Three months ago, Mariza Castro left Honduras. Today, she is in the United States and she has a job. Castro works behind the counter at McDonald’s. Speed is an important part of her work life. Fast-food counter workers are expected to serve customers in less than a minute. At McDonald’s they say, “Work fast or you don’t last.”

Are McDonald’s workers lucky to have their jobs? Or are they being exploited? The answer depends on who you talk to.

McDonald’s does many good things. For example, no other company hires more young people than McDonald’s. More than half of its workers are under 20 years old. McDonald’s also has a good record of hiring minority workers. Thirteen percent of its workers are black. This is better than any other US company.

But the burger house has its critics as well. The pay bothered Edward Rodriguez. He had worked for nearly a year at a Los Angeles McDonald’s. During that time he got only one 10-cent raise. “I used to joke that working for McDonald’s is the closest thing to slave labour in the US today,” he says. Today, most McDonald’s pay about $ 5 an hour. They hire new workers constantly. The restaurant has no other choice because 70 percent of its workers quit or are fired every year.

    But McDonald’s also gets its share of praise. Its best workers move up quickly. Just talk to 17-year-old Amber Abdur-Razaaq of Harlem, New York City. “They call me ‘Young Crew Chief’ around my block,” he says, “Where else can I go at my age and be in charge of this many people?” He sees that job as the first step in his career.

However, most McDonald’s crew members never make it to manager because the job pressure is so intense, and the rewards so few. As one worker put it, “They expect a lot and they don’t pay you much.”

59. What does the sentence “Work fast or you don’t last.” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. You just work fast and at last you’ll get raised.

B. You’ll be fired if you don’t work fast at McDonald’s.

C. You have to work fast to avoid becoming the last one.

D. If you work fast, you can stay at McDonald’s for ever.

60.Edward Rodriguez said working at McDonald’s is like slave labour because he thought____.

A. he was not as free as slaves

B. he worked too long hours like slave

C. he was not paid enough for what he was doing

D. he was working so hard without getting anything

61. Which of the following statements is NOT in favor of McDonald’s?

A. It hires new workers constantly.

B. It offers more young people opportunities.

C. It promotes the best employees, young as they are.

D. It respects colored people more than other companies.

62. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Lucky to Have a Job at McDonald’s

B. Work Fast or you Don’t Last

C. Young People’s Paradise---McDonald’s

D. McDonald’s---Heaven or Hell

Canadian smart phone maker Research In Motion (RIM), which makes the BlackBerry, says it’s back. The company is   36   to reclaim a market it once dominated by   37   two new devices. The last few years have been a painful time for the company as customers deserted its platform in   38   of newer and more   39   devices. This may be the company’s last chance to   40   a vital player in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

    Two brand new devices are perhaps a fresh   41   for a company that has seen its global market share   42   from 20 percent three years ago to just over 3 percent today.

    For BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, it’s another chance to remake a faded   43  . “We have   44   been on a journey of transformation, not only a journey to transform our business and our brand,   45   one that I truly   46   transforms mobile communications into true mobile computing,” he said.

    The company promises the same   47   level of network security the BlackBerry is known for,   48   a fast new browser and a more intuitive operating system. The Z10   49   much like the touch-screen phones popularized by its competitors, but the Q10 maintains the “qwerty” keyboard that has become BlackBerry’s trademark.

      Besides the technical and cosmetic (外觀上的) updates, Heins says the company will no longer be called RIM or Research In Motion.

   “Our customers use a BlackBerry, our   50   work for BlackBerry and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry   51   in the world,” he said.

    Shareholders will be watching if customers   52  the new devices. The company’s stock has dropped as much as 90 percent in the last four years as it lost   53   to competitors. But company shares have doubled in the last four months as anticipation (預(yù)期)  54  for the new models.

Analysts say the new devices could make or   55   a company, which many people praise for starting the technological revolution in smart-phones.

36. A. refusing                     B. trying                     C. urging             D. pretending

37. A. introducing       B. reviewing           C. rejecting      D. discovering

38. A. favor                 B. charge                C. honor               D. defense

39. A. popular               B. expensive                C. complicated       D. familiar

40. A. replace               B. react                      C. remain                     D. reset

41. A. record                B. dilemma                  C. end                   D. start

42. A. lose                    B. increase                  C. rise                   D. fall

43. A. brand                 B. trade                   C. technique          D. phone

44. A. specially             B. definitely          C. doubtfully          D. essentially

45. A. and                    B. or                          C. but                   D. so

46. A. agree                  B. believe                    C. suspect             D. deny

47. A. high                   B. average                   C. backward          D. normal

48. A. except for    B. regardless of             C. apart from         D. along with

49. A. sounds               B. smells                     C. looks                D. finds

50. A. employees           B. consumers              C. relatives            D. competitors

51. A. however             B. whenever                C. nowhere            D. everywhere

52. A. adapt                  B. adjust                     C. adopt                D. advocate

53. A. land                    B. ground                   C. soil                  D. earth

54. A. dropped                     B. changed                  C. remained           D. grew

55. A. desert                 B. abandon                  C. break                D. deny

A. They admit their mistakes.       

B. They are open to criticism.

C. They are willing to learn.                   

D. They’re in charge of their emotions.

E. They apologize when needed.     

F. They are generous with compliments. 

We all see and hear about extraordinary people around us and wonder why can’t we be more like them? Sometimes we chuck that notion as absurd and unachievable. I would say not so fast. It’s not the big things that make someone extraordinary. It’s the small things. Things over a period of time have the power to radically change your life. They become extraordinary by making a difference in someone’s life. Here are some of the things extraordinary people do every day:

1. __________

Just because you’re the boss, it doesn’t mean you are right every time. It doesn’t mean you have the best ideas. Learn to back up your ideas or decisions with reason. Use logic to explain things, not authority. By doing this your decisions might invite criticism, but you will also get an opportunity to improve.

2. __________

My friend’s boss made a huge mistake by tying up with an event management company. The whole purpose of the tie-up was to promote his company but it failed miserably. Instead of defending his idea and carrying on as if nothing happened, he apologized to the team for not including them in the decision making. It’s OK to admit you were wrong. You will not only gain the respect of your team mates, you will also gain credibility.

3.__________

Remember the time, say in school or at work when you worked really hard but got nothing in return. Not even a thank you. It hurts when your efforts are not recognized. So every chance you get to praise someone, do it. A simple “That was some great work, keep it up,” can go a long way in making the employee feel great about themselves. A compliment can have a positive impact on their lives. Your team/family will love you for it.

4. __________

We all make mistakes, but what makes a person big is when he is ready to apologize. Don’t try to hide behind excuses: “I didn’t mean to say it, it just happened.” “I was irritated with such and such person so…” No. Don’t try to shift blame. Just come right out and say you’re sorry.

5. __________

Sometimes it is very important to stay mum. Especially when you’re angry or irritated or bitter, you don’t want to end up saying things you didn’t really mean to. So they take their time, they process their emotions, think back to what happened, and then come to a decision about how to tackle it. Before you say anything, consider other’s feelings. Never be rash with words or actions.

Net Library Is a library that lends out digital books．It treats a digital like a paperback copy．It charges libraries per book per copy and gives publishers a cut of the total income．

       From the consumer's point of view, this means that if more than, say, five people want the latest Danielle Steel romance novel, other people who request that book will get a message saying the title can't be found．

       It's a model many publishers seem to have embraced．More than 350 gave the company rights to hand out their digital works and McGraw-Hill Corporation and Houghton Mifflin Corporation have put money in the company．The California public libraries and about 1,800 others across the US are trying out the Net Library service．

       Some librarians criticize the New Library model．Stanford University librarian Michael Keller argues that the company is creating an unnatural fear of digital woks; which is contrary to the ideas of the Internet．

       Keller and some other librarians argue for the e-book vision set forth by E-Brary．E-Brary is starting a service mat lets us users read books for free．

       But it will charge about 25 cents a page when a person tries to print out material or copy and paste it into a different file or tries to download copy onto a computer．

       Christopher Warnock, chief executive of E-Brary, believes most consumers won't want to buy entire books, only the parts that interest them．

       "There's not really a lot of good m owning an electronic file and having to store it and manage it．It doesn't make sense．" he said．

How do publishers get money from the Net Library?

       A．They get money from selling their books to the Net Library.

       B．They share the money with the Net Library.

       C．They get money by cutting the cost of the books.

       D．They get the money from the readers.

The underlined word "embraced" in the 3rd paragraph means _    ___.

       A．taken something willingly          B．held something tightly

       C．disliked something badly    D．tried out something hard

From the 2nd paragraph we can see consumers       .

       A．don’t care if they are charged money

       B．enjoy the service of the Net Library

       C．don’t like other people borrowing books

       D．complain about the limited number of the new books

What does the last paragraph mean?

       A．Net Library is not a good way for the consumers.

       B．There is no need for consumers to have a whole book.

       C．E-Brary is not a good library for the consumers.

       D．It’s reasonable to charge the consumers money for copying some pages.

Net Library Is a library that lends out digital books．It treats a digital like a paperback copy．It charges libraries per book per copy and gives publishers a cut of the total income．

       From the consumer's point of view, this means that if more than, say, five people want the latest Danielle Steel romance novel, other people who request that book will get a message saying the title can't be found．

       It's a model many publishers seem to have embraced．More than 350 gave the company rights to hand out their digital works and McGraw-Hill Corporation and Houghton Mifflin Corporation have put money in the company．The California public libraries and about 1,800 others across the US are trying out the Net Library service．

       Some librarians criticize the New Library model．Stanford University librarian Michael Keller argues that the company is creating an unnatural fear of digital woks; which is contrary to the ideas of the Internet．

       Keller and some other librarians argue for the e-book vision set forth by E-Brary．E-Brary is starting a service mat lets us users read books for free．

       But it will charge about 25 cents a page when a person tries to print out material or copy and paste it into a different file or tries to download copy onto a computer．

       Christopher Warnock, chief executive of E-Brary, believes most consumers won't want to buy entire books, only the parts that interest them．

       "There's not really a lot of good m owning an electronic file and having to store it and manage it．It doesn't make sense．" he said．

1.How do publishers get money from the Net Library?

       A．They get money from selling their books to the Net Library.

       B．They share the money with the Net Library.

       C．They get money by cutting the cost of the books.

       D．They get the money from the readers.

2.The underlined word "embraced" in the 3rd paragraph means _    ___.

       A．taken something willingly                 B．held something tightly

       C．disliked something badly                   D．tried out something hard

3.From the 2nd paragraph we can see consumers       .

      A．don’t care if they are charged money

      B．enjoy the service of the Net Library

      C．don’t like other people borrowing books

      D．complain about the limited number of the new books

4.What does the last paragraph mean?

      A．Net Library is not a good way for the consumers.

      B．There is no need for consumers to have a whole book.

      C．E-Brary is not a good library for the consumers.

      D．It’s reasonable to charge the consumers money for copying some pages.

       Net Library Is a library that lends out digital books．It treats a digital like a paperback copy．It charges libraries per book per copy and gives publishers a cut of the total income．

       From the consumer's point of view, this means that if more than, say, five people want the latest Danielle Steel romance novel, other people who request that book will get a message saying the title can't be found．

       It's a model many publishers seem to have embraced．More than 350 gave the company rights to hand out their digital works and McGraw-Hill Corporation and Houghton Mifflin Corporation have put money in the company．The California public libraries and about 1,800 others across the US are trying out the Net Library service．

       Some librarians criticize the New Library model．Stanford University librarian Michael Keller argues that the company is creating an unnatural fear of digital woks; which is contrary to the ideas of the Internet．

       Keller and some other librarians argue for the e-book vision set forth by E-Brary．E-Brary is starting a service mat lets us users read books for free．

       But it will charge about 25 cents a page when a person tries to print out material or copy and paste it into a different file or tries to download copy onto a computer．

       Christopher Warnock, chief executive of E-Brary, believes most consumers won't want to buy entire books, only the parts that interest them．

       "There's not really a lot of good m owning an electronic file and having to store it and manage it．It doesn't make sense．" he said．

1.How do publishers get money from the Net Library?

       A．They get money from selling their books to the Net Library.

       B．They share the money with the Net Library.

       C．They get money by cutting the cost of the books.

       D．They get the money from the readers.

2.The underlined word "embraced" in the 3rd paragraph means _    ___.

       A．taken something willingly                   B．held something tightly

       C．disliked something badly                    D．tried out something hard

3.From the 2nd paragraph we can see consumers       .

      A．don’t care if they are charged money

      B．enjoy the service of the Net Library

      C．don’t like other people borrowing books

      D．complain about the limited number of the new books

4.What does the last paragraph mean?

      A．Net Library is not a good way for the consumers.

      B．There is no need for consumers to have a whole book.

      C．E-Brary is not a good library for the consumers.

      D．It’s reasonable to charge the consumers money for copying some pages.

I grew up in a tiny Baltimore row house in a faraway mountain area. My parents    ?     the necessities of life    ?     they couldn’t give much more. If I asked my father    ?     a pair of jeans, he would say, “If you want them, make the money and buy them    ?    .” He wasn’t being mean; he just couldn’t    ?     them. From age 12 on, I did part-time jobs after school.

??? When I    ?     from high school, I joined the navy. Soon I was in a boot camp(新兵訓(xùn)練營(yíng)) at Parris Island, S. C., where I learned that life in the navy centered around completing daily ?    . These could be anything from cleaning the camp to conducting mock(模擬的) battles. Completing these tasks successfully    ?     discipline, team-work and responsibility. It didn’t ?     whether you were black, white or Asian; everyone worked together for the    ?    of the company.

??? I went    ?     to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and later became an officer in the navy. The part of my job I    ?     most was the consulting(咨詢) meetings I    ?      with the family members of the men and women in my    ?    , trying to help them deal with the long periods of    ?    . These proved popular and word of them spread.   ?     I was being asked to give encouraging    ?     to business groups, educators and kids across the country.

??? But I consider the boot camp my first real    ?    , and my life is still guided by the ?     lessons I learned there. It taught me discipline, friendship and the pride related to setting a task every day and working hard to    ?     it.

1.A. provided ???? ????????????? B. got   ????????????? ??????? C. made    ????????????? D. bought

2.A. while  ????????????? ??????? B. but   ????????????? ??????? C. so ????????????? ??? D. or

3.A. about  ????????????? ??????? B. with   ????????????? ??????? C. for    ????????????? ??? D. of

4.A. themselves   ????????????? ??? B. ourselves  ????????????? ??? C. yourself   ????????????? D. myself

5.A. pay    ????????????? ??????? B. find   ????????????? ??????? C. produce  ????????????? D. afford

6.A. came    ????????????? ??????? B. returned  ????????????? ??? C. escaped  ????????????? D. graduated

7.A. drills   ????????????? ??????? B. tasks   ????????????? ??????? C. exercises  ????????????? D. reports

8.A. included   ????????????? ??? B. asked   ????????????? ??? C. required   ????????????? D. met

9.A. matter    ????????????? ??? B. mean   ????????????? ??? C. exist    ????????????? D. work

10.A. good  ????????????? ??????? B. boss   ????????????? ??????? C. rest    ????????????? ??? D. right

11.A. out   ????????????? ??????? B. on    ????????????? ??????? C. away    ????????????? D. off

12.A. took   ????????????? ??????? B. hated   ????????????? ??? C. enjoyed   ????????????? D. did

13.A. ended    ????????????? ??????? B. began   ????????????? ??? C. continued   ????????????? D. held

14.A. charge    ????????????? ??? B. situation  ????????????? ??? C. position   ????????????? D. choice

15.A. lessons    ????????????? ??? B. meetings  ????????????? ??? C. training   ????????????? D. separation

16.A. Long before   ????????????? B. Before long  ????????????? C. As usual   ????????????? D. Once again

17.A. performances  ????????????? B. descriptions  ????????????? C. speeches   ????????????? D. gifts

18.A. vacation   ????????????? ??? B. place   ????????????? ??? C. job    ????????????? ??? D. travel

19.A. important  ????????????? ??? B. bitter   ????????????? ??? C. normal    ????????????? D. difficult

20.A. gain     ????????????? ??????? B. achieve  ????????????? ??? C. show   ????????????? D. match

I grew up in a tiny Baltimore row house in a faraway mountain area. My parents ______ the necessities of life but they couldn’t give much more. If I asked my father for a pair of jeans, he would say, “ If you want them, make the money and buy them yourself.” He wasn’t being mean; he just couldn’t ______ them. From age 12 on, I did part-time jobs after school.

When I ______ from high school, I joined the navy. Soon I was in a boot camp(新兵訓(xùn)練營(yíng)) at Parris Island, S.C., where I learned that life in the navy centered around completing daily ______. These could be anything from cleaning the camp to conducting mock(模擬的) battles. Completing these tasks successfully ______ discipline, team-work and responsibility. It didn’t ______ whether you were black, white or Asian; everyone worked together for the ______ of the company.

I went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academic and later became an officer in the navy. The part of my job I ______ most was the consulting(咨詢) meetings I ______ with the family members of the men and women in my ______, trying to help them deal with the long periods of ______. These proved popular and word of them spread. Before long I was being asked to give encouraging ______ to business groups, educators and kids across the country.

But I consider the boot camp my first real ______, and my life is still guided by the ______ lessons I learned there. It taught me discipline, friendship and the pride related to setting a task every day and working hard to ______ it.

1.A. provided         B. got       C. made       D. bought

2.A. pay            B. find          C. produce          D. afford

3.A. came          B. returned       C. escaped          D. graduated

4.A. drills          B. tasks          C. exercises         D. reports

5.A. included       B. asked          C. required         D. met

6.A. matter         B. mean          C. exist            D. work

7.A. good          B. staff           C. rest             D. right

8.A. took          B. hated           C. enjoyed          D. did

9.A. ended         B. began          C. continued        D. held

10.A. charge        B. situation        C. position         D. choice

11.A. lessons        B. meetings       C. training          D. separation

12.A. gifts          B. descriptions     C. speeches        D. performances

13.A. vacation       B. place          C. job             D. travel

14.A. important      B. bitter          C. normal          D. difficult

15.A. gain          B. achieve         C. show           D. match