A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed．purchased Norand Corporation．Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information．Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting．Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture．
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete(已废弃的)．Pioneer sold Norand at a loss．Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand．Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand．I was not pleased．
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns．When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair．He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves．The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say．
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry．I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase．I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you．"
A great man and leader stood before us that day．As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer．I also knew I could take risks in my own job．
In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle．
(1)
All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except________．
[ ]
A．
Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture
B．
Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals
C．
some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer
D．
it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees
(2)
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ________．
[ ]
A．
the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say
B．
the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO
C．
the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say
D．
the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO
(3)
Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?
[ ]
A．
He felt hot in the room．
B．
He wanted to look cool by doing this．
C．
He was too excited．
D．
He wanted to be close and frank with his employees．
(4)
What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?
Isaac Murphy, son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby．He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times．
May 9, 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon(漫画), showing a snake cut in pieces with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture．
May 11, 1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought(干旱), blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington, D．C．
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64．
May 24, 1844
Samuel F．B Morse taps out the first message, “What hath God wrought, ” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D．C．, to Baltimore, Md．
(1)
We know from the text that Buchanan is ________．
[ ]
A．
Isaac’s father
B．
a winning horse
C．
a slave taking care of horses
D．
the first racing horse in Kentucky
(2)
What is the title of the first American political cartoon?
[ ]
A．
Join or Die
B．
Pennsylvania Gazette
C．
What Hath God Wrought
D．
Kentucky Derby
(3)
In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?
[ ]
A．
1934．
B．
1960．
C．
1964．
D．
1994．
(4)
Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history?
[ ]
A．
Washington, D．C．
B．
New York City．
C．
Kentucky．
D．
Pennsylvania．
阅读理解
Many years ago, there was a story of a school teacher－Mrs.Thompson．She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same．But that was a lie．There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard．He didn't play well with the other children and he always needed a bath．She did not like him．
Then Mrs.Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother．Mrs.Thompson was ashamed of herself．She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too．It was his mother's perfume．
Teddy said,“Mrs.Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to．”After the children left she cried for at least an hour．On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and maths．Instead, she began to teach children．
Mrs.Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy．The boy's mind seemed to come alive．The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved．By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class．
Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy．He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life．He went to college．Mrs.Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F.Stoddard, M.D.(医学博士)．
The story doesn't end there．On his wedding day, Dr．Stoddard whispered in Mrs.Thompson's ear,“Thank you, Mrs.Thompson, for believing in me．You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference．”
Mrs.Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back,“Teddy, you have it all wrong．You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference．I didn't know how to teach until I met you．"
(1)
According to the first paragraph, which is true between Teddy and his teacher?
[ ]
A．
Mrs.Thompson loved him all the same．
B．
Mrs.Thompson didn't play well with him．
C．
Mrs.Thompson told Teddy not to tell a lie．
D．
Mrs.Thompson had a dislike of Teddy
(2)
From the passage, we can infer that ________．
[ ]
A．
Teddy loved his mother very much
B．
Mrs.Thompson told a lie and felt ashamed
C．
Mrs.Thompson cried because she misunderstood Teddy
D．
Teddy hoped Mrs.Thompson could treat him like his mom
(3)
Why did Teddy become one of the smartest children in the class?
[ ]
A．
Mrs.Thompson paid little attention to him．
B．
Mrs.Thompson gave him encouragement more often
C．
Teddy was clever and worked hard．
D．
Teddy got well on with other students．
(4)
As a teacher, Mrs.Thompson realized that it was important ________．
[ ]
A．
to be stricter with the students
B．
to teach children more knowledge
C．
to care more about educating students
D．
to teach the students how to meke a difference
(5)
Why did Teddy invite Mrs.Tbompson to his wedding?
[ ]
A．
Teddy kept in touch with her all the time．
B．
Teddy thanked her for her help and encouragement．
C．
Teddy was treated by the teacher like her son．
D．
She had taught him how to judge people．
阅读理解
Ad．1
April fool’s party
On Friday, April 1, Inner Affair goes back to the days of funk! Classic Tunes from the 70’s and 80’s by DJs Den & Sion．9pm till late．
Tickets：Free entrance for those in costume, otherwise 50 yuan(US＄6)
Time/date：9 pm, April 1
Place：Inner Affair, 1/F Qiankun Dasha, 6 Sanlitun Xiliujie, Chaoyang District
Tel：8454-0321
Ad．2
Language in use
Enjoy free in house coffee, tea and beer as well as music and dancing．Practice your Chinese, make friends and have fun．
Time/date：7 to 9 pm, March 25
Place：Language In Use Club, 2/F, Science Fortune Center, 8 Xueqing Lu, north of Xueyuan Lu, Haidian District
Ad．3
The "worst" party
Organized by Ozone Productions, the party is set to be "the worst ever", with the lamest music from the 60s, 70s and 80s．Special prizes will be awarded to the worst dressed or for bad fashion sense．
Tickets：Free entrance
Time/date：9 pm, April 1
Place：Pula Pula, Tianze Lu, Oriental Seven Colours Plaza, Chaoyang District
Tel：6466-8575
Ad．4
La Nuit Francaise
Again on the 2nd Thursday of the month La Nuit Francaise will be held at Le Rendezvous．The monthly event is an opportunity for all French people and everyone interested in France or speaking French to gather together．
The evening features three glasses of wine and canapes for participants and a special exhibition．
Time/date：7 to 10 pm, April 14
Place：Le Rendezvous, 3 Gongti Beilu, across from the Pacific Century Plaza, Chaoyang District Tel：6462-9110
Ad．5
Marco V
Dutch DJ Marco V drops by Banana for a gig which is supported by Hong Kong’s DJ Spark．
Marco V has been around for many years, as an inventive, style blending deejay and a successful and devoted producer．His spinning is energetic, crowd pleasing and never sees an empty dance floor．He was ranked No．15 in this year’s international DJ MAG DJ Top100．
Tickets：40 yuan(US＄4.80)in advance, 50 yuan(US＄6)at the door, both include a free drink
Time/date：10 pm to 4 am, March 31, April 1
Place：Banana, in the lobby of the Scitech Hotel, 22 Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Tel：6528-3636
(1)
Which of the following is NOT true of Ad．1 and Ad．3?
[ ]
A．
The two parties will be held on the same day．
B．
The two parties will be held at the same time．
C．
The entrance fees of the two parties will not be charged．
D．
Some old music will be played at the parties．
(2)
Which of the following is intended for the Chinese learners?
[ ]
A．
Marco V．
B．
La Nuit Francaise．
C．
Language in use．
D．
The "worst" party．
(3)
We can infer that ________．
[ ]
A．
Marco V is a newly established band
B．
La Nuit Francaise may be French words
C．
the "worst" party will attract a lot of college students
