Passage 3

For some time past it has been widely accepted that babies - and other creatures - learn to do things because certain acts lead to “rewards”; and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it also used to be widely believed that effective reward, at least in the early stages, had to be directly related to such basic physiological (生理的) “drives” as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or drink of some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.

It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except the successful outcome.

Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to “reward” the babies and so teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning the head to one side or the other. Then he noticed that a baby who had had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children’s responses in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement “switched on” a display of lights —and indeed that they were capable of learning quite complex turns to bring about this result, for instance, two left or two right, or even to make as many three turns to one side.

Papousek’s light display was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the lights closely although they would “smile and bubble” when the display came on. Papousek concluded that it was not primarily the sight of the lights which pleased them, it was the success they were achieving in solving the problem, in mastering the skill, and that there exists a fundamental human urge to make sense of the world and bring it under intentional control.

38、According to the author, babies learn to do things which ____.

电子商务的交易通常涉及几个互动的步骤。 (involve, interactive steps)

应该由你决定是否实施这一计划。(up to, carry out)

愿意买该产品的人越多，价格就降得越多。(the more, the more)

我们要事先准备所有申请材料。(in advance, application materials)

为了获得市场份额，他们必须竭尽全力。(market share, go to lengths)

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阅读下面的短文，然后把划线的句子翻译成汉语。

It has been a tumultuous time for dot-com start-ups. In fact, Gartner, Inc. estimates that over 75% of e-commerce start-ups will end in failure. (71) [While it is tempting to blame prevailing market conditions for this failure rate, the fact is that early planning ultimately determines the potential success or failure of a start-up.] This whitepaper helps managers understand the characteristics that contribute to successful start-ups. (72) [Importantly, this work also includes a valuable diagnostic survey that helps entrepreneurs quantify the strength of the business and identify problem areas.]

One thing is clear: There are a lot of ways for a new business to go out of business. (73) [Loss of focus, an inability to fulfill customer orders or service, and a mismatch of top management with the corporate culture are but a few common reasons that businesses fail.] To increase the chances of success, managers need to consider four crucial inputs: 

Management/People:The single most vital component of any business, every start-up needs a skilled management team that can execute the business plan, adapt to changing environments, and attract and retain valuable staff.

Market Opportunity:To succeed, a venture requires a business model that is adaptable, scalable, defensible, and able to generate both revenue and profits. (74) [In addition, ma-nagement must recognize the company’s market position and the potential of its ideas in the market.]

Funding:The ability of the venture to raise operating cash in order to establish profitability.

Product and Service:This defines the demand for the product, including the degree to which it addresses customer needs and the ability to provide fulfillment and client service functions.

(75) [By keeping a close eye on these found areas — strong leadership and management, good people, a solid business plan, and a product that people want to purchase—businesses can position themselves to weather inevitable challenges.]

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