Holiday Inns and McDonald’s. both saw unmatched growth in the 1960s. Their growth opened another direct business operation—franchising.
These operations have the same general pattern. The franchisor, the parent company, first establishes a successful retail business. As it expands, it sees a profit potential in offering others the right to open similar business under its name. The parent company’s methods and means of identification with consumers are included in this right. The parent company supplies skill, and may build and rent stores to franchisees. For these advantages the franchisee pays the franchisor a considerable fee. However, some of the advantages and disadvantages are different.
By extending a “proven” marketing method, a parent can profit in several ways. First, the franchisee’s purchase price gives the parent an immediate return on the plan. Then the sale of supplies to the franchisee provides a continuing source of profits. As new businesses are added and the company’s reputation spreads, the values of the franchise increases and sales of franchises become easier. The snowballing effect can be dramatic. Such growth, too, bring into play the economies of scale. Regional or national advertising that might be financially impossible for a franchisor with 20 franchises could be profitable for one with 40.
The parent, then, finds immediate gains from the opportunity to expand markets on the basis of reputation alone, without having to put up capital or take the risk of owning retail stores. Added to this advantage is a less obvious but material one, Skilled, responsible retail managers are rare. People who invest their capital in franchises, though, probably come closer to the ideal than do paid managers. In fact, the franchisee is an independent store operator working for the franchisor, but without an independent’s freedom to drop supplies at will. Of course the factory’s costs of selling supplies are less. But also certainly the franchisee buying goods that have had broad consumer acceptance will not casually change supplies, even when the contract permits. If the hamburger is not what the customer expected, they may not return. Having paid for the goodwill, the franchisee won’t thoughtlessly destroy it. Franchising refers to a business operation in which a successful parent company .
| A．sells name-brand goods to a private investor |
| B．rents proven ideas and techniques for investment |
| C．sells the right, the guidance to a business under its name |
| D．takes no advertising responsibility for individual investors |
. The advantages of franchising to the parent company are all the following EXCEPT .
| A．an immediate investment return |
| B．the profit from the sale of supplies |
| C．the ownership of additional retail stores |
| D．the possibility of profitable advertising |
The passage mainly tells the reader .
| A．the advantages and disadvantages of franchising |
| B．the benefits of franchising to the franchisor |
| C．the unmatched economic growth in the 1960’s |
| D．some regional and national business operation |
. What will the author probably discuss after the last paragraph?
| A．More advantages of franchising. |
| B．Negative aspects related to franchising. |
| C．The standard of consumer acceptance. |
| D．Risks of investment besides franchising |
To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone’s life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot（情节） and the greatest interests be so exciting or dramatic? I’m not sure about it.
Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning—the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more carefully, we discover them in our everyday life too—in the rhythm(节拍) of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, express himself from his heart, feel the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.”From the text, we learn that many people______.
| A．don’t realize the importance of music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than films |
What does the underlined word “melody” mean in the text?
| A．flying | B．singing | C．looking | D．living |
From the last paragraph, we learn that music_____.
| A．can make our life exciting and dramatic | B．is very necessary for our daily life |
| C．is very important, especially for children | D．can enter into another beautiful world |
What’s the meaning for those who work on playing or writing music?
| A．They treat music as their life. | B．They treat music as part of their life. |
| C．They don’t think music is important. | D．They think it’s only their job. |
What does the writer say more about in the text?
| A．The importance of music | B．Life without music |
| C．Life full of music | D．The development of music |
Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy. From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.
| A．the great King was fond of his precious sword |
| B．a disagreement led to a war between Kings |
| C．the two Kings were once good friends before the war |
| D．the precious sword was used to entertain the great King |
What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?
| A．Worried | B．Fearful | C．Eager | D．peaceful |
When did the sword change its attitude to war?
| A．When it fought at the first battle |
| B．After it realized that it was not powerful |
| C．When it was on the way to the front line |
| D．After it saw the terrible results of the first battle |
What is the right order of the following events?
a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side
b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.
c. It let out continuous low noise
d. It persuaded other swords to join in.
e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night
| A．a, b, c, d, e | B．b, a, c, e, d |
| C．c, d, a, e, b | D．d, b, a, e, c |
According to the passage, how many times was the battle put off?
| A．Seven | B．Eight | C．Nine | D．Ten |
What do the underlined words in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Both King’s sleepless nights |
| B．The end of war and being friends |
| C．The surprise on the soldiers’ faces |
| D．The confusion of day with night |
People go fishing for many reasons, for one they like the sport of it, reeling in (搜卷轴拉近鱼钩) the big catch after a long day of work or just having a few drinks on the water with some friends and letting all the stress just go. Whatever the reasons may be, it is absolutely therapeutic.
People in the south sometimes do a strange type of fishing where they reach their arm inside a hole in the bank and pull out cat fish the size of a boat. There is one form called jug fishing where you get a milk jug or water jug and tie a heavy fishing line with a big hook, put on a small brim（容器的口）and throw it in the water. The next morning you get up and see what’s on the hook. There is fly fishing which is with a lighter string and top water jigs（滚钩）such as bugs that lay on the top of the water until the trout（鳟鱼）comes and takes it. It takes longer to reel them in because the line is so light and the fish are heavy.
Ice fishing is a dangerous kind of fishing in the north. You cut a hole in the ice, drop in your bait（诱饵）and wait for a fish to bite. You have to be careful that the fish doesn’t pull your line into the side of the ice and snap it. That is one problem with ice fishing but the fish are usually bigger and worth the trouble.
Going out on the lake with a couple of friends or alone with a couple of drinks and a fishing pole can be the most stress releasing thing you can do sometimes. Just to feel the waves rocking the boat and a good conversation is all the therapy you will need sometimes. Catching a fish is always a great bonus（奖励）. The underlined word “therapeutic” may be replaced by ________.
| A．beneficial | B．caring | C．curable | D．healthy |
What is the second paragraph mainly about?
| A．Some characters about fishing |
| B．Some different fishing in the south |
| C．Three common fishing in America |
| D．People’s creative fishing in the north |
How many ways of fishing have been introduced in the passage?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
What problem should people pay attention to when going ice fishing?
| A．Dropping in the bait several times |
| B．Waiting for the fish more patiently |
| C．Cutting a big enough hole on the ice |
| D．Taking care of the lines of their poles |
Fishing is becoming more and more popular mainly because _______.
| A．it is a good way to harvest much fish from the rivers |
| B．it can help people have a good time with their friends |
| C．it can help people relax themselves to the fullest |
| D．it is a good way to exercise the strength of their arms |
Reading is not the only way to gain knowledge of the work in the past. There is another large reservoir (知识库) which may be called experience, and the college students will find that every craftsman (工匠) has something he can teach and will generally teach gladly to any college student who does not look down upon them. The information from them differs from that in textbooks and papers chiefly in that its theoretical (理论的) part -- the explanations of why things happen -- is frequently quite fantastic (神奇的) . But the demonstration (示范) and report of what happens, and how it happens are correct even if the reports are in completely unscientific terms. Presently the college students will learn, in this case also, what to accept and what to reject. One important thing for a college student to remember is that if Aristotle could talk to the fisherman, so can he.
Another source of knowledge is the vast store of traditional practices handed down from father to son , or mother to daughter, of old country customs ,of folklore (风俗). All this is very difficult for a college student to examine, for much knowledge and personal experience is needed here to separate good plants from wild grass.The college students should learn to realize and remember how much of real value science has found in this wide, confused wilderness and how often scientific discoveries of what had existed in this area long age. In the last paragraph the phrase "this wide, confused wilderness" refers to _____.
| A．personal experience |
| B．wild weeds among good plants |
| C．the information from the parents |
| D．the vast store of traditional practices |
Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
| A．The college students have trouble separating good plants from wild grass |
| B．Craftsman’s experience is usually unscientific |
| C．The contemptuous (傲慢的) college students will receive nothing from craftsmen |
| D．Traditional practices are as important as experience for the college students |
The author advises the college students to ______ .
| A．be contemptuous to the craftsman |
| B．be patient in helping the craftsman with scientific terms |
| C．learn the craftsman’s experience by judging it carefully |
| D．gain the craftsman’s experience without rejection |
The main idea of this passage is about ________.
| A．what to learn from the parents | B．how to gain knowledge |
| C．why to learn from craftsman | D．how to deal with experience |
Thirty years ago not many people would have dreamed of doing the repairs and decorations in their own homes. In those days labor was fairly cheap and most people would have thought it worthwhile to employ a professional painter and decorator, unless of course they were either very hand up or were in the trade themselves. Today, however, it is quite a different story. Men and women in all walks of life turn their hands to all sorts of jobs round the house including painting, papering, putting up shelves and wall units, and tiling walls and floors. Some people with no professional training of any kind have even successfully built their own houses. These jobs have been made easier today by the introduction of prepared materials, which require the minimum amount of skill to use. In every high street throughout Britain nowadays there is at least one “Do-it-Yourself” shop containing a vast range of timber, tiles, paints, wallpapers and floor coverings besides tools of every description including power drills and many accessories. “Do-it-Yourself” is a booming business; all these shops do a roaring trade and look like continuing to do so. Probably the main reason for the craze is the high cost of present-day labor and the shortage of building firms willing to do small jobs. Why did people employ professional workers to decorate homes thirty years ago?
| A．Because they could not do it themselves. |
| B．Because professional workers were very cheap. |
| C．Because they had no time. |
| D．Because professional workers could do much better. |
Thirty years later what changes took place?
| A．People could do everything themselves. |
| B．Few people chose to be a professional worker |
| C．People with no professional training successfully built their own houses. |
| D．New expensive materials required no skills at all. |
What caused the DIY craze?
| A．Young people liked to follow the fashion. |
| B．“Do-it-Yourself” is a booming business. |
| C．There were fewer building companies. |
| D．High cost of professional workers. |
What is the speaker telling us?
| A．How DIY comes into being. |
| B．Changes in building. |
| C．Changes in housing. |
| D．Great changes in these thirty years. |
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