At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private (列兵) fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.
When the old car rumbled toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot, four inch frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money’s tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.
From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played nasty tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.
Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spent his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants.
Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey, Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”
1.Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ________.
A.he wanted to escape from war-torn France
B.he wanted to serve in the Canadian army
C.he couldn’t find a job in England
D.he loved working as a farmhand
2.Which of the following is True according to the passage?
A.Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old.
B.On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week.
C.The Lapine family were rich but cruel to Stanley.
D.Stanley read about the job offer in a newspaper.
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A.When Stanley first met his employer, he tried to impress him but failed.
B.Stanley had never worked on a farm, so he made a lot of mistakes.
C.Stanley’s weekly salary was not enough for him to live on.
D.Stanley left the farm by train, without telling anyone why he did so.
4.What did Stanley like doing after work each day?
A.Hitch-hiking to different towns. B.Caring for the farmer’s horses.
C.Wandering around the farm alone. D.Preparing meals on the farm.
5.Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?
A.He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier.
B.He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man.
C.He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money.
D.He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success.
If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large American corporations have learned in the hard way.
What’s in the name?
Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that Nova in Spanish means “It doesn’t go”. Sure enough, the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America.
Translation problems
Sometimes it is the slogan that doesn’t work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with its “Come alive with Pepsi!” campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States that Pepsi translated its slogan literally (按字面意思的) for its international campaign. As it turned out, the translations were not quite right. Pepsi was begging Germans to “Come out of the grave” and telling the Chinese that “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.”
A picture is worth a thousand words
Other times, the problem involves packaging. A picture of a smiling baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in African countries, the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it, for many people there can’t read.
Twist of fate
Even culture and religious factors and pure coincidence can be involved. Thorn McAn shoes have a Thorn McAn “signature” inside. To people in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country, this signature looked like Arabic script for the word Allah. In that country, feet are considered unclean, and Muslims felt the company was offending God’s name by having people walk on it.
1.From the text we learn that ________.
A.Chevy Nova was brought in Latin America
B.General Motors did the best market research of all companies
C.Pepsi still sold well in China owing to the translation problems
D.the “Come alive with Pepsi” campaign worked well in the US
2.What was Gerber’s problem?
A.A translation problem. B.Cultural factor.
C.Religious factor. D.The picture on the jar.
3.For what reason were Thorn McAn shoes turned down in Bangladesh?
A.They are not designed attractively.
B.Their advertisements are not persuasive.
C.A signature looking like the word Allah was in the shoes.
D.Problem for Thorn McAn was the company’s name.
4.The intended readers of the passage are ________.
A.product advertisers B.market researchers
C.managers of Sales Department D.businesses to promote products abroad
5.What does the text mainly tell us?
A.Lessons from some large corporations. B.How to make use of advertisements.
C.The importance of market research. D.The importance of packaging
Nick was not the kind of boy I had expected to spend my summer with. I was hoping to have some ________ the summer before my busy senior year, but my mother asked me to do her a ________. One of her colleagues needed a full-time ________. “You planned to volunteer at the local hospital, why not volunteer to ________ Nick instead?” Then she told me that this six-year-old boy was not a ________ child.
Nick was a lovely little boy who suffered from many disorders. Normal day-care centers would not ________ him. As a baby, he had serious ear infections which left him with equilibrium（平衡）problems.
He couldn’t ________ or run properly. I was ________ if I was to take the job when my mother ________, “Don’t you want to be a nurse in the future? I doubt if you even have the ________.”
Then I told her I was ________ for the job.
The day started at 7:00 a.m. Nick was my wake-up call! With so much energy and very little ________, he was quite a mix.
At the park, when he saw all the other children play on the jungle gym and swings, the boy’s face ________up—How he wished he belonged to the group of his age! You would think it would be ________ to get a child to go down a slide. Believe me, it wasn’t! It took time, a lot of time. But with patience and support, Nick took one step up the slide each day. We worked together to face his ________ and gradually he got closer to taking the slide of his life.
Halfway through the summer, he ________ it to the top of the slide. With my arms holding him tightly, we flew down the slide! I waited for his ________. After realizing that he was safe and sound, he gave me a big ________ and asked, “May I go down again, alone?”
I had never been happier in my life when I saw this little child climb the ladder and enjoy what other children ________ for granted.
This ________ child taught me that being a nurse means respect, kindness and patience.
1.A.grade B.course C.project D.relaxation
2.A.service B.favour C.business D.trade
3.A.nurse B.waitress C.guard D.guide
4.A.protect B.assist C.attend D.comfort
5.A.normal B.naughty C.clever D.happy
6.A.admit B.receive C.accept D.adopt
7.A.speak B.play C.stand D.walk
8.A.hesitating B.wondering C.questioning D.asking
9.A.suggested B.argued C.challenged D.commented
10.A.energy B.courage C.faith D.time
11.A.eager B.sorry C.grateful D.ready
12.A.awareness B.balance C.knowledge D.appeal
13.A.delighted B.turned C.lighted D.shuts
14.A.demanding B.simple C.interesting D.flexible
15.A.fears B.worries C.chances D.happiness
16.A.climbed B.got C.managed D.made
17.A.laughter B.reaction C.answer D.greeting
18.A.kiss B.clap C.welcome D.surprise
19.A.play B.do C.take D.enjoy
20.A.miserable B.smart C.lucky D.special
We were walking on the fine, soft sand, which kept the ______ of the waves.
A.impression B.exploration C.expression D.inspiration
With my friend, who is a mechanic, ______ me, I’m sure this second-hand motorbike will soon be as good as new.
A.having helped B.helping C.helped D.helps
Blaming yourself for what happened doesn’t make much sense. It’s time for you to ____.
A.turn out B.pick up C.put down D.move on
