“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” -a document(文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores(杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.
Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs(叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however-until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it.
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.The couple signed the contract because _______.
A.Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself |
B.Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest |
C.they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks |
D.Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book |
It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
A.pay a certain amount of money |
B.do all the housework for years |
C.say sorry to his wife |
D.admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood |
What can we learn about Pat Peters?
A.She was hard-working and selfless. |
B.She was pretty and kind-hearted. |
C.She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks. |
D.She did not love Bob any longer. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Bob managed to keep the kids’clothes clean. |
B.Bob tried to cook good meals for his children. |
C.Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work. |
D.Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day. |
Which of the following can best end the news story?
A.“My experience of being a mother.” |
B.“I’m proud of you all, my dear!” |
C.“Wait till your mother gets home!” |
D.“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.” |
Today is Sarah’s birthday. She is seventy-five. We asked a few old friends to dinner.
Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. Thirty years ago, the village used to be a quiet place. Now it has changed. Every Sunday hundreds of cars pass through the village at what I think a dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town. As a boy I enjoyed riding on the backs of the farm horses. Things are different now. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses. A man is not of much use on a farm unless he knows all about machines. Now almost every house in the village has a TV set. Is it a good thing for children to spend the evening sitting in front of a TV set? When I was young I did not waste my time indoors. I would spend the long summer evenings outdoors. I would play with my friends, go fishing or walk by the river. When my grandchildren asked me the reason why I haven’t bought a TV set, I tell them there are many books I still want to read. I can’t find time for both reading and watching TV.The old like to talk about _______.
A.themselves | B.others | C.the past | D.nothing |
When I was a boy, I _______ riding on farm horses.
A.used to see people | B.disliked |
C.was fond of | D.saw some elderly people |
Which is NOT right according to the passage?
A.In the past the village was a quiet place. |
B.It is a good time for children to watch TV all evening. |
C.On Sundays many cars pass through the village at a dangerous speed. |
D.When I was young I didn’t waste my time indoors. |
I would rather _______ than _______.
A.watch TV; do some reading |
B.play with friends; go fishing |
C.do some reading; watch TV |
D.go fishing; play with friends |
Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?
As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.
According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail.
The ant—works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
The cricket—fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
The snail—lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.People with the character of the snail would like to __________.
A.enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
B.put work before everything else |
C.live a luxury life at all costs |
D.take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except __________.
A.society | B.our family |
C. money | D.education |
This passage mainly talks about __________.
A. the relation between man and insects |
B.the spending nature of people |
C.the insects in nature |
D.the problems with dealing with money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?
A. The cricket. | B. The ant |
C.The snail. | D.None of the above. |
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业).
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job. Looking after two little girls, it wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification (资格证书)if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.What is the author’s present job?
A.Working part-time in a college. |
B.Taking care of children for a family. |
C.Helping children with their schoolwork. |
D.Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
When staying with the two girl’s family, the author_________.
A.was paid for extra work. |
B.often worked long hours. |
C.got much help from her boss. |
D.took a day off every other week. |
Why did the author leave her first job?
A.She found a full-time job. |
B.She was fed up with children. |
C.She decided to attend a part-time course. |
D.She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
A.Less successful students can still have a career. |
B.Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
C.Hard work makes an excellent student. |
D.One must choose the job she likes. |
Culture is one of the most challenging elements of the international marketplace. This system of learned behavior patterns characteristic of the members of a given society is constantly shaped by set of dynamic variables: language, religion, values and attitudes, manners and customs, aesthetics, technology, education, and social institutions. To cope with this system, an international manager needs both factual and interpretive knowledge of culture. To some extent, the factual knowledge can be learned; its interpretation comes only through experience.
The most complicated problems in dealing with the cultural environment stem from the fact that one cannot learn culture—one has to live it. Two schools of thought exist in the business world on how to deal with cultural diversity. One is that business is business the world around, following the model of Pepsi and McDonald’s. In some cases, globalization is a fact of life; however, cultural differences are still far from converging.
The other school proposes that companies must tailor business approaches to individual cultures. Setting up policies and procedures in each country has been compared to an organ transplant; the critical question centers around acceptance or rejection. The major challenge to the international manager is to make sure that rejection is not a result of cultural myopia or even blindness.
Fortune examined the international performance of a dozen large companies that earn 20 percent or more of their revenue(税收) overseas. The internationally successful companies all share an important quality: patience. They have not rushed into situations but rather built their operations carefully by following the most basic business principles. These principles are to know your adversary, know your audience, and know your customer.According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A.All international managers can learn culture. |
B.Business diversity is not necessary. |
C.Views differ on how to treat culture in business world. |
D.Most people do not know foreign culture well. |
What does the underlined word “myopia” (in para. 3) mean?
A.difference | B.similarity |
C.foresight | D.shortsightedness |
We can infer from the passage that this article is supposed to be most useful for those_______
A.who are interested in researching the topic of cultural diversity |
B.who have connections to more than one type of culture. |
C.who want to travel abroad. |
D.who want to run business on International Sale |
According to Fortune, successful international companies___________ .
A.earn 20 percent or more of their revenue overseas |
B.all have the quality of patience |
C.will follow the overseas local cultures |
D.adopt the policy of internationalization |
One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon---it’s already here.
While computer offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how far they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customer for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.
Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers. From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that ___________.
A.in the future all the Americans will use credit cads |
B.credit cards are mainly used in the United States today |
C.nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash |
D.it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before |
If computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, what will businessmen do?
A.They will fire some employees and raise the work efficiency. |
B.They will arrange for different employees to do different jobs according to their abilities and performance. |
C.They will assign more work for the employees to do. |
D.They will allow the personnel to do whatever work they want to do. |
What does the underlined phrase “ring up sales” in paragraph two mean?
A.make an order of goods. |
B.record sales on a cash register. |
C.call the sales manager. |
D.keep track of the goods in stock. |
What does the passage mainly discuss?
A.Approaches to the commercial use of computers. |
B.Advantages of credit cards in business. |
C.Significance of automation in commercial enterprises. |
D.Conveniences brought about by computers in business. |