B
Shopping carts are such a ubiquitous presence in stores today that it is hard to imagine a time without them.And yet it wasn’t until the year 1937 when the first shopping cart was introduced.
The shopping cart was the brainchild of Sylvan Goldman,the owner of a grocery food chain in 0klahoma.Goldman noticed that his customers struggled to carry their food in heavy hand-held baskets.He decided there must be an easier way for his costomers to carry the food around in his supermarkets.Observing a folding chair, Goldman decided to use that as the prototype for his new shopping cart.
With the aid of a mechanic, Fred Young ,Goldman designed the first shopping cart based on the folding chair.Wheels were placed where the bottoms of the chair legs were. In place of the chair seat, Young and Goldman , placed two metal baskets on top of each other. This cart could be stored by folding it up like a folding chair.
At first there was a bit of difficulty getting the public to accept shopping carts.Men thought using them was effeminate(女人气的)while younger women considered the use of the shopping carts to carry products around to be somewhat unstylish.Goldman solved this problem by hiring men and women models to use shopping carts in his stores.In addition,store greeters instructed customers in how to use the shopping carts.In short order,the shopping carts became incredibly popular because it made shopping much easier for customers.By 1940 the popularity of shopping carts had grown to such an extent that there was a 7 year waiting list in store orders for new shopping carts.
45.. The underlined word“ubiquitous”is closest in meaning to”_________”.
A.strange B.pleasant C.common D.possible
46.. The idea of shopping carts came from _____________.
A.Goldman’ s imagination B.customers’needs
C.Fred Young’ s suggestion C.other shops’examples
47.. Why was it difficult to get the public to accept shopping carts at first?
A.Both men and women were afraid they would not look good if they used them.
B. People thought it unnecessary to use them because they never did much shopping.
C. The early shopping carts were too difficult to use.
D. Only men and women models were supposed to use such modern things.
48.. How popular did Goldman’s invention finally become?
A.Men and women models used shopping carts in his stores.
B.Store greeters instructed customers in how to use the shopping carts.
C.Some stores had to wait several years to get his shopping carts.
D.His shopping carts had improved so much that both men and women liked to use them.
I don’t often lose things and I’m always careful with money, so I was quite surprised when I reached for my wallet and it wasn’t there. At first, I thought it was possible that I could have left it at home. Then I remembered taking it out to pay the taxi, so I knew I had it with me just before I walked into the restaurant. I wondered if it was possible that it could have dropped out of my pocket while I was eating dinner. I turned and walked back to the table where I had been sitting. Unluckily, there were several people sitting at the table at that time, so I had the waiter go over to the table to see if my wallet was on the floor. While the waiter was looking for it, the head of the restaurant came up to me and asked me if anything was wrong. I told him what had happened. He asked me to report the missing wallet to the police. I told him I didn’t want to do so; I was in a hurry because I had to reach my waiting room before two o’clock, where some people were waiting to see me. I also told him that my biggest worry at the moment was how I was going to pay for the meal. He told me not to worry about that. He asked me to write down my name and address, and he said he would send me a bill (帐单). When the writer couldn’t find his wallet, his first thought was that________
A.it had been given to the taxi-driver |
B.he had dropped it in the taxi |
C.he had lost his wallet again |
D.it might be left at home |
The writer thought he must have the wallet with him because___________.
A.he had paid the taxi-driver |
B.he had paid the bill of the meal |
C.the waiter had seen it on the table |
D.the waiter was looking for it on the floor |
Why do you think the writer turned and walked back to the table?
A.He would phone the police about the missing of his wallet. |
B.He wondered if he had dropped his wallet while eating. |
C.The head of the restaurant wanted to know what was wrong. |
D.Several people were sitting at the table at that time. |
The writer of the story is probably a _________.
A.doctor | B.cook | C.school teacher | D.newspaper reporter |
When Tom finished his studies at the university (大学), he began to look around for a job. He did not know what he would like to do, but one of his uncles had worked for the government for thirty years, and he advised Tom to try to get a job of the same kind, so he went for an exam one day. He was successful, and his first job was in a large government office in London.
When Tom had been working there for a few weeks, his uncle came to visit the family one Saturday evening. He was pleased that his nephew (侄子) had got a job working for the government, and he asked him a lot of questions about it.
One of the questions he asked was, “How many people work in your department (部门), Tom?”
The young man thought for a few moments and then answered, “About half of them, Uncle Jim.”When he graduated (毕业) from university, Tom was not ________.
A.interested in getting any information from the government |
B.looking for a good-paying job with excellent hours |
C.good at making decisions |
D.very good at science |
What did Tom think of his uncle’s advice?
A.He did not like it. | B.He thought it was good |
C.He refused to take it. | D.He was unable to follow it. |
The uncle wanted to find out ________.
A.what his nephew was doing |
B.how his nephew was getting on with his job |
C.whether his nephew could understand him or not |
D.what his nephew had expected |
In fact Tom’s answer means that __________.
A.the people working in the government office were in many groups and they worked in turn |
B.most of the government workers were not working hard |
C.only half of the government workers went to work on time |
D.the government office had more people than needed |
The people below are looking for someplace to enjoy some entertainments in Beijing. After the description of these people, there is information about places A — F. Decide which place would be the most suitable for the person mentioned in1---5and write down the correct letter ( A — F ) on your answer sheet. One place is not suitable for all.
_____Stephen studies art in Beijing University. He shows great interest in paintings and he is especially interested in those oil paintings that reflect the variety of life.
____ Mark has just come to China and he is very interested in Chinese culture. He has been waiting for a long time to have a chance to see a wonderful Chinese acrobatic (杂技的) performance in China.
____ Oscar is a student from Yangzhou University, visiting his friends who share the same interest in music. They are planning to find someplace to enjoy rock and roll and pop songs.
___ Charles works in Philips Company, Shanghai Branch. He is going to Beijing on business in middle September. He will be free in the evening, so he wants to go to someplace to enjoy some music performed by foreign bands.
____ Carol studies Chinese in Beijing. She is free recently during the day time, so she would like to find someplace where she can attend some kind of activity so that she can learn some details about Chinese modern literature.
A.Capital Theatre: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe will present “The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills (寒战) will run down your spine (脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge. Time: 7:30 p.m., September 13 — 19. |
B.Huangshicheng Gallery: A group ink pain ting exhibition is running. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display. Time:9 a.m.— 5 p.m. until September 10. |
C.The Wangfung Art Gallery: A joint show of oil paintings by 10 young and middle-aged artists will be hosted by the gallery. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wonderous variety of life in unique styles. Time: 9 :30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m., daily. |
D.Anyuan Museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an indepth study of the development of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949. |
Time: 9 a.m. — 4 p.m., daily.
E. The Olympic Center: "The Fashionow Night of Chinese Rock" is set to bring back fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals.
Time: September 16.
F. Grand Theater of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities: La Petite Band, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform as part of activities across the world to commemorate (纪念) the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.
Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11 — 14.
There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect.
That’s difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. A former Macy’s Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. “Many people will think if you have a suit and you’re a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school’s current dean. “It’s more than that.”
The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer(驯鹿). What’s harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again.
After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. “You’re the real Santa,” Valent said. “Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You’ve got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you’re tired, you’ve got to remember: This one’s forever, so do a good job.”According to the passage, good Santas should be the ones that ______.
A.can offer the children some gifts |
B.help adults look after their children |
C.have ability to make children happy |
D.should be perfect in the mind of children |
The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to ______.
A.train the pet reindeer for the Santas |
B.earned money from its students |
C.train perfect Santas for the world |
D.show the world’s concern to the poor |
According to Weir’s performance, we can conclude that ______.
A.Weir was short of experience |
B.Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa |
C.Weir did very badly in the game |
D.Weir was not a good student in school |
People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive carelessly up and down America’s main streets. And at least some of the time those things are true. But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too.
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral which happened in a church. A teenage grandson stepped forward. Softly he began:“ I want to share a few values that Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would attack her, what would Nana say? ‘Oh, what beautiful markings that dog has.’ That was Nana.
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for Grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling. “That was Nana’s way.”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage. She put up a fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner.”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled. When that boy rose to speak about the woman who had been his dearest friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide. I was moved and learned a lot.According to the first paragraph, ______.
A.young people are living a hard life |
B.people don’t think highly of the teenagers |
C.people shouldn’t forget the young people |
D.young people should keep quiet before the public |
From the boy’s speech, we know his grandmother ______.
A.was a weak woman living in the shadow of his grandpa |
B.liked dogs very much even if they often attacked her |
C.could see everything around her though she was old |
D.had great influence over the boy when she was alive |
We can infer from the passage that the boy ______.
A.was filled with sadness and gave up finishing his talk |
B.was always very good at expressing himself |
C.practiced a lot in order to give a moving speech |
D.had great difficulty in accepting the loss of Nana |
The writer wanted to tell the readers ______.
A.the young people were too weak to face certain facts |
B.the young people have learned to control themselves |
C.the adults could learn something valuable from the young |
D.the adults should teach the young how to deal with the death |