In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue(烤肉)restaurant, then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this small selection they added one new idea: quick service,no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.
Their hamburgers were sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity(一致性), for the brothers had developed a strict routine(程序)for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cooks’ sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became surprisingly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundred during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954 when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the special attraction of the brothers’ fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise(特许经营)other copies of their restaurants. The agreement included the right to duplicate(复制) the menu, the equipment, even their red and white buildings the golden arches(拱门).
Today McDonald’s is really a household name. In 1976, McDonald’s had over$1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most surprising successes in modern American business history.
1.This passage mainly talks about ___.
A. the development of fast food services
B. how McDonald’s became a billion-dollar business
C. the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald
D. Ray Kroc’s business talent
2.Mac and Dick managed all of the following business except ___.
A. a drive-in B. a theater
C. a cinema D. a barbecue restaurant
3. We may infer from this passage that ___.
A. Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy, for they sold their ideas to Kroc
B. the place the McDonald brothers chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in
C. forty years ago there were lots of fast-food restaurants
D. Ray Kroc was a good businessman
4.The passage suggests that ___.
A. creativity is an important element of business success
B. Ray Kroc was the close partner of the McDonald brothers
C. Mac and Dick McDonald became broken after they sold their ideas to Ray Kroc
D. California is the best place to go into business
5.Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A. Today McDonald’s is very popular in the world.
B. The first twenty-two years of McDonald’s is the most surprising success in American business history.
C. Mac and Dick McDonald were content with their business at first.
D. It is convenient to eat in a drive-in.
Many American youngsters earn their own allowance(零花钱)by doing temporary jobs for their neighbors. Babysitting is one of the common of these jobs. Most couples do not have maids or relatives living with them, and they need to have someone watch the children if they want to go out.
Another way is by mowing lawn in summer and clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. Many people mow their own lawns,but often people prefer to give the job to a neighbor’s child. In winter, snow clearing from streets and highways is the government’s responsibility. Homeowners or tenants, however, must clear sidewalks and driveways. Since clearing snow is very tiring, many people prefer to hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves.
Besides, many American teenagers usually work two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday at the local supermarket. They work as cashiers or stockroom clerks. Or they help customers carry things to their cars. Other favorite jobs are waiting on tables in restaurants or working part-time at stores or gas stations.
By earning their own allowance,teenagers acquire a feeling of independence and a sense of responsibility which prepares them for a productive life in society.
1.What does “babysitting” mean in the first paragraph?
A. Watching a baby when its parents are out. B. Working as a maid.
C. Sitting with a baby. D. Selling something.
2.How do American youngsters earn their allowance? Which one is NOT one of the ways?
A. By mowing lawn in summer.
B. By clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter.
C. By working two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday.
D. By doing some housework for the family.
3.When it comes to clearing snow,what do many people like to do?
A. Hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves
B. They do it themselves.
C. They hire their own children to do so
D. They don’t clean it at all.
4.What is the advantage of youngsters earning allowance?
A.They acquire a feeling of independence.
B. They acquire a sense of responsibility.
C. The actions prepare them for a productive life in society.
D. All of the above.
5.Who will clear the snow on the streets?
A. The inhabitants. B. The neighbors
C. The government. D. The police.
As a solo artist,Brightman has sold 26 million albums and two million DVDs in 34 countries. Her musical styles put opera, pop and jazz together. She is popular in the States but not here(Britain)—the image of her and her second husband, Andrew Lloyd Webber(he much older, she his muse) seems for ever frozen.
The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the normal and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5 I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe(辣妹三人舞)Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the UK, where I now live. I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
1.The first paragraph tells us that ______.
A. Brightman is very popular around the world except in America
B. Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz
C. the British people don’t like her for her style of music
D. Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber
2.Brightman decided to give up having children because ______.
A. she could adopt one
B. her life and career were unbelievably rich without children
C. she felt it normal not to have children
D. she was too busy
3.The following statements are true except ______.
A. Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5
B. Brightman disliked life on campus
C. Brightman was very gifted when she was young
D. the saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous
4. The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.
A. located B. admired C. followed D. found
5.What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?
A. Brightman has to accept the fact that she isn’t liked in Britain
B. Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country
C. The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland
D. Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain
Robeson was born in a very poor family. At seven, he had to pick coal in a deserted mine near his home, then he sold 1 he had picked and earned a few coins to help his parents. He had 2 schooling, for being so poor, how could they 3 school fees?
When he was fifteen, he worked 4 a servant in a school. Looking at other children studying in the classroom, he felt 5 for himself. How he 6 to have the same chance! He decided to study by 7 . In the daytime, after the sweeping and cleaning was over, he 8 stand by the window outside the classroom trying to catch what the teacher said. At night, he tried his best to remember what he 9 during the day. He worked 10 hard at his lessons that he sometimes had just three or four hours to sleep. The more he learned, the greater 11 he showed in his lessons. A maths teacher discovered him and came to like this diligent boy and 12 him to sit at the back of the class. In one exam, he was the 13 one in the whole school who reached the highest grade. He would have been given the scholarship if he 14 a regular student of the school.
Robeson 15 through six long years with his study of maths and wrote several articles which captured the 16 of some university professors. They admired his talent 17 his diligence. To give him a good chance, they hired him as a librarian and 18 him free guidance. Robeson felt 19 , for he was sure that before him there was a broad road 20 success.
1.A. whether B. which C. that D. what
2.A. many B. few C. little D. much
3.A. buy B. afford C. send D. read
4.A. as B. like C. for D. by
5.A. angry B. ashamed C. proud D. sorry
6.A. hated B. decided C. wished D. regretted
7.A. the teacher B. himself C. his parents D. his schoolmates
8.A. could B. ought to C. should D. would
9.A. had learned B. has been taught C. has heard D. had been written down
10.A. very B. so C. too D. quite
11.A. joy B. interest C. time D. taste
12.A. allowed B. agreed C. let D. refused
13.A. worst B. only C. last D. laziest
14.A. had been B. has been C. is D. was
15.A. learned B. listened C. mastered D. struggled
16.A. notice B. influence C. eyes D. attention
17.A. except for B. according to C. as well as D. in spite of
18.A. taught B. offered C. lent D. sent
19.A. sad B. angry C. happy D. disappointed
20.A. leading to B. coming from C. made of D. covered with
You can hardly imagine how excited I was when the day I had been looking forward to _____ at last.
A. coming B. come C. came D. comes
The effect a teacher has _______ children may be greater than that of their parents.
A. in B. on C. at D. with