Evolve or die
（1）THE personal computer spawned[1] a new industry. But many of the firms that initially flourished in the PC era are now finding life difficult. Dell, the leading PC-maker, issued a profit warning last week that sent its share-price to a five-year low. Intel is trying to regain ground lost to AMD, its increasingly confident competitor. Microsoft has just announced that it will buy back 8% of its shares for around $20 billion—a sign that its high-growth days are behind it.
（2）But none of these firms is in mortal danger. That is more than can be said for many of the smaller firms of a similar vintage[2] to the PC. Novell’s two top executives departed in June following a string of poor results. Silicon Graphics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. 3Com replaced its boss earlier this year following lacklustre[3] performance. Borland shed one-fifth of its workforce and is preparing to sell the best-known part of its business; this month its finance chief r_______①.
All four firms are c_______② of the IBM PC, the creatures of a distant era when only around 200 institutions were connected to the internet.（3）Each had a bold vision of technology, but then failed to evolve as the very innovations they pioneered became commonplace.
Novell prospered by selling networking software to link up computers and enable group-working. Yet the firm failed to keep up with its rivals, c_______③ Microsoft and IBM. It then shifted strategy and acquired an open-source software company in 2004, leaving users of its earlier products feeling neglected.
Silicon Graphics, founded in 1982, makes sophisticated computers for modelling things such as cars and aeroplanes. But as PCs became more powerful, the firm was wrongfooted[4] by the shift to commoditised hardware: its last profitable year was 1999. (The firm has kept itself afloat by selling its lavish office buildings to Google, the technology industry’s d______④ today.) Similarly, 3Com, which makes computer-networking gear, floundered[5] as such products turned into low-cost commodities. （4）And Borland, which makes programming tools, was squeezed between industry giants on the one hand and free software on the other.
（5）Companies that start off with a wildly successful product often fail to stay the course, explains Jim Collins, the author of “Built to Last”. “If you have a great idea, it creates a false sense that you are stronger and more successful than you actually are,” he says. Failure to evolve can then lead to e_______⑤.
[QUIZ]
1. 根据上下文和英文释义，补全单词：
①r_______（v. to officially announce that you have decided to leave your job or an organization）
②c_______（n. someone who lived or was in a particular place at the same time as someone else）
③c________（adv. mostly but not completely [= mainly]）
④d________（n. used when speaking to someone you love；the most popular person or thing in a particular group or area of activity）
⑤e________（n. when a particular type of animal or plant stops existing）
2. 英译汉（将划线部分英文翻译成中文）
[KEY TO QUIZ]
1. ①resigned 辞职（表示“to leave a job or organization”：leave ? quit ? resign ? retire ? hand in your notice/resignation递交离职通知/辞职书 ? pack/jack it in辞掉；离开；停止）
②contemporaries 同时代的人（物）
③chiefly 首要地；主要地（用于表达“the main reason for something or the main part of something”的词有：mainly ? largely/chiefly ? primarily/principally ? above all ? first and foremost）
④darling 心爱的人；宠儿
⑤extinction 消灭；灭绝
2.（1）个人计算机（PC）造就了一个新产业。然而，众多最初在PC时代兴盛一时的公司如今却发现举步维艰。
（2）不过，这些公司还没有哪一家面临灭顶之灾
（3）在技术上，它们个个都曾有着大胆的洞察力，可当它们开创的新技术广为应用时，自己却止步不前了。
（4）还有生产程序设计工具的Borlan公司可谓腹背受敌，一边是各大公司，另一边则是自由（免费/少许收费）软件。
（5）依靠某种红极一时的产品发家的公司常常都无法坚持到最后。
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