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(制服)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(加速)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(挤出)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?
The country’s top trade union has called on all foreign companies operating in China to establish union branches．
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions(ACFTU)urged foreign companies to follow the example of Wal-Mart, which has initiated a process of setting up unions in all its stores throughout the country, reported the Xinhua News Agency．
At a pace of close to one a day, the US retail giant has established union branches in all 62 of its China outlets, since the first one was formed at Wal-Mart’s Jinjiang, Fujian Province, store on July 29．
The move was hailed as a “historic breakthrough” by the ACFTU, with Wal-Mart finally giving up its passive resistance to trade unions and agreeing to full co-operation in establishing branches in its stores．
ACFTU Vice-President Xu Deming called on unions to learn from the experience and set up more branches in foreign companies, especially those that rank in the top 500 list．
Notably, Xu slammed multinationals such as Foxconn, Kodak and Dell for their long time refusal to allow the establishment of trade unions, and called on unionists at all levels to make the establishment of branches at those companies bases in China “breakthrough goals”．
Xu said resistance from foreign companies sprung from their lack of understanding of the status and function of Chinese trade unions, which they consider opponents．
“A trade union should unite and organize employees, boosting the development of a company, guarding employees’ rights and maintaining harmony in the workplace, ” said Xu．
“Our experience with Wal-Mart shows that as long as foreign companies’ apprehension can be dispelled, they will support our work and take a positive and active attitude．”
Sixty per cent of the more than 150 000 foreign invested companies in the country are expected to have their own trade unions by the end of this year, Xu predicted．
(China Daily 10/14/2006 Page 2)
(1)
What does the underlined word mean in the second paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Started．
B．
Injected
C．
Completed．
D．
Rage．
(2)
Which one is not the purpose of the trade union according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Unite and organize employees．
B．
Boosting the development of a company．
C．
Guard employees’ rights and maintain harmony in the workplace．
D．
Get more money for the workers．
(3)
How many foreign invested companies in the country are expected to have their own trade unions by the end of this year?
[ ]
A．
150 000．
B．
90 000．
C．
70 000．
D．
80 000．
(4)
What is the best title of this passage?
[ ]
A．
Foreign firms called on to set up unions
B．
Foreign firms in China
C．
The importance of the trade uninon
D．
More foreign firms in China
?
阅读理解
Almost one-fourth of all personal spending in the United States takes place during the holiday season．There are gifts to give this month for Christmas, Hanukkah and the African American celebration of Kwanzaa．The traditional shopping season began last Friday, after Thanksgiving Day．Personal spending represents two-thids of the economy, so holiday sales are especially important．
Reports on November results have just come out．Wal-Mart is the biggest seller in the world．The company had expected growth of two to four percent in November, fueled by sales on“Black Friday．”
The day after Thanksgiving is called that．Storekeepers used to record profits(利润)in black ink and losses in red ink．A day in the black means a return to profit．
The National Retail Federation estimated(估计)in September that holiday sales would increase four and one-half percent this year．Holiday sales increased five percent last year, after poor sales the year before．
The business group estimated that Americans will spend two hundred twenty thousand million dollars this season．It says they spent just over ten percent of that last weekend．
Also, it says more Americans for the first time this season plan to use a debit card than a credit card for purchases．A debit card, also called a check card, is linked to the money that a person has in a bank．In other words, users must have the money before they can spend it．
About thirty-five percent of shoppers said they would mainly use debit cards, compared to thirty percent for credit cards．Financial experts say this change might mean that more people want to keep to a budget this holiday season．
(1)
What would be the best title for this passage?
[ ]
A．
Thanksgiving Day Shopping．
B．
The Importance of Holiday Sales．
C．
Holiday Shopping Season in the US．
D．
Giving Gifts to Each Other at Christmas．
(2)
When does the holiday season usually begin in the US?
[ ]
A．
Last Friday．
B．
On“Black Friday”．
C．
On a Friday before Christmas Day．
D．
The day before Thanksgiving Day．
(3)
More people plan to use the debit card in that ________．
[ ]
A．
they have no other choices
B．
they can get some extra money
C．
it is more convenient to carry about
D．
they want to limit their expenditure(开支)
(4)
From the passage, it can be inferred that ________．
[ ]
A．
holiday sales seem to increase year by year
B．
credit cards and debit cards are the same thing
C．
it is the first year that people have used debit cards for purchases
D．
storekeepers used to record profits in red ink and losses in black ink
阅读理解
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
阅读理解
One day last September, as Britney Spears was about to board a flight to Los Angeles from London, a blue bottle fell out of her purse．She quickly put it back in, but not before the camera recorded the event．Neither Spears nor her spokesman was willing to comment on the contents of the bottle, but the next morning London’s Daily Express published a page of pictures under the headline “EXCLUSIVE：POP PRINCESS SPOTTED AT AIRPORT WITH POT OF SLIMMING TABLETS．” Spears was apparently carrying Zantrex-3, one of the most popular weight-loss pills now sold in the United States．The pill, which is sold at about fifty dollars for a month’s supply, contains a huge amount of caffeine, some green tea, and three common South American herbs that also act as stimulants(
兴奋剂)．It hit the U．S．market last March and has had asuccessthatwouldbehardtooverstate．Millions of bottles have been sold, and during the Christmas season it was displayed in the windows of the nation’s largest chain of vitamin shops, G．N．
C．(It is so highly sought after that many of the stores keep it in locked counters．)Zantrex-3 is also sold at CVS, Rite _________ Aid, Wal-Mart, and other chains, and over the telephone and on the Internet．If you type “Zantrex” into Google, more than a hundred thousand pieces of information about it will appear．At any moment, there are scores of people sell it on eBay．
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the success story of Zantrex-3, however, is that it is far from unique．There are hundreds of similar products on the market today, and they are bought by millions of Americans．And though Zantrex’s producer makes some exciting statements(“the most advanced weight control compound(化合物)period”), so do the people who sell Stacker 2 and Anorex along with those who sell Carb Eliminator and Fat Eliminator．Almost all of these compounds suggest that they can help people lose weight and regain lost energy, and often without diet, exercise, or any other effort．
(1)
Britney Spears is a/an _________．
[ ]
A．
dancer
B．
singer
C．
athlete
D．
chemist
(2)
Which of the following is also a kind of weight-loss pill?
[ ]
A．
CVS
B．
Rite Aid
C．
Wal-Mart
D．
Anorex
(3)
The underlined part of the sentence in the first paragraph is most likely similar in meaning to _________．
[ ]
A．
it is difficult to say how successful Zantrex-3 is
B．
you can’t overstate the success of Zantrex-3
C．
you can’t think too highly of the success of Zantrex-3
D．
Zantrex-3 is not very successful
(4)
From the second paragraph we know that _________．
[ ]
A．
Zantrex-3 is one of the successful weight-loss pills on the US market
B．
Zantrex-3 is the most successful weight-loss pills on the US market
C．
Zantrex-3 is the only weight-loss pill on the US market
D．
there are five kinds of weight-loss pills on the US market
(5)
The text mainly tells us _________．
[ ]
A．
when Britney Spears was found taking weight-loss pills with her
B．
how Zantrex-3 became successful in the USA
C．
weight-loss pills are very popular in the USA
D．
Zantrex-3 is forbidden to be sold on the US market
阅读理解
Renting houses out can be a big decision for an owner．Factors to consider include how much rent you will charge or whether to require a deposit(押金)or the first month’s rent．You also need to decide where and how to post the property for rent．You have many options to choose from．
Advertise in your local newspaper．Accroding to Propertyda．com “Newspapers are often the most common type of advertising that landlords and property managers use for attracting tenants．”
Recent studies by newspaper punishers show that if you run an ad for sever a days, no matter how small it is, 90 percent of the people looking for housing in the newspaper will see it, the web site says．
Employ a property management company to post your property for rent．MSN Real Estate says．“When you add up the responsibilities, there’s much to be said for hiring a professional．” A property manager will charge about 10 percent of the rent collected．
Hire a real estate agent(地产商)to find you a potential renter．As stated on Propertydo．com “When you are hiring a real estate agent, make sure that he/she offers you a complete package of landlord renting services for a reasonable fee．”
Post flyers on or near college campuses．Most of your potential tenants will hang out in the libraries, bookstores, cafes, or the students union or activities center．Some of these locations have bulletin boards where you can advertise your property for rent．Plus, use rental signs to lure potential tenants driving down the street．Put them up in the yard or at the corner of the street where the house is located．You can purchase “For Rent” signs at your local Wal-Mart or other home goods store．
(1)
In order to rent houses out, one should ________．
[ ]
A．
improve the rent fee and require a low deposit．
B．
employ an investment management company
C．
refer to more magazines other than Internet
D．
advertise the houses in the local newspaper
(2)
How many ways are mentioned about renting houses out?
[ ]
A．
3．
B．
4．
C．
5．
D．
6．
(3)
The underlined word “lure” in Para．5 probably means “________”．
