Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer （零售商）. It's the world's largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.
Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us "every day low prices".
The giant retailer' s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart' s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.
People ask, "How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?" Sure, it's great to have bargains. But you can' t buy anything if you' re not employed.
There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary （传奇） for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods. How do suppliers meet the requirements of Wal-Mart?
| A．To sell even more goods in three months. |
| B．To cut down the employment rate sharply. |
| C．To charge shoppers at a much higher price. |
| D．To run the business in a well-organized way. |
Wal-Mart's low price policy results in ____.
| A．more high-paying jobs |
| B．better designed packages |
| C．bigger profit of its partners |
| D．more jobless American workers |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Still more quality goods will be provided. |
| B．The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least. |
| C．The value of Mal-Mart is over assessed. |
| D．Wal-Mart is a very demanding company. |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．The Fortune Wal-Mart Makes |
| B．The Wal-Mart you don't Know |
| C．The Biggest Retailer—Wal-Mart |
| D．The Money Saving Tip in Wal-Mart |
Controlling traffic is a complex and high cost problem in many developed countries. It becomes more difficult and costly with the ever- increasing number of cars on the roads. But scientists and students at the CATT, at the University of Maryland are working to solve this problem. They are using simulation(模拟) technologies to help government and private business control and react to changing traffic conditions.
The online economics magazineForbes.comsays traffic congestion(拥挤) cost Americans $ 124 billion in 2014 and that number could rise to $ 186 billion by 2030.
Bui scientists at the CATT lab are trying to reduce those costs. They are developing a system that helps traffic managers. planners, emergency workers and businesses plan and react better. Michael Pack is CATT director. He says the system is important to help emergency workers, or first responders，reach an accident area faster.
The CATT Lab collects information from many sources, including roadside devices, GPS (global positioning system) equipment and wireless phones.
About 60 students and 30 software developers observe traffic flow and manage the computer servers at all times. They also work to develop software and applications that can help traffic run smoother and safer, Some of them turn the information gathered into so-called "visualizations". These visual representations help emergency workers better understand what is happening.
The center shares its findings with firefighters, police，Transportation departments and the military. They also share information with universities and transportation company. The technology company Google uses the data for its traffic-related websites. Michael Pack says, the information is then shared with anyone who wants to help traffic run more smoothly.
Mr. Pack says the goal is to help develop an intelligent system of road signals that will communicate with each other and with vehicles on the road.The second paragraph is written to
| A．attract more people to look throughForbes.com. |
| B．tell readers whatForbes.comsays on its website |
| C．show how much money controlling costs America |
| D．prove it is very expensive for some developed countries to control traffic |
What benefit can emergency workers get from the system developed by the CATT lab?
| A．They can be safer. |
| B．They can reach an accident area faster. |
| C．They can get more advice from people. |
| D．They can share their information with others. |
Which of the following is NOT true about the developers and the students at the CATT?
| A．They observe traffic flow continuously. |
| B．They develop software and applications. |
| C．They control the computer servers occasionally. |
| D．They change the information gathered into visual image. |
1n which column of the newspaper can you read this text?
| A．Daily life. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Exploration. |
You may think, salt is just a simple cooking element we shake on our food for a little extra taste. But salt is much more than that. Without salt our muscles would not move. Our nervous systems would not operate. Our hearts would not beat.
But do not think rubbing salt in a wound will help. Doing that would be painful and not heal the wound. To rub salt in a wound is an idiom that means to purposefully make a bad situation worse.
Early humans got the salt they needed to stay alive from the animals they killed. But advances in agriculture led to a diet low in salt. So, humans needed to find other sources. Those who lived near the ocean or other natural sources for salt were lucky. Those who did not had to trade for salt. In fact, people used salt as a method of payment in many parts of the ancient world. The word "salary" comes from the word "salt".
Salt also played an important part in population movement and world exploration. Explorers understood that if they could keep food fresh，they could travel longer distances. So they used salt to preserve food and explored the world.
Salt was so important that, according to food historians. it was traded pound-for-pound for gold. Today, people still use the expressions "to be worth one's salt" or "worth one's weight in salt". The expressions describe a person of value.
A person might also be called salt of the earth. That description means he or she is dependable and trustworthy. However, when you say "I think we should take what he said with a grain of salt" you mean you accept it but maintain a degree of doubt about its truth.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Salt plays an important part in our life. |
| B．Salt makes food tasty. |
| C．Salt is considered to be part of our muscles. |
| D．Salt is sure to damage nervous systems. |
A beggar's bread was stolen last night.，which means .
| A．salt of the earth | B．rubbing salt in a wound |
| C．a diet low in salt | D．worth his salt |
If you describe a person as a great help, you mean .
| A．he is called salt of the earth |
| B．he is often taken as a grain of salt |
| C．he often uses salt to preserve meat |
| D．he is worth his weight in salt |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Salt Is More Than a Four-letter Word. |
| B．Salt Is a Basic Element in Cooking. |
| C．Salt Is a Word with a Long History. |
| D．Salt Is Popular with Different Persons. |
The World Health Organization warns that millions of people are dying every year from indoor air pollution. The WHO finds that poor cooking, heating and lighting technologies are killing millions of people each year.
Indoor air pollution results from the use of dangerous fuels and cook-stoves in the home. To help fight the problem, the WHO announced, new guidelines aimed at reducing household pollutants.
WHO officials say nearly three billion people are unable to use clean fuels and technologies for cooking? heating and lighting. And they say more than seven million people die from exposure to indoor or outdoor air pollution each year. Of that number, the WHO says about 4. 3 million people die from household air pollution given off by simple coal cook-stoves. Most of the deaths are in developing countries.
Carlos Dora is Coordinator in the WHO's Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. He says people should not use unprocessed coal and kerosene fuel indoors. He says opening a window or door to let out the harmful air will not improve the situation. It will only pollute the outdoors.
WHO officials say indoor pollution leads to early deaths from stroke, heart and lung disease, childhood pneumonia（肺炎）and lung cancer. Women and girls are the main victims. The United Nations found that more than 95 percent of households in sub-Saharan Africa depend on solid fuels for cooking. It says huge populations in India, China and Latin American countries, such as Guatemala and Peru, are also at risk.
Nigel Bruce is a professor of Public Health at the University of Liverpool. He says researchers are developing good cook-stoves and other equipment to burn fuels in a more efficient way.
WHO experts note some new, safe and low-cost technologies that could help are already available. In India, you can buy an induction(电磁) stove for about $ 8.00. And in Africa a you can buy a solar lamp for less than $ 1. 00.What has been done to reduce indoor air pollution?
| A．The WHO provided selfless assistance for the poor. |
| B．People are forbidden to use coal-stoves inside. |
| C．The WHO issues official advice to cut down pollution, |
| D．People are taught how to correctly use their stoves. |
According to WHO officials, we can know that
| A．many people refuse to use clean fuels and technologies |
| B．seven million people die from indoor air pollution |
| C．simple coal cook-stoves cause too many deaths |
| D．the processed coal is dangerous to people’s heath |
It can be concluded from the fifth paragraph that .
| A．most children are suffering a lot from lung cancer |
| B．solid fuels are easily producing pollutants |
| C．sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest place |
| D．some countries are at the risk of using up fuels |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．More and more will die in the future. |
| B．It is not hard to solve indoor air pollutants. |
| C．Most people cannot afford a new stove. |
| D．The WHO will take strong measures. |
Now is a great time to start thinking about how the 2015 Summer course offerings might help you complete your academic program at a faster rate and with less money! Whether you register for Summer not, we have some great activities and other special events planned for Rowan students, faculty and staff. Wehope you will join us!
Registration Information
Register online at Gwinnett Online Campus between March 16, 2015 and June l, 2015.
Class Dates
Online Summer School
June 8, 2015 to July 6, 2015
GCPS offers free Academic Summer School for qualifying elementary and middle school students in Grades 3～8.
Details
★15-day session with no classes on Fridays, (NO classes on June12,June19,and June26)
First day of class is Monday, June8,and last day is Wednesday, Julyl.(June8-11:June15-18, June 22-25,June 29-Julyl)'
★The dates for elementary and middle school summer school are June 8 through July l with no Summer school on Fridays (15 days).
★Parents of suitable students will benotifiedthat their children may participate in the free session and given specifics about location and hours.
★The free academic summer school is for students who did not meet promotion criteria at their grade level.
★Summer school will not be provided at every school, due to maintenance and construction at some schools and plans for combined "cluster" summer school sites, Participating students will be told of location for summer school.
★Most summer school sites will not offer transportation. Those schools with additional federal funding to offer transportation will tell parents regarding availability.If you take interest in the Summer course,.
| A．you can visit its website |
| B．you can go to the campus |
| C．you can register on July l, 2015 |
| D．you can complete a form |
What day is June 20, 2015?
| A．Thursday. | B．Friday. | C．Saturday. | D．Sunday. |
What close the underlined part mean in the passage?
| A．Warned. | B．Informed. |
| C．Convinced | D．Worried. |
Twelve-year-old Leonardo was born in a poor family in Bambamarca in Peru. He knew how to read but he had never seen a book in his life. So he asked the new priest（牧师）in his village to give him one. But there was no electricity. So Leonardo borrowed candles from the church and sat up all night reading it. The next morning, he was at the door of the priest asking for another book to read.
John Medcalf, the priest，was moved. He also realised that people would love to read if given a chance. But he knew how difficult it was for Leonardo and those in his village to get books. And yet, no one can be taught to read and write without books. To make people in a poor, faraway area grow to love books，they have to be with them. So he thought the only way was to bring books to people.
But how could this be done? Mobile libraries or car libraries would be too expensive and difficult to continue in the rocky, hilly land of Peru. So what other methods could be used?
Medcalf got a new idea from the barefoot（赤脚）doctors of China. And that was how the barefoot librarians（图书管理员）first appeared in the villages of northern Peru，almost thirty years ago.
The librarians began by going from village to village, lending books to villagers. They helped start The Rura1 Library Network of Peru.
At first，they were teachers of the village schools which these faraway libraries belonged to. But the teachers were not very interested in the job because it meant a lot of hard work. So, village leaders took on the job themselves.
Today, there are 600 village libraries across Peru. The barefoot librarians who walk up to 15 hours a day with bags of books are their lifeline.The first paragraph tells us that Leonardo ______ .
| A．had a lot of books |
| B．bought candles from others |
| C．enjoyed reading books |
| D．lived in the church |
The underlined word "this" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to “______ ”
| A．to grow to love books | B．to bring books to people |
| C．to read and write | D．to build a new library |
The passage doesn't mention ______.
| A．when the barefoot librarians appeared |
| B．who worked as village librarians at first |
| C．where Medcalf met Chinese doctors |
| D．how many village libraries Peru has today |
It can be inferred（推断）from the passage that ______．
| A．the first church in Peru was set up by John Medcalf |
| B．car libraries used to be popular in Leonardo's village |
| C．teachers were interested in bringing books to villagers |
| D．the barefoot librarians are important to village libraries |