In 1992, I had just launched a new business called Video News International.

It was the world's first video journalist network. The idea was to cover news and sell the service to news organizations.

One day, a young intern (实习生) who was working for us named Anthony Lappe pulled me aside.

"There is something you have to see," he told me. "Comcast is doing this really cool thing."

"What?"

"The Internet," he said. "It's going to be really big."

Anthony later introduced me to the head of the Internet project.

"We are looking for content to put on our network here," the guy said to me.

Well, I said I had lots of content to offer.

The guy's eyes lit up. "Cool," he said. "We would like to put it on our network."

Well, I was always looking for new clients.

"What are you going to pay?" I asked.

He said that they could not pay anything for the content, but they would set up a URL for me.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's kind of like your address on the web."

"What would I do with this URL thing?"

"Well, it could be your business."

"I don't see how it is a business, and there's not even any advertising," I cleverly replied.

"Not yet," he said. "But one day there might be."

I thought about it for two seconds.

"Naah..." I said. "I've got bigger fish to fry. I've got to be going now. Maybe we can cooperate next time."

And I walked out.

Idiot!

Well, that Internet thing turned out to be so much bigger than I had thought. I wish I had never made such a mistake. Sorry Anthony. You were right.

1.The head of the Internet project expected the author to _______.

A. become a user of their product

B. put advertisements on their web

C. provide video news for their network

D. get an email address from the Internet

2.The guy's offer was rejected because the author ______

A. didn't think it a good deal

B. was unwilling to trust a stranger

C. was too occupied to start a new business

D. was worried about the safety of e-business

3.What does the underlined sentence mean?

A. I don't believe your words.

B. I ought to cook dinner now.

C. I need to get more payment.

D. I have something more important to do.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for this text?

A. Power of New Technology

B. Never Too Old to Learn

C. My Biggest Mistake Ever

D. Building a Business Partnership

Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U.S. The restaurants are not“fast food” . They are known as“fast casual” .

Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat. This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald’ s has struggled financially. In the last quarter of 2014, McDonald’ s net income dropped by about $300 million. The January earnings report brought more bad news. Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expected. While McDonald’ s is struggling to get their customers back, Shake

Shack, is doing well in making money. The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO, or initial public offering, of shares at the end of January. On its first day of trading, Shake Shack went from $21 a share to just under $46 a share. Being part of the “fast casual ”trend has helped Shake Shack. Other fast casual restaurants in the U.S. include Chipotle and Panera.

Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans’ restaurant habits for almost 30 years. She says one reason why Americans like fast casual food is that it’ s new. It’ s creative, it’ s something different and people like to try new things. Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year. Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants, like McDonald’ s. Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits, but it has developed fast. Just as Ms. Riggs says,“It’ s growing by leaps and bounds, because they meet consumers’ needs. They know it’ s being prepared while they wait, it’ s fresh, quality food, good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices.”

Many Americans still like their fast food. They just are not going as often. They are finding other ways to have a meal.

1.What’ s the trouble with McDonald’ s?

A. Its share goes down to $21.

B. Shake Shack has taken its place.

C. It’ s not popular with Americans.

D. Its sales and income have dropped.

2.We can learn from Bonnie Riggs that Americans ________.

A. don’ t like fast food any more

B. care only about the quality

C. like to try something new

D. pay more restaurant visits to fast casual

3.What does the underlined phrase“by leaps and bounds”in Para. 3 mean?

A. Steadily. B. Rapidly.

C. Slowly. D. Normally.

4.Which of the following best describes fast casual?

A. Fresh-made and tasty.

B. High-quality and expensive.

C. Farm-to-table and traditional.

D. Time-consuming and special.

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