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 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.
1.Wal-Mart’s low-price policy results in .
A.more high-paying jobs B.worse designed packages
C.bigger profit of its partners D.more jobless American workers
2.What does the underline word “offshore” in the passage mean?
A.In abroad. B.In the Ocean.
C.On the beach. D.On an island not far from shore.
3.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.
4.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
Sort trash, save Earth
You might not think much about where your garbage goes. But now you might want to know. On July 1, Shanghai introduced a new garbage-sorting policy (垃圾分类政策). People there need to put different kinds of garbage into different bins. Other cities in China will do the same soon.
Why is garbage sorting a big problem? It’s because there is too much garbage these days. It is bad for our soil, air and water. Actually we can make use of some garbage again.
And first, we need to sort our garbage. For example, if you put an old battery into the “harmful waste” bin, people can use it to make new batteries. But if you don’t, the battery will end up somewhere else. Then, it will pollute the environment.
Can’t factories sort garbage for us? Yes, they can. But it takes many workers to do this and costs lots of money. If we all sort our own garbage, things will become much easier.
Garbage sorting and recycling around the world
• Germany: There are big machines in supermarkets. You can put bottles in the machines and get money back. You can get one to two yuan per bottle. People like this because they can get money and protect the environment at the same time.
• Japan: A trash truck comes to people’s doors to pick up their garbage. It plays music when it’s coming. There are eight or more kinds of garbage. If you sort any of them wrong, you will get a notice on your door.
• Indonesia: People can take buses for free if they give plastic bottles to bus stations. An hour-long bus ride costs three large bottles, five medium bottles or 10 plastic cups. But the bottles must be clean.
• Shanghai: Four kinds of garbage in Shanghai
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Recyclable garbage includes paper, books, boxes, newspapers, and glass bottles. | Harmful garbage includes lamps, batteries, nail polish (指甲油 ), and other things with harmful chemicals. | Wet garbage usually comes from the kitchen, such as food, vegetables, flowers, leaves and eggshells. | Dry garbage is anything you cannot put into the other three bins. It includes pens, toilet paper, tape, hair, and towels. |
1.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
A.Many other cities in China have garbage-sorting policies.
B.Many people don’t like Shanghai’s garbage-sorting policy.
C.Shanghai is the first city in China to make a garbage-sorting policy.
D.China is the first country in the world to make a garbage-sorting policy.
2.With the battery example, the writer tries to tell us .
A.how to sort our garbage
B.the importance of sorting our garbage
C.what harmful waste is
D.the difficulty of sorting our garbage
3.Why can’t we ask factories to sort garbage?
A.Because we don’t have this kind of factory.
B.Because factories ask for too much money.
C.Because it takes too many workers to do it.
D.Because not all garbage can go to factories.
4.In which country can people take buses for free if they give plastic bottles to bus stations?
A.Germany. B.Indonesia. C.Japan. D.China.
Some Facts about Britain
School-leaving age
Children have to stay at school until the age of 16. There is no upper age limit.
Alcohol
You have to be 18 to buy alcohol in a shop, but if you’re 16 and you’re having a meal in a pub, you can drink beer or wine with it.
Motor vehicles
16-year-olds can ride a motorbike of up to 50 cc. At 17 you can ride any bike or drive a car.
Smoking
You can smoke cigarettes at any age, but you can’t go into a shop and buy them until you are 18.
Armed forces
Men can join the army at 16, women at 17. If you’re under 18, you need your parents’ permission.
Marriage
You can get married at 16 with your parents’ permission. Otherwise you have to wait till you’re 18.
Paid employment
You can take a part-time job at 14, and a full-time job at 16 (i.e. when you’ve left school).
Entering Parliament(议会)
The minimum age for becoming a Member of Parliament is 21.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.People and employment. B.Children and smoking.
C.Age and the law. D.Safety and traffic.
2.When a British boy is 14 years old, he can probably .
A.take a part-time job B.drink beer or wine
C.drive a car D.buy cigarettes
3.The minimum age for entering Parliament in Britain is .
A.16 B.17 C.18 D.21
4.According to the passage, we may know that in Britain .
A.people can get married at 18
B.people can buy alcohol in a shop at 16
C.children have to study at school until 18
D.a girl of 17 can join the army without asking her parents
Tired, I came back home from work. I found the front door was_____________and I felt a little scared.
Did I carelessly forget to lock it after I left? I looked around to_____________what could be___________ Why would someone come into my home only to___________with nothing? After searching every inch, I realized that everything was_______ I had left it. Feeling much eased, I looked out the window of my dining room at Ms. Sullivan’s___________. Jimmy, the little boy next door was visiting her. Jimmy cared a lot about Ms. Sullivan’s___________after she became ill. She used to_____________Jimmy when he was just a baby.
Forgetting about the___________with my front door, I decided to walk over to Ms. Sullivan’s house to see how she was __________. With a warm hello, she invited me into her home. I noticed twelve beautiful roses on the table next to her bed. They looked exactly like the____________on my dining room table. With a pleasant smile, she told me Jimmy brought them to her as a “get-well gift”. Suddenly Jimmy______________ out of his seat and said that he had to go home for a while to do some homework but he____________ to be back to check up on Ms. Sullivan.
Talking for a while, Ms. Sullivan began to get very tired____________I gave her my phone number in case she needed____________, and left her home. I thought about how__________it was for little Jimmy to be so concerned for Ms. Sullivan. I got home, laughing at how __________I was about what had happened over__________. I walked passed the dining room and noticed my roses____________in the vase were missing. Without a second____________, I glanced out of the window at Ms. Sullivan’s house and with a smile on my face.
The next morning my doorbell rang. I opened the door Jimmy was there.
1.A.locked B.covered C.open D.closed
2.A.see B.hear C.feel D.get
3.A.burning B.shining C.lacking D.missing
4.A.talk B.deal C.steal D.leave
5.A.what B.where C.that D.how
6.A.house B.name C.car D.letter
7.A.idea B.money C.dream D.health
8.A.watch B.notice C.follow D.visit
9.A.price B.experience C.incident D.condition
10.A.working B.doing C.sleeping D.walking
11.A.lamps B.vases C.roses D.gifts
12.A.stood B.ran C.stepped D.jumped
13.A.called B.wrote C.promised D.refused
14.A.but B.so C.when D.though
15.A.help B.time C.money D.bread
16.A.smart B.harmful C.sweet D.careless
17.A.strange B.nervous C.careless D.wrong
18.A.everything B.something C.anything D.nothing
19.A.growing B.sitting C.lying D.arranging
20.A.thought B.intention C.expectation D.delay
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。将答案填写在答题纸的相应位置。
Hello, I’m Mike. I live in my own flat with a cat. Actually, my cat thinks I’m a hero because I1.(save) her from the street. I love pizza if it’s Italian, wine2.it’s white, and football if it’s the World Cup. I read a lot, especially true life3.(story), but most of my books live on 4.(I) phone. I love to travel and I prefer an active holiday like hiking, skiing or watersports. I post lots of photos on the Internet and I’d really love to share the holiday with someone. Maybe you 5.(take) photos on the next trip if you see mine.
在下列句子中的空白处填入适当内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
1.I began to think how wonderful it was ________(see) the power of nature.
2.Captain Scott left a record, for honesty, for sincerity, for bravery, for everything that________(make) a man.
3.People in Amsterdam___________(enjoy) the benefits of cycling for years.
4.He engaged in a wide range of exercises ___________(design) to rebuild muscle, and made remarkable progress.
5.Tu Youyou is a scientist________work is internationally renowned.
