故排除。同理，选项[D]涉及两个公司在其他方面的比较，本文首段并未提及，故排除。