A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
“Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’ s Liberation(解放)”.
“I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．60% Western European women wish that they were born men. |
| B．Most women in Western European countries wish that their babies were all boys. |
| C．60% women in West Germany wish that they were born men. |
| D．60% Western European women who wish that they were born men are from West Germany. |
“It is still men’s world.” means “______.”
| A．There’re more men than women in the world |
| B．There’re more men scientists or engineers than women scientists or engineers in the world |
| C．Women cannot live without men |
| D．Women have not been given the same chance as men |
Anne Harper considers that women should ______.
| A．be really liberated | B．live a better life than men |
| C．be well paid | D．get better jobs than men |
Anne Harper doesn’t wish that she were a man because she ______.
| A．has got a very good job |
| B．believes in “Women’s Liberation” |
| C．does the work that a man can’t do |
| D．isn’t looked down upon by anyone |
Jonathan James looks like just another kid about to graduate from high school. But this 19-year-old Swede is anything but ordinary, from the computer in his parents’ home he helps the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) find out the world’s most wanted cyber criminals .
Jonathan first made headlines when he and another Swede, Fredrik Bjoerck, found out the maker of the “Melissa” virus in March 1999. He came to the aid of the FBI again on May 7, finding out the suspected sender of the dangerous “I LOVE YOU” virus. The suspect was caught in Manila on May 8.
Jonathan’s special skills are in hot demand as officials around the world express alarm at the “virtual” crimewave. In between studying for final exams, hanging out with friends and refereeing his younger brother’s football matches, the quiet, gentle teenager also gives lessons on e-security (电子安全) to large companies. He reads a lot and exchanges information with other computer experts to know much about the latest tricks of the hacker trade.
Many companies have already tried to employ him, but he is not interested at the moment. Instead, he plans to begin law school in the autumn at Sweden’s Uppsala University and start up his own e-security company.
Although he works with the FBI now, his family insists he’s just “a regular kid”. “Jonathan is a great kid, he has his friends and he does a lot more than just play with the computer,” his little sister Tessa said, adding that he helps the FBI because “he likes to help”, not because he’s looking for fame and recognition.
When the world was hit by the “Love Bug” virus, Jonathan was too busy preparing a speech on e-security to look into the problem. “Finally on May 7, I had some free time, so I began looking.” Within a few hours, he had found the suspect and e-mailed his method and results to the FBI. He said his work on the “Melissa” virus, which took three weeks to solve, was a big help in finding the suspect so quickly.
“This time I knew exactly where to start, I knew what to disregard and what to look at.”The passage mainly wants to tell us that ___________.
| A．Swedish kid helps FBI find out the most wanted cyber criminals |
| B．Jonathan is really a quiet, gentle and ordinary boy |
| C．many companies want the young computer expert to join in |
| D．any cyber criminals will surely be found out wherever they are |
The public started to know something about Jonathan just from _________.
| A．his helping the US FBI to find out the sender of the dangerous “I LOVE YOU” virus |
| B．his work together with Fredrik Bjoerck to find out the maker of the “Melissa” virus |
| C．his little sister’s talk about his good qualities as a regular kid and a good programmer |
| D．his speech on e-security to many computer companies after his fight against hackers |
From Jonathan’s success in finding out the sender of the dangerous ‘Love Bug” virus we can infer that _________.
| A．where there’s a will, there’s a way | B．experience is knowledge |
| C．hard work leads to success | D．failure is the mother of success |
What do we know about Jonathan?
| A．He is a good fame hunter with various abilities. |
| B．He is such a brave fighter that any criminal will feel afraid. |
| C．He is an expert on security, not interested in running a company. |
| D．He is a regular kid but does something unusual. |
BEUING (Associated Press 美联社) —China has a growing middle class, a tradition of expecting education and 21 million new babies every year. Selling educational toys should be easy.
While China may be the world’s biggest toymaker, many of the best are exported . Department stores here do not have enough high quality toys. It is said that the demand for educational toys is low.
A US company, BabyCare, is trying to change that with a new way to sell toys in China.
BabyCare works basically together with doctors in Beijing hospitals. People who join the company’s "mother club"can get lectures and newsletters on baby and child development at no extra cost, if they agree to spend 18 dollars a month on the company’s educational toys and childcare books.
"We want to build a sevenyear relationship with those people," said Matthew J. Estes, BabyCare’s president. "It starts during pregnancy , when the anxiety and needs are highest." BabyCare works on a onetoone basis. Doctors, nurses, and teachers paid by BabyCare advise parents, explain toys that are designed for children at each stage of development to age six.
BabyCare opened its first store in China last June in a shopping center in central Beijing and another near Beijing Zoo. It plans to have 80 stores in China within six years.
It is a new model for China and develops a market in young children’s education and health that no other companies are in.What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?
| A．Educational toys and foreign toy markets. |
| B．Problems with China’s toy market and education. |
| C．Reasons for pushing sales of educational toys in China. |
| D．Baby population and various kinds of toys made in China. |
Which of the following is a fact according to the passage?
| A．Club members buy BabyCare products for free childcare advice. |
| B．Doctors in Beijing help in making BabyCare products. |
| C．Parents are encouraged to pay $ 18 for club activities. |
| D．BabyCare trains Chinese doctors at no extra cost. |
BabyCare is developing its business in China by.
| A．opening stores in Beijing hospitals |
| B．offering 18month courses on childcare |
| C．setting up children’s education centers |
| D．forming close relationships with parents |
Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Mother’s Club in China. | B．BabyCare and Doctors. |
| C．American Company Model. | D．Educational Toys in China |
A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation…‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation. The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.
The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (鼓舞) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal（嗓音的） pattern.
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door. What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?
| A．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society. |
| B．The recorder was impatient and rude. |
| C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced. |
| D．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was. |
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?
| A．curious | B．indifferent | C．interested | D．puzzled |
Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?
| A．Because the author cared little about rewards. |
| B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab. |
| C．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of. |
| D．Because she thought the author did admirable work. |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it. |
| B．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily. |
| C．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect. |
| D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work. |
They were going to Fort Lauderdale — three boys and three girls — and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of New York went behind them.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, completely in silence.
Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson’s, and everybody got off except Vingo. The young people began to wonder about him. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
“Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and became silent again. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.
In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He ordered black coffee and some cookies as the young people talked about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he began to tell his story. He had been in prison in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
“Are you married?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” she said.
“Well, when I was in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said, “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, and if it hurt her too much, well, she could jus forget me. I’d understand. Get a new man, I said — she’s a wonderful woman. I told her she didn’t have to write me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”
“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”
“Yeah. Well, last week, when I was sure the parole (假释) was coming through, I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick, just before Jacksonville, and there’s a big oak (橡树) just as you come into town. I told her that if she didn’t have a new man and if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it — no handkerchief and I’d go on through.”
“Wow,” the girl exclaimed, “Wow.”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children.
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if protecting himself against still another disappointment.
Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, shouting and crying.
Vingo sat there astonished, looking at the oak. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs — 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, flying in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.At the beginning of the story, the young boys and girls ______.
| A．showed a great interest in Vingo | B．didn’t notice Vingo at all |
| C．wanted to offer help to Vingo | D．didn’t like Vingo at all |
The underlined part “Howard Johnson’s” is most probably a(n) ______.
| A．bus station | B．apartment | C．hospital | D．restaurant |
How did Vingo feel on the way home?
| A．Ashamed. | B．Relaxed. | C．Nervous. | D．Disappointed. |
The paragraphs following this passage would most probably talk about ______.
| A．Vingo’s experience in prison |
| B．the young people’s travel to Fort Lauderdale |
| C．Vingo’s three lovely children |
| D．the dialogue between Vingo and his family |
High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen.
Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers.” Said Paula Courtney, president of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered(塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty peaking spaces. This guidance got rid of the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.” Said professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?
| A．Few customers believe the service will be improved. |
| B．Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them. |
| C．Customers have no easy access to store managers. |
| D．Most customers won’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences. |
Shop owners often hire moonlighting police as parking attendants so that shoppers .
| A．can find their cars easily after shopping | B．won’t have trouble parking their cars |
| C．can stay longer browsing in the store | D．won’t have any worries about security |
What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?
| A．Design of the store layout. | B．Hiring of efficient employees. |
| C．Manners of the salespeople. | D．Huge supply of goods for sale. |
To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to .
| A．voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly |
| B．shop around and make comparisons between stores |
| C．settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic way |
| D．put pressure on stores to improve their service |