3 . In 1938, Soichiro Honda started a little workshop, developing the concept of the piston ring (活塞环).
His plan was to sell the idea to Toyota. He labored night and day. Finally, came the day he completed his piston ring and was able to take a working sample to Toyota, only to be told that the rings did not meet their standards!
Rather than focus on his failure, he continued working towards his goal. Then, after two more years of struggle and redesign, he won a contract with Toyota.
By now, the Japanese government was gearing up for war! With the contract in hand, Soichiro Honda needed to build a factory to supply Toyota, but building materials were in short supply. He invented a new concrete-making process that enabled him to build the factory.
With the factory now built, he was ready for production, but the factory was bombed twice and steel became unavailable, too. He started collecting gasoline cans discarded by US fighters—“Gifts from President Truman,” he called them, which became the new raw materials for his rebuilt manufacturing process.
After the war, an extreme gasoline shortage forced people to walk or use bicycles. Honda built a tiny engine and attached it to his bicycle. His neighbors wanted one, and although he tried, materials could not be found and he was unable to supply the demand.
Soichiro Honda wrote to 18, 000 bicycle shop owners and, in an inspiring letter, asked them to help him revitalize (复兴) Japan. 5,000 responded and advanced him what little money they could to build his tiny bicycle engines. The small engine “The Super Cub” became a reality and was a success. With success in Japan, Honda began exporting his bicycle engines to Europe and America.
In the 1970s there was another gas shortage, this time in America and automotive fashion turned to small cars. Honda was quick to pick up on the trend. Experts now in small engine design, the company started making tiny cars, and rode another wave of success.
Today, Honda Corporation employs over 100, 000 people in the USA and Japan, and is one of the world’s largest automobile companies. Honda succeeded because one man made a truly committed decision, acted upon it, and made adjustments on a continuous basis. Failure was simply not considered a possibility.
1. Which is the major obstacle that Soichiro Honda often met with on his way to success?
| A．A lack of financial assistance. | B．A shortage of raw materials. |
| C．Toyota’s breaking contracts. | D．High standards of customer care. |
2. What is the “Gifts from President Truman” according to Soichiro Honda?
| A．US fighters. | B．Steel products. |
| C．Gasoline cans. | D．American companies. |
3. Which of the following words best describe Soichiro Honda?
| A．Stubborn and down-to-earth. | B．Optimistic and organized. |
| C．Ambitious and broad-minded. | D．Determined and persistent. |
4. What can we learn from Soichiro Honda’s story?
| A．Success is 99% failure. | B．Every cloud has a silver lining. |
| C．Rome was not built in a day. | D．Opportunity knocks only once. |
