You get all sorts of demands, and the mark of a good hotel is to supply whatever is asked for without sounding surprise. If a guest asks for rubber gloves. You don't ask why. You say, “No problem. What colour do you want？”
　　There have been some demands which, much as I would have liked to fill, I couldn't. A Japanese businessman， for example， thought the manager of a hotel was like the captain of a ship so he asked me to marry him and the woman he loved. There was one time, however, we did help out. A young man thought that if he asked his girlfriend to marry him at the Ritz she would say yes. He asked us to put the ring in a cake, and she accepted.
　　Top hotels are used more and more to impress. They are used for doing business. If you've got something to sell, take your clients(客户) to the best hotel where the surroundings are quite helpful. A friend of mine working at Savoy Hotel tells story about a man who gave him 5 pounds to say “Good morning, Mr. Smith” when he walked through the door with two other men. This he did， and could hear Mr. Smith saying, “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place.”
　　According to Julian Payne， the most powerful people in any hotel are the porters， who carry bags for hotel guests. “Porters can do almost anything. They can get you tables at the best restaurants or tickets for a popular concert. Don't ask me how they do it or what their deal is because I don't know. Most of them have been there for years. They know more about the history of the hotel and the guests than anyone else. They are invaluable. A head porter will come in even on his day off so he can say hello to someone he remembers visiting the hotel years ago.”
56．When guests ask for something strange，the manager of a good hotel would think ______.
　　A．how he can meet their needs
　　B．why they have such demands
　　C．what problems the hotel has
　　D．who is the best person to go to
57．Which of the following examples explains “we did help out？”
　　A．The hotel bought a ring for a young lady.
　　B．A Japanese married the woman he loved.
　　C．The manager once acted as a captain.
　　D．A young lady agreed to marry her boyfriend.
58．Which of the following statements is true about the porters in expensive hotels?
A．They sell tickets for concerts.
B．They know how to make a good deal.
C．They know a lot about the hotels and the guests.
D．The come to work even on their days off.
59．By saying “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place”， Mr. Smith ______.
　　A．showed that he disliked such people at the hotel
　　B．gave the impression that he was a constant guest
　　C．tried to make his clients feel sorry for him
　　D．sounded as if he was tired of such greetings

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　　When Nancy Lublin got $ 5000 from her great grandfather, she never once considered taking a vacation or paying off student loans（借款）. ____1____ the 24-year-old New York University law student began thinking about the clothing ____2____ faced by most of today's low-income women: “If she goes for a job interview ____3_____ dressed, she won't get the job,”Lublin says.“But without a job, she can't ____4____ proper clothing.”

　　A few weeks later, Lublin ____5___ Dress for Success and began searching for clothing and volunteers（志愿者）. She asked women to give away ____6____ business clothes that were ____7____ in good condition. She asked the members of diet centers to give away clothes that no longer fit. At first Lublin ____8____ the clothes in her one-bed-room apartment, but finally she found ___9___ in Greenwich Village church basement, which now ___10___ as the organization's main office.

　　Today, when women arrive at the office for help with job-hunting, they ____11___ a dress, shoes, a bag, stockings and jewelry, and self-confidence as well. Some are trying to enter the work __12___ after being on welfare（福利）for years.

　　__13____Dress for Success fitted its first per son who got help a year ago, more than 1 000 women have received dresses and many have won ___14___. Yarit Polanco was recently __15___ as a law-firm office manager. “Thanks to Dress for Success, I made a good impression（印象）and was accepted.”she says.

　　Donations（捐赠）are now __16___ in, including jewelry and 6 000 pairs of trousers and $ 40 000 worth of handbags. Broadcast journalists have given suits. And Lublin is opening Dress for Success ____17____ in other cities. “Many women have clothes ____18___ around that they'll never wear again,” says a volunteer.“Nancy's ___19___ is simple and practical and the ___20___ has proved so important to those women who are in great need of it.”

Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money” it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small.

　　With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold.

　　As I was searching for “angel money”, I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet.

　　Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy” in-house.

　　Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him.

　　We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time.

　　Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success.

　　She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000.

　　I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven.

　　“I have confidence in your plan,” she said. “You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company.”

　　Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.

1.For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to___________.

A. the salary it pays to its staff　         B. the interest it pays to the bank

C. the way in which it raises capital　  　 D. the speed at which it spends money

2.By "Angel money", the author refers to__________.

A. the money borrowed from banks　  　 B. the money spent to promote sales

C. the money raised from close friends　　 D. the money needed to start a business

3.To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to__________.

put up with unfair terms　         　B. change your business line

C. enlarge your business scope      　　 D. let them operate your business

4.The author easily built a team for his company because__________.

A. they were underpaid at their previous jobs

B. they were turned down by other companies

C. they were confident of the author and his business

D. they were satisfied with the salaries in his company

5. Louise decided to lend money to the author because__________.

A. she wanted to join his company

B. she knew he would build a team

C. she knew his plan would succeed

D. she wanted to help promote his sales

As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, rooms to be cleaned. Parents are  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real . On Christmas Eve, young children find the  almost unbearable（难以忍受的）. They are  between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  up late so that they will not  the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie  for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.

　　Last Christmas, my wife and I  managed to hide a few large presents in the storeroom. I feared the moment when my son, Jimmy, would  me where that new bike had come from, but  he did not see it.

　　On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly  when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began  stockings. Then I pushed in the  I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get  sleep that night, for the children were  to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children's room － they were shouting excitedly!  I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came  into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary,  close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived, he moved  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke  up completely. The day had really begun with a bang（巨响）.

1.A. faced　　　　 B. met　　　　　 C. filled　　　D. pleased

2.A. question　　　B. matter　　　　C. problem　　　D. business

3.A. joy   　　　B. excitement      C. presents     D. parents

4.A. pulled　　　B. divided　　　C. separated　　  D. torn

5.A. get　　　　 　B. stay　　　　　C. stand　　　 D. wake

    6.A. lose　　　　　B. break　　　　 C. miss　　　　 D. leave

7.A. awake　　　　B. wake　　　　　C. asleep　　　　D. sleep

8.A. hopefully　　B. busily      C. gladly　　D. successfully

9.A. answer　　　 B. tell　　　　　  C. ask　　　　　 D. search

10.A. sadly　　　　B. unluckily   C. possibly　　D. fortunately

11.A. morning　　　B. midnight    C. evening　　　D. daybreak

12.A. filling　　　　B. sewing　　C. mending　　D. preparing

13.A. present　　　 B. stocking　　　 C. bike　　　　　 D. tree

14.A. 1ittle　　　　 B. some　　　　　C. enough　　　 D. much

15.A. sorry　　　　 B. sure　　　　　C. glad　　　　　 D. eager

16.A. Before　　　　B. After　　　　 C. Until　　　　　D. Since

17.A. running　　　 B. laughing　　　 C. shouting　　　 D. riding

18.A. walked　　　　B. moved　　　　C. followed　　　D. jumped

19.A. with　　　　　B. on　　　　　　C. over　　　　 D. by

20.A. him　　　　　B. her　　　　C. me　　　　　　　D. us

　　Bill Gates is one of the most famous people in the world. His books have been translated into many languages.

　　What many people do not know is that he is not the only founder of Microsoft. A lot of honor must go to his partner, Paul Allen.

　　Allen and Gates met at Lakeside Preparatory School. They and some other friends became interested in computers. They began skipping（逃）PE lessons to play on the school computers. Their school did a deal with a computer company. It al-lowed Allen and Gates to use the company's computers for free. They even started their first software business while in high school. Computers were their lives.

　　After leaving school, Alien worked as a programmer. Gates went to Harvard University, one of the best universities in the world, to study law. The invention of computers was small enough to be used at homes, called personal computers, helped Allen persuade Gates to leave Harvard University and start Microsoft together. They designed software like MS-DOS and BASIC for large companies like IBM. However, they were not satisfied with the software and came up with a new system, called Windows. Allen was one of the main programmers. The equally successful Microsoft Office soon followed.

　　Allen fell ill in 1983. He stopped working full-time for Microsoft. He took time off, read, traveled and stayed with his family. Allen and Gates are still close. He is still involved in Microsoft, and as one of the richest men in the world, doesn't regret leaving.

(1) It is generally believed by people that ________.

[　　]

A．Bill Gates is the richest person in the world with little education

B．Bill Gates alone founded Microsoft

C．Paul Allen is a close competitor in computers against Bill Gates

D．Paul Allen is also a successful writer besides his achievement in computers

(2) We know from this passage that ________.

[　　]

A．Allen and Gates have known each other for a long time

B．Allen first used a computer at a company

C．Allen and Gates never attended a PE lesson

D．Allen and Gates helped companies with problems for money

(3) Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Paul Allen invented personal computers.

B．Bill Gates joined Microsoft after he finished his law degree at Harvard University.

C．Paul Allen lost all of his interest in computers after he fell ill.

D．Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft at the same time.

(4) The best title for this passage is“________”.

[　　]

A．The Other Half of Microsoft

B．Bill Gates

C．How Microsoft Started

D．Microsoft and Its History