It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked DeLuca about his plans for the future. “I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” DeLuca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘You should open a sandwich shop.’ ”

       That afternoon, they agreed to be partners, and they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1000. DeLuca rented a storefront(店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1000.

       But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.

       DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We persuaded ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful; we are opening a second store.’ ” And they did—in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.

       But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers(供应商). “It probably took my two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out.” DeLuca says.

       And having a goal was also important, “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.

       DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.

56．                   DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to__________.

A. support his family                                 

B. pay for his college education

C. help his partner expand business

D. do some research

57．                   Which of the following is true of Buck?

A. He put money into the sandwich business.

B. He was a professor of business administration.

C. He was studying at University of Bridgeport.

D. He rented a storefront for DeLuca.

58．                   What can we learn about their first shop?

A. It stood at an unfavorable place.

B. It lowered the price to promote the sales.

C. It made no profits.

D. It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches.

59．                   They decided to open a second store because they_______. 

A. had enough money to do it

B. had succeeded in their business

C. wished to meet the increasing demand of customers

D. wanted to make believe that they were successful

Everyone’s at it, even my neighbors．I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn’t done an eBay deal．So, I decided to try my hand at online auction（网上拍卖）.

Buying for Beginners

Sign up on www．eBay．co．uk．Most items （e.g．tables, computers and books） ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with “Buy It Now ” and have a fixed price．You can buy these right away．

If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids （出价） for you．The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again．Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish, you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.

How to Pay

Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a check or postal orders．The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card．

Selling Made Simple

If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item．I followed my friends’ advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday．This way buyers had two weekends to bid.

The Big Things in Life

It’s easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collectively sent by deliverymen．Check the ways of delivery before you bid.

1．After bidding for an item, a buyer _____________.

A．is likely to make higher bids                           B．will get what he wants in ten days

C．should make payment immediately                  D．may check its picture and description

2．Which is the easiest way of making payment according to the passage?

A．Through a local banking system.                    B．By sending the money to the seller．

C．Through an online payment system.               D．By paying the deliveryman directly.

3．What is the passage mainly about?

A．How to make payment online.                        B．Ways of making delivery online.

C．How to use an online-auction system．                D．Advantages of an online auction system.

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