阅读理解

　　A lot of management training is held each year for Circle K Corporation, a national chain of convenience stores．Among the topics we address in our course is the retention(保护力)of quality employees-a real challenge to managers when you consider the pay scale in the service industry．During these discussions, I ask the participants,“What has caused you to stay long enough to become a manager?”Some time back a new manager took the question and slowly, with her voice almost breaking, said,“It was a ＄19 baseball glove．”

　　Cynthia told the group that she originally took a Circle K clerk job as an interim(临时的)position while she looked for something better．On her second or third day behind the counter, she received a phone call from her nine-year-old son, Jessie．He needed a baseball glove for Little League．She explained that as a single mother, money was very tight, and her first check would have to go for paying bills．Perhaps she could buy his baseball glove with her second or third check．When Cynthia arrived for work the next morning, Patricia, the store manager, asked her to come to the small room in the back of the store that served as an office．Cynthia wondered if she had done something wrong or left some part of her job incomplete from the day before．She was concerned and confused．

　　Patricia handed her a box．“I overheard you talking to your son yesterday,”she said,“and I know that it is hard to explain things to kids．This is a baseball glove for Jessie because he may not understand how important he is, even though you have to pay bills before you can buy gloves．You know we can’t pay good people like you as much as we would like to; but we do care, and I want you to know you are important to us．”

　　The thoughtfulness, empathy and love of this convenience store manager demonstrates vividly that people remember more how much an employer cares than how much the employer pays．An important lesson for the price of a Little League baseball glove．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Learning English can sometimes seem like a difficult thing to do-the grammar can be very confusing and spoken English seems to be changing all the time．But, it is not as hard as it seems and the most important thing for any learner to achieve is confidence with the language．If students are nervous about using English or worried about making mistakes, they won’t feel like practicing, and without practice they cannot make progress．General English courses aim to give students that confidence．Whether students are complete beginners or advanced learners, schools want them to be confident about using English by the time they finish their course．To do this ,schools have developed General English courses which combine a range of different teaching methods．

　　In class, teachers encourage students to work together so that they can practice new words and grammar．They always try and make this classwork interesting and fun．Many schools are equipped with language laboratories and libraries where students can work on their own with audio tapes, video and computers．And outside the classroom, the learning continues, where students are meeting together socially, visiting local attractions, or at home with a host family．

　　Most schools offer General English courses which are either part time－usually 15 hours per week or full time, which can be as much as 40 hours．This type of course is available all year round．Students can normally start a General English courses every Monday , and can study for as long as they like．Other types of General English courses may last a minimum umber of days or weeks．Some of the most popular General English courses are available during the summer holiday period．These are usually part time, and schools organize social activities for students in their free time．Some schools offer special activities like sports．

　　General English courses also give students the chance to discover new parts of Britain．With so many schools offering this type of course, students can go almost anywhere, and while they are studying, they will have a chance to explore the countryside or towns and meet local people．Wherever they go in Britain, they are assured high quality courses．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Leaving a tip in a restaurant has become a custom in most countries．The word“tip”came from the Latin word“Gratis”, meaning free．Tips are defined as small gifts of money for service in addition to the payment due．

　　Believe it or not, the practice of tipping has an interesting history．The custom can be traced back to the Roman era．The Romans were the first civilization to use coins．It is possible that the word“tip”came from the word stipend．Stipend in Latin means gift．A more common belief is tips were first given in 18th century England．A popular coffee house equipped each table with a coin box．The label on each box read,“To Insure Promptness”．Dropping a coin into the box would result in quick service．Also, the first letter of each word spells T．I．P．-tip．

　　In America and Europe it is customary to tip anything from 10% to 20%．Taxi drivers, waiters in restaurants, waitresses in lounges, hotel boys, doormen, and disco coat check girls, all expect a little something．People working at these jobs usually receive a low basic salary, Tips are quite necessary to supplement their income．Today most people decide the size of tip according to the quality of the service．If the service and food are not satisfactory, a small tip or possibly no tip will be left．For excellent food and service most people are quite happy to leave a tip．

　　The world is full of big spenders and people who act like big spenders．Surprisingly, rich people are not“big tippers”unless entertaining guests．It is no use showing off if nobody is there to watch, right?Many throw money around like water to impress a group of friends out an evening“on the town”．People who usually cannot afford it are the biggest tippers in front of their friends．It is all part of the show to prove a certain level of social success．Nobody wants to look cheap, stingy, or poor in front of their friends．Or tipping also gives some satisfaction just to see the waiter’s reaction．

　　For, whatever reason, tipping will continue to be practiced in most countries．Tipping does have its place in our modern society．It will also remain a somewhat personal expression of gratitude．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　What do you want to be when you grow up?A teacher?A doctor?How about an ice-cream taster?

　　Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream．Just ask John Harrison, an“Official Taste Tester”for the past 21 years．Testing helps manufacturers to be sure of a product’s quality．During his career Harrison has been responsible for approving large quantities of the sweet ice cream－as well as for developing over 75 flavors(味道)．

　　Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right?No－there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry．He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a career in this“cool”field．

　　In a typical morning on the job．Harrison tastes and assesses 60 ice-cream samples．He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12°F．Harrison explains,“You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup．”

　　While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance．“Tasting begins with the eyes,”he explains．He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself，“Does the product have the color expected from that flavor?”Next it’s time to taste!

　　Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors, and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Microsoft founder Bill Gates has recovered his spot at the top of the US money heap, taking the place of investor Warren Buffett as America's richest person, Forbes magazine's latest list reveals．

　　With 57 billion dollars net worth Gates again leads the list of 400 richest individuals in the world's wealthiest country．He displaced Buffett who briefly held the position this year but who has seen his Berkshire Hathaway investment group's shares slip 15 percent since February and is now worth 50 billion．

　　According to Forbes, whose list was published late Wednesday, the golden 400 have 1.3 billion dollars net worth or more．However, their combined net worth rose only 30 billion dollars, or two percent, to 1.57 trillion dollars．

　　Forbes said that rising oil and dizzy art prices fuelled the entry of 31 new members into the ultra-rich club and the return of eight previous members．

　　A notable arrival was Mark Zuckerberg, 24, founder of the social networking site Facebook．Forbes estimates his worth at 1.5 billion dollars．

　　Meanwhile, turmoil(动荡)on the stock and housing markets saw 33 others drop off the list, including the former head of the troubled insurance giant AIG, Maurice Greenberg, and a former head of the online auction site eBay, Margaret Whitman．

　　Biggest gainers were led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who took eighth place with 20 billion dollars worth after a transaction(交易)put a new value on his Bloomberg media and financial data network．

　　The biggest loser was casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, whose fortune fell 13 billion dollars over 12 months -the equivalent to 1.5 million dollars an hour- although he still has 15 billion dollars and occupies 15th place．

　　About two thirds of the list are self-made billionaires and just over 10 percent are women, led by television star Oprah Winfrey whose fortune rose 200 million dollars to 2.7 billion dollars．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　With its budget of ＄80 million , John Woo as director, and an all-star cast, Red Cliff is the most expensive and ambitious Asian-financed film ever．Last week I saw the release of the second part, and boy oh boy does it shows．

　　But watching the film as a foreigner I felt I was missing out on something．Not knowing my Cao Cao's from my Zhou Yu's, I was not even sure whom I wanted to win．Certainly after the opening scene, in which Cao Cao is seen watching a game of Cuju, an ancient Chinese variation of football, I knew who had my support．After all, any man who enjoys his football is someone after my own heart．But after Cao Cao resorted to some evilness strategies against his enemies in the south, I wasn't so sure he was the man I should be rooting for．

　　And there is a lot more to Red Cliff 2 than just extravagant battle scenes．The film does not take itself too seriously．Conversations between leaders are littered with one-liners, many of which had the audience in laughter．There is even enough to keep fans of more romantic entertainment happy too．This includes a charming relationship between a southern spy(侦探)and an innocent northern soldier．The characters' interaction provides some genuinely heart-warming moments in the middle of the battle．

　　Clocking in at(结束于)around two hours, the film certainly does justice to the history story．When I walked out the cinema, I felt as drained as Cao Cao's soldiers must have 1,800 years ago．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读理解

　　Exercise is one of the few factors with a positive role in long-term maintenance of body weight．Unfortunately, that message has not gotten through to the average American, who would rather try switching to“light”beer and low-calorie bread than increase physical exertion(用力)．The Centers for Disease Control, for example, found that fewer than one-fourth of overweight adults who were trying to shed pounds said they were combining exercise with their diet．

　　In rejecting exercise, some people may be discouraged too much by caloric-expenditure(热量消耗)charts; for example, one would have to briskly walk three miles just to work off the 275 calories in one delicious Danish pastry(小甜饼)．Even exercise professionals concede half a point here．“Exercise by itself is a very tough way to lose weight,”says York Onnen, program director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports．

　　Still, exercise's supporting role in weight reduction is vital．A study at the Boston University Medical Center of overweight police officers and other public employees confirmed that those who dieted without exercise regained almost all their old weight, while those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained their new weight．

　　If you have been sedentary(极少活动的)and decide to start walking one mile a day, the added exercise could burn an extra 100 calories daily．In a year's time, assuming no increase in food intake, you could lose ten pounds．By increasing the distance of your walks gradually and making other dietary adjustments, you may lose even more weight．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　Packaging(包装)is an important form of advertising．A package can sometimes motivate someone to buy a product．For example, a small child might ask for a breakfast food that comes in a box with a picture of a TV character．The child is more interested in the picture than in breakfast food．

　　Pictures for children to color or cut out, games printed on a package, or small gifts inside a box also motivate many children to buy products－or to ask their parents for them．

　　Some packages suggest that a buyer will get something for nothing．Food products sold in reusable containers are examples of this．Although a similar product in a plain container might cost less, people often prefer to buy the product in a reusable glass or dish, because they believe the container is free．However, the cost of the container is added to the cost of the product．

　　The size of a package also motivates a buyer．Maybe the package has“Economy Size”or“Family Size”printed on it．This suggests that the larger size has the most product for the least money．But that is not always true．To find it out a buyer has to know how the product is sold and the price of the basic unit．

　　The information on the package should provide some answers．But the important thing for any buyer to remember is that a package is often an advertisement．The words and pictures do not tell the whole story．Only the product inside can do that．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　We should also know that“greed”is little related to the environmental crisis．The two main factors are population pressures, especially the pressures of large city population, and the desire to bring a satisfactory living with the lowest possible cost to the largest number of people．

　　The environmental crisis is the result of success in cutting down the death rate of babies, which has given us the population explosion, success in increasing farm output sufficiently to prevent mass famine(饥荒), success in getting people out of the tenements(租房)of the 19^th century city and into the ownership of single family home in the suburb，which has given us urban traffic jams．The environmental crisis, in other words, is the result of doing too much of the right sort of thing at large．

　　To overcome the problems that success always creates, one must build on it．But where to start?Cleaning up the environment requires determined, sustained(持续的)efforts with clear targets and deadlines it needed, above all, concentration of effort．Up to now we have tried to do a little bit of everything, what we ought to do first is to draft a list of priorities(优先解决的问题)．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读理解

　　“When one of the doctors criticizes me, I get defensive．I feel like a child again, being scolded, and I want to explain that I’m not wrong．”says Viola, a nurse．This is a common reaction to criticism, but not a good one．There are better ways of dealing with criticism．

　　When Sol was criticized by his new employer for not having made a sale, Sol’s reaction was to feel sorry for himself．“I had put everything I had into making that sale,”Sol says,“and I felt that I had failed as a person．I had to learn through experience not to react like that to each failure．

　　Rather than reacting immediately to criticism, take some time to think over what was said．Your first question should be whether the criticism is fair from the other person’s position．The problem may be a simple misunderstanding of what you did or your reasons for doing it．

　　After you cool down, consider what you can do about the situation．The best answer may be“nothing”．“I finally realized that my boss was having personal problems and taking them out on me because I was there,”says Sheila．“His criticism didn’t really have anything to do with my work, so nothing I said or did was going to change them．”In Sheila’s case, the best way to deal with it was to leave her job．However, that’s an extreme reaction．You may simply explain your opinion without expecting an in-depth discussion．You may even decide that the battle isn’t worth fighting this time．The key, in any case, is to have a reasonable plan．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)