题目内容
—Will $200 ____? —I’m afraid not. We need at least 50 more dollars.
A.count | B.satisfy | C.fit | D.do |
D
解析
D
I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”
This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) — if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.
“But thank God, I had one child left — a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to gave in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”
“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”
No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”
53. The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _____.
A. having lost a loved one | B. having lost a valuable article |
C. having lost a profit-making business | D. having lost a well-paid job |
A. he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family |
B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease |
C. he couldn’t get out of mental pressure |
D. he felt tired of adult-education classes |
A. he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them
B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them
C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention
D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
56. At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to _____.
A. prove that he followed Churchill’s example
B. support his student’s solution to his problem
C. show that he was successful in his career
D. make it clear how his conclusion was reached
Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover (营业额) .
These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.
【小题1】Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
A.The number of its customers was declining |
B.Its customers found the food unhealthy |
C.It was in need of financial support |
D.Most of its restaurants were closed |
A.Customers of Sparrow restaurants | B.Sparrow restaurants |
C.Customers of other fast-food chains | D.other fast-food chains |
A.To build a good relationship with the public |
B.To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow |
C.To lean about customers’ spending power. |
D.To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants. |
A.changed people’s views on pop stars |
B.amused the public with original songs |
C.focused on the superiority of its products |
D.influenced the eating habits of the audience |
A.He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts. |
B.He made Sparrow much more competitive |
C.He helped Sparrow take over a company |
D.He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true,but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example,someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy’s a winner,right? Maybe,maybe not.We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets,and only one was a winner.He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false,but he left out important information on purpose.That’s called a half-truth.Half truths are not technically lies,but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick.Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term,her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs.Then she seeks an other term.One of her opponents(对手)says,“During Governor Smith’s term,the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true.However,an honest statement would have been,“During Governor Smith’s term,the state had a net gain of two million jobs.’’
Advertisers will sometimes use half—truths.It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth.An advertisement might say,“Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too often.It’s a sad fact of life:Lies are lies,and sometimes the truth can 1ie as well.
【小题1】How much did the lottery winner lose?
A.one hundred dollars. | B.Two hundred dollars. |
C.Three hundred dollars. | D.Four hundred dollars. |
A.buy lottery tickets if possible | B.make use of half—truths |
C.be careful about what they are told | D.not trust the Yucky Company |
A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
A.Using half truths is against the law. |
B.Technically,half truths are in fact lies. |
C.Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache. |
D.Governor Smith did a good job during her last term. |
A.He’s really a big loser! |
B.Sometimes the truth can lie as well. |
C.Advertisers will sometimes use half truths. |
D.It’s against the law to make false statements. |