About 500 years ago, the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus proved the Earth was round. Now American author Thomas Friedman tells us the Earth is flat in his bestseller: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.

If he is not joking, then why is the world flat? Friedman said it comes from technological forces. Because of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he believes geographical difficulties are disappearing. People and companies around the world can work together or against each other on the same level.

Bill Gates explains the meaning of this change best. Thirty years ago, he tells Friedman, if you had to choose between being born a gifted person in Shanghai and a common person in Poughkeepsie (A city in southeast New York), you would have chosen Poughkeepsie because your chances of living a successful life were much greater there. "Now," Gates says, "I would rather be a gifted person born in China than a common one born in Poughkeepsie." This shows that success today depends more on ability than on address.

Globalization(全球化), as he calls it, is driven by those persons: free writers and totally new businesses all over the world, especially in India and China. They can fight not just for low-wage producing but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design(設計) work as well.

Big companies have played another important role in this globalization process. They move their factories from one country to another to cut costs. It's usual now for an engineer in China to be working for an American company. The Internet keeps them in close touch with their American workmates. People everywhere, from the US to China, have standardized procedures(標準化過程) for getting their work done.

The Reuters News Agency provides a good example. The company moved its financial(財經(jīng)的) operations from London and New York to India. The Indian workers have the necessary technical skills. But the pays and office costs are less than one-fifth of what they would be in New York or London.

53. What do you know about Friedman according to the passage?

A. He is a fool by saying the world is flat.

B. He looks at the world with a technological eye.

C. He is as wise as Bill Gates, and works well with Gates.

D. He thinks Christopher Columbus’s idea about the earth is no longer correct.

54. Which of the following is an example of “globalization”?

A. The Reuters News Agency moved its financial operations to India.

B. People and companies can work together or not on different levels.

C. Totally new businesses are able to fight just for low-cost producing.

D. People would rather choose to be a common person in Poughkeepsie.

55. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Bill Gates and Friedman.　　　　　　　　　 B. Friedman and His Bestseller.　　

C. Why the 21^st Century World Flat.　　　　　　 D. Globalization and Bill Gates’ choices.