As societies develop, their members start to see things not so much according to what they need, but according to what they want. When people have enough money, these wants become demands.
Now, it' s important for the managers in a company to understand what their customers want if they are going to develop effective marketing strategies (策略). There are various ways of doing this. One way at supermarkets, for example, is to interview customers while they're doing their shopping. They can be asked what they prefer to buy and then the results of the research can be studied. This provides information on which to base future marketing strategies. It' s also quite normal for top managers from department stores to spend a day or two each month visiting stores and mixing freely with the public, as if they were ordinary customers, to get an idea of how customers act.
Another way to get information from customers is to give them something. For example, some fast food restaurants give away tickets in magazines or on the street that permit customers to get part of their meal for nothing. As well as being a good way of attracting customers into the restaurants to spend their money, it also allows the managers to get a feel for where to attract customers and which age-groups to attract.
Another strategy used at some well-known parks such as Disneyland is for top managers to spend at least one day in their work, touring the park dressed as Mickey Mouse or something like that. This provides them with a perfect chance to examine the scene and watch the customers without being noticed.The text is designed for _______
| A．customers | B．salesmen | C．researchers | D．managers |
Which of the following can help managers get useful information?
| A．Visiting customers themselves. |
| B．Giving customers free food on the street. |
| C．Visiting parks as ordinary customers. |
| D．Asking customers questions at supermarkets. |
What does the word "this" underlined in the last sentence refer to?
| A．Visiting Disneyland. | B．Wearing attractive clothes. |
| C．Acting Mickey Mouse. | D．Dressing up and walking around. |
The main idea of the text is _________.
| A．how to find out customers' social needs |
| B．how to develop marketing strategies |
| C．how to do market research |
| D．how to encourage customers to spend more money |
A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? But he discovered that it was a rattrap (捕鼠夹）.
Going back to the farmyard, the rat started to give a warning.
The rat turned to the pig and told him:“There is a rattrap in the house, a rattrap in the house!”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rat,” said the pig, “I can only say this is something terrible to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered with it.”
The rat turned to the cow. But the cow said, “Like wow, Mr. Rat? A rattrap? I am in danger, Huh?”
The rat returned to the house, head down and dejected. So the rat had to face the farmer's rattrap alone.
That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rattrap catching its prey (猎物). The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.In the darkness, she did not notice that it was a poisonous snake whose tail had been caught by the trap. The snake bit her.The farmer rushed her to hospital. She returned home with a fever. Everyone knows that a fever could be treated with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his knife to the farmyard for the soup. However, his wife's sickness continued.
The farmer's friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. But she didn't get well. Finally, she died, and so many people came for the last sight that the farmer had the cow killed to provide meat for all of them.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that the whole farmyard is at risk when there is a rattrap in the house.From the passage we know that ______.
| A．the pig helped the rat get rid of the trap |
| B．the cow strongly believed in what the rat said |
| C．no animals showed concern over the rat's warning |
| D．the snake was killed immediately after being caught |
The underlined word ‘‘dejected” is the closest in meaning to _______.
| A．disappointed | B．surprised | C．irritated | D．excited |
We can learn from the article that _______.
| A．the farmer had planned to kill the rat |
| B．the rat was very clever in avoiding the trap |
| C．the farmer's wife got good treatment in hospital |
| D．the rat had expected what would happen to the pig and cow |
What message does the story intend to pass?
| A．We should mind our own business. |
| B．Everything is related to something else. |
| C．We'd better treat animals in a friendly way. |
| D．The farmer couple and their friends are all foolish. |
Poverty today is a major global issue．Although there are all kinds of definitions used to explain it, in simple words, it means the inability of a person to even get his basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, health and education．Poverty can be found in each and every comer of the world, although the causes may differ from country to country．Given below are the main causes of poverty in the world today．
Overpopulation is one of the main causes behind the threatening of poverty on an individual level as well as a social level．This is simple math: If there are more mouths to feed and less income, definitely much will remain poor．
Another theory which is used as an explanation for poverty is lack of education．If you look at any of the underdeveloped countries, you will find that the level of education there is very low．Lack of education means lack of employment opportunities, thus leading to unemployment coupled with poverty in the future．
Moving away from one's own homeland to another city or country in search of employment leads to poverty too．It may take these people a lot of time to find jobs．Meanwhile they live in bad conditions．The cost of living in the city or country is most of the time too high for them．
There may be other causes of poverty like the change in business．For example, in America, a couple of decades ago, heavy industry flourished, which employed a lot of African-American people．But now, the focus is more on information technology and health care, both of which employ only skilled and trained people．This has led to unemployment among African-Americans．
Poverty has many ill effects on society．That's why steps should be taken to get rid of it!What's the meaning of the underlined word "flourished" in Paragraph 5?
（No more than 5 words）Why is overpopulation a cause of poverty today? （No more thanl2 words）
What's the situation of education m underdeveloped countries? （No more than 8 words）
What does the passage mainly talk about?（No more than 10 words）
In your opinion, what's the most significant cause of poverty today? Please give your reason．（No more than 25 words）
Boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music．
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity （阳刚）, the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to obey a stereotype （陈规旧俗）, a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to obey the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man"．
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls．
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls．He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls．
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills．
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia．
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them．Because boys generally have more acute vision learn best through touch, an are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around; "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine （女性的） and prefer the modem type in which violence and sexism are major themes, "James wrote．
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to obey a stereotype that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships．"In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported．The author believes that a single-sex school would ____．
| A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men" |
| B．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
| C．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys |
| D．naturally reinforce in boys the traditional image of a man |
It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys ____．
| A．perform relatively better |
| B．grow up more healthily |
| C．behave more responsibly |
| D．receive a better education |
What docs Tony Little say about the British education system?
| A．It fails more boys than girls academically． |
| B．It focuses more on mixed school education． |
| C．it fails to give boys the attention they need． |
| D．It places more pressure on boys than on girls． |
According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ____．
| A．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys |
| B．boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted |
| C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
| D．teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit |
Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James' report?
| A．They enjoy being in charge． |
| B．They obey stereotypes． |
| C．They are violent and sexist． |
| D．They have sharper vision． |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition．Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity．Others say that competition is bad, that it sets one person against another, that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people．
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills．For them, playing well and winning are often, life-and-death affairs．In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten．
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude．In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition．Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society．Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail．They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success．By not trying, they always have an excuse: "I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try．"What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot．Such a loss would be a measure of their worth． Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves．Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others．Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve （缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition ．What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect． |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people． |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development． |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition． |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It builds up a sense of duty． |
| B．It pushes society forward． |
| C．It improves personal abilities． |
| D．It encourages individual efforts． |
The underlined phrase "the most vocal" in Paragraph 3 means ____．
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a "desire to fail"?
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'． |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts． |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills． |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried． |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back． |
| B．Competition should be encouraged． |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter． |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition． |
The Beijing government has set out to recruit thousands of university graduates to work as junior officials in rural areas to both improve rural administration and ease the city's employment problems．
The government plans to recruit 3,000 university graduates this year, 1,000 more than last year, to work as assistants to village heads or Party secretaries in suburban areas．
People interested in jobs in Beijing's rural villages and townships can submit applications to the Beijing Municipal Personnel Bureau or online at www．Bjbys．com from February 1 through March 15．
"We hope university graduates will seize this opportunity to use their knowledge in rural villages and to start their careers," Sun Zhenyu, deputy director of Beijing Personnel Bureau, told Xinhua News Agency．
The government has promised successful candidates a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan （ $ 250） in the first year, 2,500 yuan （$ 320） the second year and 3,000 yuan （$ 385） the third year, provided their performance is up to the required standards．Sun said．
Wang Lina, who graduated from Beijing Union University last year, was one of the first graduates to find work in the city's countryside After majoring in industrial and commercial administration, Wang served as the assistant to the village head of Ertiaojie Village in suburban Besjing's Pinggu District．For one project, Wang contacted people at the BeijingAcadeny of Agricnitural Sciences and arranged for the local farmers to receive training in strawberry planting．Her efforts paid off．The village had a plentiful harvest of organic strawberries earlier this year．
Nationwide, about 150,000 university graduates found employment in rural areas last year, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Education．
The ministry predicts that 4．95 million students will graduate from universities across the country this year, 820,000 more than last year．About 1．4 million of them are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate．
In Beijing, a record 200,000 people are expected to graduate from university this year． Less than half of them are expected to be offered jobs, according to the personnel bureau．The underlined word "recruit" in the first paragraph probably means___．
| A．employ | B．force | C．encourage | D．train |
We can see from the passage that____．
| A．once you are hired as a junior official, you can get an endlessly rising salary |
| B．the government guarantee a gradually high salary for the successful candidates |
| C．working as junior officials is easy but very meaningful |
| D．the competition for the job as junior officials is very fierce |
From the story of Wang Lina we can learn that .
| A．the sooner you go to the countryside, the sooner you will be successful |
| B．local fanners can get big harvests if they team more knowledge |
| C．university graduates can also realize their value in rural areas |
| D．Wang had great difficulty in helping villagers planting organic strawberries |
The last two paragraphs aim to tell us that .
| A．more and more graduates will work．as junior officials |
| B．the universities should not have so many students |
| C．there are more and more graduates in recent years |
| D．it is not easy for graduates to find jobs nowadays |
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．What is the best career? |
| B．Graduates go to the countryside． |
| C．Job hunting for university graduates． |
| D．A good choice for university graduates． |