Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions or complete the statements in no more than 12 words.
The first fast food restaurants opened in the United Sates at the end of the 1950s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the fast food industry continued to expand across the United Sates. Two aspects of American society that helped the fast food industry take off were teenagers and cars. Teenagers were the best workers to fill the low-skill jobs needed to work in fast food restaurants putting together hamburgers, taking orders and frying potatoes. Fast food chains also marketed themselves to people with cars by having drive-thru order windows and car hops. Car hops were waitresses who usually wore roller skates and brought the food outside the restaurant so that people could eat in their cars.
The trend of fast food chains hiring teenagers continues today. One out of every eight Americans has worked at McDonald’s, the largest fast food chain in the United States. Fast food chains used to be found only along highways or in business areas where people need to grab a quick lunch before returning to work. Today, however, fast food restaurants can be found in sports stadiums, airports, gas stations, malls; on college campuses, cruise ships; at K-Mart, Wal-Mart; and in hospital cafeterias.
The popularity of fast food in the United States is related to the idea that people would rather eat in a place they are familiar with rather than try a new place they know nothing about. This is the philosophy behind franchises(特许经营). When a person buys a franchise, they are paying for the use of the company’s name. This system has advantages and disadvantages for the person starting the restaurant. The new franchise owner is called the “franchisee”. The company selling its name is the “franchiser”. The franchiser brings experience, equipment, and a business plan to the deal. The franchisee puts up the money and does all the work. On the negative side, the franchiser gives up some control by not owning each restaurant or store directly. The franchisee gives up her or his ability to make personal decisions because she or he has to obey the rules of the company.
(Note: Answer the question or complete the statement in NO MORE THAN 12 WORDS.)Fast food chains hire teenagers because ________________________________________.
Fast food restaurants used to find its location according to _________________________.
According to the author, what’s the philosophy behind franchises?
What is the advantage of franchise to the franchisee?
 HOW TO BOOK  By phone:Call Ticketmaster 24 hr Booking Line on 0844 847 2484  Online:www.PalaceandOperaHouse.org.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk  In Person:The Palace Theatre Ticket Centre, Oxford Street. Manchester, Ml 6FT (Mon Sat 10am-8pm)  By Post:Stating the performance and choice of seats ,enclosing（附寄）a cheque , postal order ,or your credit card details to The Palace Theatre Ticket Centre , Oxford Street , Manchester , Ml 6FT . Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope. |
 Save pounds on tickets NOW!Join Live Nation’s Card for just ￡30 ayear and enjoy a whole range of discounts and benefits .You’ll save money from the first time you use your Live Card—not just on tickets ,but on programmes and reduced booking fees . Live Card members often join the audience on opening nights or enjoy generous discounts throughout the run of a show. Call 0844 499 6699 to join Live Card today.  By getting together as a group of 10 or more you can save money on tickets for your favourite shows. Group bookers benefit from a direct free telephone booking line, and don’t pay booking fees .Invitations to parties and book-now-pay-later programmes are all part of our great service to group bookers. Join the hundreds of people already taking advantage of our group booking. Call 0800 587 5007 to talk to one of our group booking assistants about your group visit to the Palace Theatre or Opera House. For further information please call 0161 245 6609. |
If you want to join Live Card to save money on tickets, you can call .
| A．0844 847 2484 | B．0800 587 5007 |
| C．0844 499 6699 | D．0161 245 6609 |
How can you pay for a ticket when you book by post?
| A．By visiting the website of a post office. |
| B．By going to your local bank in person. |
| C．By enclosing your Live Card in an envelope. |
| D．By providing your credit card information. |
What benefit can group bookers enjoy according to the text?
| A．Delayed payment for tickets. | B．Invitations to opening nights. |
| C．Reduced booking fees by phone | D．Generous discounts on tickets. |
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”The passage tells us that .
| A．people seldom work long hours to make money |
| B．people hardly buy more things than necessary |
| C．people are sure everything they own is in the right place |
| D．people realize there is more to life than just making money |
When Daniel was a reporter he ___.
| A．lived in central London | B．disliked his job |
| C．missed his children | D．was well paid |
Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.
| A．was easy to organize | B．has improved family life |
| C．was extremely expensive | D．has been a total success |
What does the author mean by saying"the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives" in the second paragraph ?
| A．People work long hours to earn their living. |
| B．To make more money through hard work is the aim of people's life. |
| C．Long hours of hard work occupy too much of people's life. |
| D．People spent too much time and money eating meals. |
The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph refers to _________.
| A．repairing your car by yourself |
| B．spending money carefully |
| C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life |
| D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week |
Tales From Animal Hospital
David Grant
David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital . Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated ,including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess , the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond . He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day , from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery （外科手术）. Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat , dog or snake I ! $ 14.99 Hardback 272 pp Simon Schuster
ISBN 0751304417
Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer
Michael White
Form the author of Stephen Hawking : A Life in Science , comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist . Interesting yet based on fact , Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him . Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic ended and science began.
£8.99 Hardback 320 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857024168
Fermat’s Last Theorem
Simon Singh
In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem : Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds , including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem , and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique . Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995 . An unusual story of human effort over three centuries , Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike .
£12.99 Hardback 384 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857025210
What is Animal Hospital ?
| A．A news story. | B．A popular book. |
| C．A research report. | D．A TV program. |
In Michael White’s book , Newton is described as
| A．a person who did not look the same as in many pictures |
| B．a person who lived a colorful and meaningful life |
| C．a great but not perfect man |
| D．an old-time magician |
Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text ?
| A．To encourage people to raise questions |
| B．To cause difficulty in understanding. |
| C．To provide a person with an explanation |
| D．To limit people’s imagination. |
What is the purpose of writing these three texts ?
| A．To make the books easier to read |
| B．To show the importance of science |
| C．To introduce new authors |
| D．To sell the books. |
When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By JackJack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
| A．the manager asked him to do so | B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so | D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
| A．nervous | B．satisfied | C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown, _______.
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack _______.
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Research suggests that a newly-identified gene known as insomniacs(失眠症患者) may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in about 21,000 fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism (机制) by which sleep is controlled.
By studying these flies, the researchers discovered that mutations(变异) in the insomniac gene were associated with a great reduction in sleep. While a typical fruit fly slept for an average of 927 minutes a day, the mutant flies slept for just 317. They also slept for shorter periods of time, and slept and woke more frequently.
“The results showed a great loss of both the time that the flies’ sleep lasted and their ability to remain asleep after they slept,” says researcher Nicholas Stavropoulos.
The researchers also examined the link between sleep and lifespan, finding that flies with mutations to the insomniac gene lived only about two-thirds as long as unchanged flies. But when the scientists removed insomniac only in neurons（神经细胞）---allowing it to remain in the rest of the flies’ bodies---this difference disappeared; the resulting animals slept poorly but lived just as long.
“This suggests that reduced sleep can be ‘uncoupled’(分开) from reduced lifespan, supporting the idea that some interruptions of sleep do not affect overall health, at least as far as lifespan is concerned,” Stavropoulos says.
Although flies and humans would appear to have little in common when it comes to lifestyle, scientists say that the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness are likely to be quite similar.
“Sleep is a fundamental behavior in all animals, and it is poorly understood from a scientific standpoint, says Stavropoulos. This work could prove useful in understanding and treating sleep disorders”The text is mainly about____.
| A．the progress in cloning fruit flies |
| B．the methods of cloning fruit flies |
| C．the link between gene and lifespan |
| D．the influence of a gene on the ability to sleep |
According to paragraph2, the mutant flies________.
| A．slept about 5 hours a day |
| B．had problems waking up |
| C．didn’t seem sleepy at all |
| D．could not fall asleep |
We can conclude from the text that________.
| A．sleep and health go hand in hand |
| B．sleep can be controlled by humans |
| C．research into sleep is very fruitful |
| D．the findings are useful in medical treatment |
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