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.
The word "jettisoning" (Last line, Paragraph 5) probably means（）
A. abandoning
B. criticizing
C. convincing
D. coaching
参考答案：A
解析：
[试题类型] 语义理解题。
[解题思路] 本题就jettisoning一词的含义进行提问，故可定位至文章最后一段。该段首先指出怀疑论者认为微软力求复兴的诸多措施都只是权宜之计(temporary moves designed to calm critics)，接着公开呼吁微软更换高层(called for change at the top of the firm)。对此呼吁，微软的态度是：依然支持现任首席执行管。jettisoning一词所在句意为“如果IBM的历史是个指引的话，那么微软最终会______它的领导”，由于前文第三段中提到IBM在最低谷的时候，聘用了新的领导者，使其重振雄风(Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get it back on its feet)，如果IBM在关键时刻聘用新领导人的历史是微软的榜样的话，那么微软最后也将更换领导人，四个选项中只有选项[A]abandoning与此处的文意最符合，故为答案。
[干扰排除] 选项[B1意为“批评”，选项[C]意为“说服，使信服”，选项[D]意为“训练”。关于CEO的问题，文中一直讨论的是换帅的问题，并没有涉及划CEO进行指责、批评，或者对其进行培训及说服微软CEO做什么事情等内容，故排除[B]、[C]、[D]三项。