16．A head track coach，Bill Bowerman，designed a lighter shoe with better support and greater strength and sent the design to leading sporting-goods companies．They all turned him down．
The refusal brought Bowerman face to face with his own philosophy of"competitive response"．He had taught his sportsmen value competition not so much for its prizes as for its intellectual and spiritual demands．This was true of his determination to make the shoes himself．
He made his first pair of track shoes graceful and light．And his runners won in his handmade shoes．But who would like to manufacture（制造）such shoes himself．
He made his first pair of track shoes graceful and light．And his runners won in his hand made shoes．But who would like to manufacture（制造）such shoes？
In 1962Knight，one of Bowerman's sportsmen，offered to travel to Japan and called on one of Japan's best manufacturers of sports shoes．The manufacturer promised to produce shoes of his design and Knight's company would be their only distributor（经销商）in the U．S．Just over a year later，a shipment of 200Bowerman shoes arrived in Oregon．
At first，Knight and Bowerman worked with small team and went selling out of cars at track meets．But slowly，the secret of their product grew in the running world．
Then in 1972 the Japanese company cut off all supplies to their company and had established a separate distribution network in the U．S．In 30days Knight succeeded in lining up a new manufacturer．And today the company takes the largest share in the shoe business．Its name？Nike，after the Greek Goddess of victory．
Bowerman，Knight and the Nike team have a firm belief that a shared commitment requires outstanding individual performance and a willingness to contribute that performance to the group．
16．Bowerman designed new track shoes in order toD．
A．help out Knight，one of his sportsmen
B．make a fortune in shoe business
C．attract Japanese manufacturers
D．help improve his runners'performance
17．What encouraged Bowerman to overcome his difficulties wasD
A．his passion for sports
B．the support of the sporting-goods companies
C．the same spiritual demands he had on his sportsmen
D．the support of the sporting-goods companies
18．The difficulties Knight ran into in 1972were caused byC
A．the Japanese company's breakup with his in business
B．the quality of the shoes
C．the leak（泄漏）of the secret of his design
D．the competition from other companies．
分析 本文主要写了耐克运动鞋的产生和发展的历史故事．
解答 16．D 推理判断题．根据句子Bill Bowerman，designed a lighter shoe with better support and greater strength and sent the design to leading sporting-goods companies．可见他把他的设计发送给领先的体育用品公司，应该是为了帮助提高跑步者的表现，所以答案选B．
17．D 细节理解题． The manufacturer promised to produce shoes of his design and Knight's company would be their only distributor（经销商）in the U．S．Japan's best manufacturers of sports shoes日本最好的运动鞋制造商承诺生产他设计的鞋．所以答案选D．
18．C 细节理解题．根据句子 the secret of their product grew in the running world．他们的产品的秘密在世界上成长公开．所以是秘密的泄露导致公司的困难，所以答案选C．
点评 阅读理解题测试考生在阅读基础上的逻辑推理能力，要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系，对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断；或根据作者所阐述的观点理论，对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释．考生首先要仔细阅读短文，完整了解信息，准确把握作者观点．
