《考研英語閱讀理解100篇 基礎(chǔ)版》第3章　信息技術(shù)類 Unit 38

SoftBank of Japan is making its biggest gamble yet: entering the American cellphone market．SoftBank's complex $20.1 billion deal to buy majority control of Sprint Nextel will unite Japan's fastest-growing cellphone service provider with one of the United States’ most troubled．The idea is to provide Sprint with a stronger，deeper-pocketed partner that can help finance its network overhaul and，eventually，pursue additional mergers．But SoftBank，an Internet and communications company，is making a risky wager that it can break the dominance of Verizon and AT&T in the United States the way it did a similar duopoly that long reigned over the Japanese market. 
“SoftBank brings so much more to Sprint than money,” Daniel R．Hesse，Sprint's chief executive，said on an analyst call．“This investment provides the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a leader in mobile Internet technology with a proven track record of challenging larger incumbent carriers.” Together，the two companies would have $80 billion in revenue and $18 billion in earnings before interest and taxes．And they would nearly double Sprint's customer base to 96 million，giving the company greater purchasing power．SoftBank's founder and chief executive，Masayoshi Son，was blunt in his goal: creating the biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States．It is the strategy his own company is pursuing in Japan，aimed at drawing in users of the latest smartphones．Sprint is only beginning to roll out its next-generation Long Term Evolution network，trailing Verizon Wireless and AT&T．“U.S．citizens don’t have this experience of high speed,” Mr．Son said on the analyst call．“We’re going to bring that to the States.” 
Shareholders in Sprint and SoftBank appeared less pleased by the transaction．Sprint's shares closed down slightly on Monday，at $5.69，while SoftBank's stock tumbled 5.3 percent，to 2,268 yen（$28.92）．While infusing Sprint with cash，the deal would slow SoftBank's efforts to repay its own hefty debt load，which stood at nearly $13 billion as of June 30．Mr．Son has said that he has already repaid much of the debt his company took on when it bought Vodafone's Japan arm in 2006 and has done it well ahead of schedule. 
The deal on Monday was a welcome development for the financial advisers involved in a year starved for deal activity．If completed，Monday's transaction would be the biggest deal by a Japanese company in the United States in more than three decades，according to data from Thomson Reuters．It would also be the biggest deal so far this year involving a foreign investment in an American company. 
注（1）：本文選自The New York Times; 
注（2）：本文習(xí)題模仿對(duì)象：本文習(xí)題的第1、2、5題模仿2011年真題Text 1的第1、4、5題，第3、4題模仿2011年真題Text 2的第3、4題。 
1．We can learn from Para．1 that entering the American cellphone market，Softbank has ______. 
A) incurred criticism 
B) raised suspicion 
C) faced risks 
D) aroused curiosity 
2．What can’t Sprint benefit from Softbanks? 
A) Much money and more customers. 
B) Knowledge and expertise. 
C) Greater purchasing power. 
D) Biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States. 
3．The word“tumble”（Line 2，Paragraph 3）most probably means ______. 
A) decrease 
B) increase 
C) reach 
D) keep 
4．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______. 
A) the deal was a welcome development 
B) the transaction was the biggest deal in more than three decades 
C) it would be the biggest deal so far 
D) the transaction features in historic significance 
5．From the text we can see that the writer seems ______. 
A) positive 
B) negative 
C) uncertain 
D) neutral