Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original sons performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover. (营业额)
These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated. Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
| A．The number of its customers was declining |
| B．It was in need of financial support |
| C．Its customers found the food unhealthy |
| D．Most of its restaurants were closed |
What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Customers of Sparrow restaurants |
| B．Sparrow restaurants |
| C．other fast-food chains |
| D．Customers of other fast-food chains |
For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?
| A．To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow |
| B．To lean about customers; spending power. |
| C．To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants. |
| D．To build a good relationship with the public |
What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO?
| A．He made Sparrow much more competitive |
| B．He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts. |
| C．He helped Sparrow take over a company |
| D．He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees |
In learning a foreign language, one should first pay attention to speaking. It is the groundwork of reading and writing. You’d better try your best to speak. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. But be careful not to let them keep you from improving the language. While you are doing this, a good exercise is to write – keep a diary, write notes, letters or articles, then if you can, ask someone to go through what you have written and tell you where is wrong . Many mistakes in your speaking will be easily found when you write. Through correcting the mistakes, you can do better in learning a language.
If you are slow in speaking, don’t worry. One of the helpful ways is by reading, either aloud or to yourself. The important thing is to choose something interesting to read. It can’t be too difficult for you. When you are reading in this way, don’t stop to look up the words if you can guess their meanings or if they have nothing important to do with the sentence. You can do that some other time.From the passage we know the groundwork is ___ while you are learning a foreign language.
| A．reading | B．writing | C．speaking | D．listening |
To improve the language, one has to .
| A．pay attention to speaking only |
| B．try not to make mistakes |
| C．correct mistakes only |
| D．keep a diary and write notes, letters or articles |
When you find some new words in reading, you shouldn’t ___
| A．guess their meaning | B．go on reading |
| C．stop to look them up in the dictionary | D．keep on reading the important sentence |
The best title of this passage might be .
| A．How to Learn a Foreign Language | B．How to Improve Reading |
| C．How to learn Writing | D．More reading, .Less speaking |
During my visit to China, I stayed in several hotels. I would like to say something about fire regulations(条例) in these hotels.
When I was in Beijing in a hotel, I checked the nearest fire escape to my room, as I usually do, I found that the exit(出口) out of the buildings was on the ground floor, chained and locked! If there was a fire, people wouldn’t be able to escape. In some other places, I did not find any notice about the procedures.
In most hotels in my country, there is a notice on the back of the door of every guestroom. In Japan the porter（门卫）actually points out the escape route when bringing your bag to your room. I hope Chinese hotels will improve their safety procedures. The foreigner suggests that ____________.
| A．all the exits should not be always chained and locked |
| B．all the exits should be always chained and locked |
| C．fire regulations（规程，规章）should be paid enough attention to in some hotels in China |
| D．the fire regulations should not be strict |
Nobody would get away if there were a fire in the building ____________.
| A．if the porter doesn’t tell people the escape route |
| B．with the exit chained and locked |
| C．before people found the notice about safety procedures |
| D．when too many people try to escape at the same time |
The nearest escape to the writer’s room in a hotel in Beijing was _____________.
| A．nowhere to be found | B．not far from his room |
| C．next to his room | D．on the ground floor |
In Japan a guest is told how to get away in time of fire when he ____________.
| A．arrives at a hotel | B．is traveling in the country |
| C．reaches the country | D．says hello a porter |
The climate of any place is the kind of weather. It usually has over a long period of time. The houses we live in, the clothes we wear, the foods we eat depend on the climate of the place where we live.
Climate is a pattern that is not nearly as simple as we think, and it is affected by many factors. The distance to the North or South Pole（极，极点，） or the equator (赤道) really matters a lot. If you live near either of the poles, you live in a cold climate, for the place where you live does not get as much or as direct sunshine as a place farther away from the poles. In places close to the equator, the climate is very hot, for they are the parts where the sunshines almost straight down.
Whether rain or snow falls makes a great difference to the climate. In hot, dry deserts, little rain falls, but in a hot rainforest, the amount of rainfalls is far larger than that in a desert, for there is a heavy rain almost every day, even several times per day. Though a rainforest and a desert may be the same distance from the equator, their climates are rather different from each other.
How much rain or snow falls are considered by some to be determined by the winds, the surrounding mountains and the currents(水流)in nearby seas and so on . In short, it is a very complex natural phenomenon（现象）.This passage mainly talks about .
| A．weather | B．different climates |
| C．climate and its determining factors | D．the difference between weather and climate |
The difference of the climates between a tropical (热带的)desert and a tropical rainforest affected by .
| A．the amount of rainfalls |
| B．the winds and the surrounding mountains |
| C．the currents in near seas |
| D．how much sunshine the two different places can get |
From the context, we can guess that the word “complex” is and it .
| A．a noun; means a simple thing |
| B．an adjective; means being easy to understand |
| C．an adverb; has almost the same meaning of “rather” |
| D．an adjective; means being difficult to understand |
Are you nervous about climbing because you think it's too dangerous? Do you feel you're not fit enough to climb? Do you know how to start climbing?
Let's consider the idea that climbing is dangerous．Being afraid is natural, but if you use suitable ropes and other climbing equipments you will feel completely safe．Climbers are usually very careful because they know what they are doing is dangerous．Accidents happen, but when they do, they tend to attract a lot of publicity．As a result, people think there are many more accidents than there are in reality．
You cannot expect to start climbing straight away．Climbing is a challenge and challenges take time．It is necessary first of all that you achieve a good level of fitness．Begin as soon as you become interested in climbing ?go to the gym, go swimming, take up jogging and continue to do so throughout your training period．
Discover as much as you can about climbing．Visit the library and find book, especially for beginners or buy climbing magazines and look for articles which describe your situation．Look up information on the Internet．Find out about equipment, methods and places to go．
Next, take a course on a climbing wall．There are plenty of climbing walls all over the country which have trained and qualified people as instructors．Call your local leisure centre to find out if there is one in your area. These training sessions are a quick way to get experience and you are likely to meet other beginners. After this, you can do an outside course of join a club where you can meet climbers of all abilities and eventually join in group-climbing events.
At first you may not understand the importance of a good training period, but after you have completed your first climb and you are standing safely at the top of a rock feeling thrilled, then you will know it was the right thing to do.
62．The article is written by .
A．a doctor B．an experienced climber
C．a beginner D．a fitne3ss instruetor
63．The writer thinks a new climber should .
A．begin by becoming fit
B．have the courage to meet the challenges
C．be aware of the causes of the accidents
D．do enough sports to get interested in climbing
64．By climbing walls you can .
A．join a club y ou like
B．gain contorlled experience
C．become qualified instructors
D．take part in group-climbing events
65．The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph probably means .
A．the climb B．the training C．the equipment D．the achievenment
In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada．The sound of children shouting made her turn around．To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son．Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away．She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could．A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear．But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children's lives．A local policeman described it this way: "…I guess when your back is up against the wall, …we come up with super-human strength．"
Where does this "super-human strength" , courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action．These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it．
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects．Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful．In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel．
Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline （肾上腺素） which in turn increases our energy and excitement．The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more．This is why some people say they work better under a deadline．
Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them．We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit．Stress can also make us more confident．Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future．Who knows? Today's stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!
55．In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to ______．
A．introduce the topic to be followed
B．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery
C．remind us of the unexpected danger of life
D．show the importance of super-human strength
56．What does the policeman probably mean by saying "your back is up against the wall"?
A．You are helped． B．You are inspired．
C．You are confident． D．You are cornered．
57．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Brave Mother B．The Cause of Stress
C．The Benefit of StressD．Super-human Strength