题目内容
Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer （零售商）. It's the world's largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.
Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us "every day low prices".
The giant retailer' s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart' s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.
People ask, "How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?" Sure, it's great to have bargains. But you can' t buy anything if you' re not employed.
There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary （传奇） for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods.
1. How do suppliers meet the requirements of Wal-Mart?
A. To sell even more goods in three months.
B. To cut down the employment rate sharply.
C. To charge shoppers at a much higher price.
D. To run the business in a well-organized way.
2. Wal-Mart's low price policy results in ____.
A. more high-paying jobs
B. better designed packages
C. bigger profit of its partners
D. more jobless American workers
3. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Still more quality goods will be provided.
B. The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least.
C. The value of Mal-Mart is over assessed.
D. Wal-Mart is a very demanding company.
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A. The Fortune Wal-Mart Makes
B. The Wal-Mart you don't Know
C. The Biggest Retailer—Wal-Mart
D. The Money Saving Tip in Wal-Mart
DDDB
【解析】略
The Friday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It’s said that it’s the day that store ledgers(分类账)move into the black and companies become profitable. On that day, retailers slash(砍) prices to get consumers to buy. It is also a time when many Americans start their Christmas shopping. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee tells us how the economy may affect consumers on that bargain day.
This day should be a shopper’s dream. “It’s just the deals, the sales and everything you can get for a lesser price,” said Sandy Thomas, a shopper. But it’s a nightmare for others. “I think it’s crazy. I’ve done all of my shopping throughout the week so I don’t have to go out on Friday,” she said. It’s called Black Friday, the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Every year it’s the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Stores open before sunrise and there are deep discounts everywhere you look.
Last year a crowd of bargain-hunters killed a Wal-mart worker in a New York suburb. This year, many stores are increasing security while they slash prices. “This is a huge time for the retail stores,” said Fred Joutz from George Washington University. “This is when they begin making their profits for the year.”
Economics professor Fred Joutz says how Americans spend the weekend after Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future.
With the unemployment rate above 10 percent, Joutz says Americans are saving more and spending less. Some retailers are attracting consumers by opening on Thanksgiving Day, when shops are traditionally closed. Other stores open their doors anywhere from midnight to four in the morning.
And shoppers will be lining up in front of the doors in order to be one of the first ones to walk through and get a big discount. Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually the first items to go. Sandy Thomas says it’s an annual family tradition and well worth it. “I just save maybe half of what I would have spent on a regular, you know, shopping trip,” she said.
Economists say U.S. consumers will spend money this Black Friday, but they will spend it more carefully.
【小题1】By saying “This day should be a shopper’s dream”, the writer means ________ .
| A．shoppers have longed for this day for a long time |
| B．the shops will be very crowded on that day |
| C．the shops will keep open until the daybreak of next day |
| D．shoppers can buy many items at low prices on that day |
| A．Because there are too many people saving more and spending less. |
| B．Because it’s a time when they begin making their profits for the year. |
| C．Because last year a crowd of bargain-hunters caused an accident. |
| D．Because many stores open their doors from midnight to four a.m. |
| A．Christmas shopping is traditional time and this year it is no exception. |
| B．Electronics like flat screen TVs are usually least discounted. |
| C．The economy only affects consumers on that bargain day. |
| D．Thanksgiving is a good indication of how consumers feel about the future. |
| A．a science fiction |
| B．a travel brochure |
| C．an economic research report |
| D．a book on psychology |
| A．Because they organize activities in honor of some great person. |
| B．Because there are too many people going out shopping for Christmas. |
| C．Too many people are celebrating Thanks giving. |
| D．The sky is black that day. |
When Steve Maxwell graduated from college, he had an engineering degree and a high tech job — but he couldn’t balance his checkbook. “I took one finance class in college but dropped it to go on a ski trip,” says the 45-year-old father of three, who lives in Windsor, Colorado. “I actually had to go to my bank and ask them to teach me how to read my statement.”
One of the biggest obstacles to making money is not understanding it: Thousands of us avoid investing because we just don’t get it. But to make money, you must be financially literate. “It bothered me that I didn’t understand this stuff,” says Steve, “so I read books and magazines about money management and investing, and I asked every financial whiz (能手) I knew to explain things to me.”
He and his wife started applying the lessons: They made a point to live below their means. They never bought on impulse, always negotiated better deals (on their cars，cable bills, furniture) and stayed in their home long after they went for an expensive vacation. They also put 20 percent of their annual salary into investments.
Within ten years, they were millionaires, and people were coming to Steve for advice. “Someone would say, ‘I need to refinance my house — what should I do? ‘A lot of times, I wouldn’t know the answer, but I’d go to find it and learn something in the process,” he says.
In 2003, Steve quit his job to become part owner of a company that holds personal finance seminars for employees of corporations like Wal Mart. He also started going to real estate investment seminars, and it’s paid off: He now owns $ 30 million worth of investment properties, including apartment complexes, a shopping mall and a quarry.
“I was an engineer who never thought this life was possible, but all it truly takes is a little self education,” says Steve. “You can do anything once you understand the basics.”
【小题1】The underlined part “live below their means” (in Paragraph 3) probably means “______”.
| A．take effective measures | B．live a miserable life |
| C．spend more money than they had | D．spend less money than they had |
| A．has been unwilling to help others |
| B．hasn’t stopped learning from practice |
| C．has been willing to follow others’ advice |
| D．has stopped to invest in houses |
| A．A self made engineer |
| B．How to balance your checkbook |
| C．Don’t avoid investing |
| D．Educate yourself to become a millionaire |
| A．self education is very important to one’s life |
| B．everyone should learn how to invest in their life |
| C．Steve Maxwell was quite interested in finance classes in college |
| D．Steve became rich because he saved every penny he had earned |