Question

An ATM that spits out cupcakes instead of cash is now filling a popular demand in the American market：late-night desire for freshly baked sweets．

In six cities across the country, sugar addicts can now purchase a cupcake for $4．25 from an automatic machine 24 hours every day．The freshly baked goods are made by the California-based cupcake shop Sprinkles．

The idea came to the company's co-founders Candace and Charles Nelson when Candace was pregnant with their first child. Candace thought it was ridiculous that she owned cupcake bakeries aad couldn’t get a freshly baked treat at an unusual hour．That desire inspired the company’s first cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills,Calif．in 2012。

Charles said each ATM serves about l，000 cupcakes per day．The machine is so popular that when it appeared in Manhattan, customers were lined up around the block to use it.

Yet，inventing the first cupcake ATM was not as easy as convincing customers to use it．When the Nelsons started defigning the machine，they quickly realized nothing existed that could give a fully unbroken cupcake to a customer．The company had to partner with a European firm to develop the technology that could deliver a cupcake without dropping it several feet like a typical machine．After going through a seeond development cycle with the product, the ATMs can now satisfy tlle demand of growing customers and even make as many as four cupcakes at a time．

In terms of the company, the-machine allows Sprinkles to do the impossible：increase hours of operation without raising costs．Now the company can sell cupcakes around the clock through the ATM without paying employees.

Now the company is partnering with a Middle Eastern company to open 34 new locations abroad．

1.What’s the purpose of the text?

A．To tell us a newtrend of the diet．

B．To advertisefor the cupcake ATM．

C．To introduce a newly-invented cupcake ATM．

D．To advise more customers to buy cupcakes on ATM．

2.How did the Nelsons come up with the idea of’a cupulke ATM?

A．Their first child wagted to eat fresh cupcakes．

B．Candace hoped to eat a fleshly baked cupcake at any time．

C．The cupcakes they sold couldn’t satisfy the customers’ demands．

D．They couldn’t afford to employ enough workers．

3.What problem did the Nelsons face when starting to design the machine?

A．Serving an unbroken cupcake to customers．

B．Convincing the customers to use the machine．

C．Dealing with so many orders every day．

D．Making as many as four cupcakes at a time．

4.What does the underlined word‘‘it’’in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The machine．    B．The block．

C．The cupcake．   D．The customer．

5.What can we infer from the text?

A．The ATM will replace the traditional cake shops．

B．The ATM will appear in more cities in the world．

C．The company will promote different kinds of products．

D．People will get cupcakes through the ATM without paying．

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.A

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述的是卖蛋糕的ATM机怎样赚到900万美元。

1.C 写作意图。本文通过ATM吐出的是纸杯蛋糕而不是钞票，这是天才商业的点子，令人惊呼，这项新奇的发明正在满足美国市场一种很常见的需求，那就是深夜想吃现烤蛋糕的冲动，故选C项。

2.B 细节理解题。根据第三段提到The idea came to the company's co-founders Candace and Charles Nelson when Candace was pregnant with their first child.这个想法来自于坎迪斯夫妇在怀上第一个孩子时有了这个新颖的想法，故选B项。

3.A 细节理解题。根据倒数第三段提到Yet，inventing the first cupcake ATM was not as easy as convincing customers to use it．可知选A项。

4.A 推断题。根据第四段提到The machine is so popular that when it appeared in Manhattan, customers were lined up around the block to use it. 这个机器如此受人欢迎，以致于当它出现在曼哈顿时，顾客排除来用它，故选A项。

5.B 推断题。根据最后一段提到Now the company is partnering with a Middle Eastern company to open 34 new locations abroad现在公司正准备和一家中东特许经营商合作，在海外开34家门店，故选B项。

考点：日常生活类阅读。