C
There is a place where Christmas lives all year long. It is called Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The family-owned business calls itself the world’s largest Christmas store. The late Wally Bronner started the business in 1945.
Wayne Bronner, Wally’s son, is president and CEO of what is now a multi-million dollar corporation. He learned the business from an early age. Some of his best memories are traveling to other countries with his father to find new products for the store.
Bronner’s sells more than fifty thousand holiday products from seventy nations. Half of the products cost less than ten dollars. Wayne Bronner says demand for small objects to hang on Christmas trees has expanded over the years. People spend more time, effort and money into decorating their homes with these ornaments(装饰品), lights and religious scenes. Bronner’s is famous for its nativity scenes which show the birth of Jesus Christ.
Michigan has the nation’s highest unemployment rate. Bronner’s has been affected by the financial crisis, too. But not in reduced sales.
Wayne Bronner said, “Even though people are spending less, we’re having more people visit here. And as a result we’ve actually had a sales increase.” Bronner’s success is also linked to community co-operation and investment. Frankenmuth is a town of five thousand people in eastern Michigan’s farm country. The town was settled by Bavarian Germans in the 1800s. It has kept its traditions alive in buildings and restaurants.
Bavarian cultural themes and Bronner’s huge store bring three million visitors a year. The town is the most popular place for tourists in the state. Bronner’s business is aimed at a single day of the year. But that is not too different from other businesses.
“About half of our business is done in the last quarter of the year, in the last three months. And actually when you compare that with most retailers(零售商), that follows the same pattern.” Wayne Bronner says the family’s long-term planning and willingness to reinvest profits has grown the company into what it is today. Still, it does not hurt to build a business on a holiday which is celebrated worldwide. Currently, about only two percent of sales are overseas. But Wayne Bronner sees room for growth, especially through the Internet.
51. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is probably ______.
A. a private business            B. a state-run business
C. the world’s largest store       D. a nationalized corporation
52. Bronner’s mainly sells ______.
A. festival ornaments made by themselves
B. holiday products imported from foreign countries
C. festival ornaments during the summer and winter holidays
D. holiday products to tourists from foreign countries
53. We can learn from the passage that ________.
　 A. most of Bronner’s products are expensive
B. people are spending less money on small objects
C. Frankenmuth is a modern town popular with tourists
D. Wally Bronner, founder of Bronner’s, has passed away
54. In what way has the financial crisis affected Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland?
A. Many of its staff have lost their jobs.
B. Only two percent of sales are overseas.
C. The corporation has had an increased sale.
D. People are spending less in Bronner’s.
55. Bronner’s success lies in the following EXCEPT ________.
A. aiming its business at a single day of the year
B. community co-operation and investment
C. the family’s long-term planning
D. the willingness to reinvest profits

How men first learned to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters we call words.

The power of words, then, lies in their combinations - the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.

Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts, but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and feelings. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary （文字的） style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and rude.

73. The origin of language _____.

A. is reflected in sounds and letters　             B. is handed down from generation to generation

C. dates back to the prehistoric period             D. is a problem not yet solved

74. According to the passage, words are _____.

A. visual letters　                                     B. represented by sounds  

C. represented either by sounds or letters    D. signs called letters

75. The secret of a writer’s success is the use of words that _____.

A. recall to us the glad and sad events of our past   B. are arranged in a creative way

C. are as beautiful as music                                  D. agree with certain literary style

76. The author of the passage advises us _____.

A. to use words carefully and accurately　　        B. not to use silly and rude words

C. to become a slave of words                              D. to use emotional words

C

There is a place where Christmas lives all year long. It is called Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The family-owned business calls itself the world’s largest Christmas store. The late Wally Bronner started the business in 1945.

Wayne Bronner, Wally’s son, is president and CEO of what is now a multi-million dollar corporation. He learned the business from an early age. Some of his best memories are traveling to other countries with his father to find new products for the store.

Bronner’s sells more than fifty thousand holiday products from seventy nations. Half of the products cost less than ten dollars. Wayne Bronner says demand for small objects to hang on Christmas trees has expanded over the years. People spend more time, effort and money into decorating their homes with these ornaments(装饰品), lights and religious scenes. Bronner’s is famous for its nativity scenes which show the birth of Jesus Christ.

Michigan has the nation’s highest unemployment rate. Bronner’s has been affected by the financial crisis, too. But not in reduced sales.

Wayne Bronner said, “Even though people are spending less, we’re having more people visit here. And as a result we’ve actually had a sales increase.” Bronner’s success is also linked to community co-operation and investment. Frankenmuth is a town of five thousand people in eastern Michigan’s farm country. The town was settled by Bavarian Germans in the 1800s. It has kept its traditions alive in buildings and restaurants.

Bavarian cultural themes and Bronner’s huge store bring three million visitors a year. The town is the most popular place for tourists in the state. Bronner’s business is aimed at a single day of the year. But that is not too different from other businesses.

 “About half of our business is done in the last quarter of the year, in the last three months. And actually when you compare that with most retailers(零售商), that follows the same pattern.” Wayne Bronner says the family’s long-term planning and willingness to reinvest profits has grown the company into what it is today. Still, it does not hurt to build a business on a holiday which is celebrated worldwide. Currently, about only two percent of sales are overseas. But Wayne Bronner sees room for growth, especially through the Internet.

51. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is probably ______.

   A. a private business            B. a state-run business

   C. the world’s largest store       D. a nationalized corporation

52. Bronner’s mainly sells ______.

   A. festival ornaments made by themselves

   B. holiday products imported from foreign countries

   C. festival ornaments during the summer and winter holidays

   D. holiday products to tourists from foreign countries

53. We can learn from the passage that ________.

　 A. most of Bronner’s products are expensive

   B. people are spending less money on small objects

   C. Frankenmuth is a modern town popular with tourists

   D. Wally Bronner, founder of Bronner’s, has passed away

54. In what way has the financial crisis affected Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland?

   A. Many of its staff have lost their jobs.

   B. Only two percent of sales are overseas.

   C. The corporation has had an increased sale.

   D. People are spending less in Bronner’s.

55. Bronner’s success lies in the following EXCEPT ________.

   A. aiming its business at a single day of the year

B. community co-operation and investment

C. the family’s long-term planning

D. the willingness to reinvest profits

　  In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

    However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

31. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.

B. Opinions about competition are different among people.

C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

D. Failures are necessary experience in competition.

32. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A. It pushes society forward.

B. It builds up a sense of duty.

C. It improves personal abilities.

D. It encourages individual efforts.

33. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means __________.

A. those who try their best to win

B. those who value competition most highly

C. those who are against competition most strongly

D. those who rely on others most for success

34. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.

B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.

C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.

D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

35. Which point of view may the author agree to?

A. Every effort should be paid back.

B. Competition should be encouraged.

C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.

D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.

　 Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do ―especially in today’s tight job market. Bob Crossley, a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come across his desk every day. “It’s amazing how many candidates cross out themselves,” he says.

“Resumes (简历)arrive with all kinds of faults. Some candidates don’t bother to spell the company’s name correctly. Once I see a mistake, I cross out the candidates,” Crossley concludes. “If they cannot take care of these details, why should we trust them with a job ?”

Can we pay too much attention to details? Absolutely. Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost of something larger they work toward. “To keep from losing the forest for the trees,” says Charles Garfield, the professor at the university of California, San Francisco, “We must constantly ask ourselves how the details we’re working on fit into the larger picture. If they don’t, we should drop them and move to something else.”

Garfield compares this process to his work as a computer scientist at NASA. “The Apollo moon launch was slightly off course 90 percent of the time,” says Garfield. “But a successful landing was still likely because we knew the exact coordinates of our goal. This allowed us to make adjustments as necessary.” Knowing where to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake .

Too often we believe what accounts for other’s success is some special secret or a lucky break. But rarely is success so mysterious. Again and again, we see that by doing little things within our grasp well, large rewards follow.

40．According to the passage, some job applicants were rejected because ________.

       A．they failed to present resumes that are free of mistakes

       B．they failed to give a detailed description of their background

       C．they cross out their names from the applicants list themselves

       D．their handwriting on the resume was hard to recognize

41．The third paragraph is intended to state that _________.

       A．trees are as important as forests

       B．we should pay much attention to details

       C．we shouldn’t go too far in details to lose our goals

       D．perfectionists are capable of achieving perfect results

42．Which of the following is likely to agree with the author’s attitude ?

       A．Those who are successful must have some special talents or good luck.

       B．Attention to details shouldn’t be overlooked .

       C．Don’t forget details before we move to something else .

       D．Be aware of the details of a task before undertaking it .

43．The example of Apollo II moon launch is given to show that ________ .

      A．minor mistakes can be ignored      B．failure is the mother of success

       C．adjustments are the key to the successful completion of any work

       D．keeping one’s goal in mind helps decide which details can be overlooked