Question

Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.

Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.

Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.

By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”

1.Frank took a short business course in order to _________.

A. learn something from a salesman        B. get away from the farm

C. earn more money for his family         D. get enough to eat.

2.Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because _________.

A. he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way

B. he cut down the price by half

C. the sign he put on the table was well designed

D. he knew how to get people to buy his goods.

3.The price of the knives was cut down by half because ________.

A. knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory.

B. the factory workers worked 24 hours a day

C. the knives were made in Germany, where labour was cheap.

D. the knives were produced in one factory.

4. ________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.

A. The low price of the goods he sold

B. His business skills and his wealth

C. His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives

D. His natural skill for showing things

5.The belief that “ The customer is always right” suggests that ________.

A.whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.

B If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way.

C.stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful.

D.stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.B

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：弗兰克·伍尔沃斯生于1852年的纽约，是一个贫苦农民的儿子。他从农场来到城市，利用自己的才智、低价和营销策略最终成为北美乃至世界的著名企业家。“顾客是上帝”就是他一直信奉的准则。

1.细节理解题。由“Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer.”可知弗兰克学习短期商务培训是为了要离开农场，而并非“从销售员那里学习”，也不是为了吃饱饭和为家里挣钱去的。故选B。

2.细节理解题。由“ Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH.”可知，弗兰克知道怎样才能让人买他的东西。文中未提及弗兰克把物品“摆放得很好”，“折扣半价”是后来卖刀的时候，放在桌子上的标志也未提及是“设计得很好的”。故选D。

3.细节理解题。由“if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. ”可知，弗兰克的刀子之所以能半价销售是因为他直接从工厂里大批量的进货。B项与半价无关，C、D项没有提及。故选A。

4.细节理解题。弗兰克由于独特和优越的商业经营技巧和巨大的财富而成名。其他三项与此无关。文中没有说他有展示东西的天分。故选B。

5.推理判断题。“顾客就是上帝”表示商店应该尽力做到满足顾客的要求，这样才能成功。顾客不一定任何时候都是对的；这不是唯一成功的途径。D项过分夸大。故选C.

考点：人物传记类文章阅读。