Question

Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original sons performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover. (營業(yè)額)

These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.

1.Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?

A. The number of its customers was declining

B. It was in need of financial support

C. Its customers found the food unhealthy

D. Most of its restaurants were closed

2.What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. Customers of Sparrow restaurants

B. Sparrow restaurants

C. other fast-food chains

D. Customers of other fast-food chains

3.For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?

A. To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow

B. To lean about customers; spending power.

C. To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants.

D. To build a good relationship with the public

4.What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO?

A. He made Sparrow much more competitive

B. He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts.

C. He helped Sparrow take over a company

D. He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

試題解析：故事類短文閱讀，本文講述的是一個快餐店從經(jīng)營出現(xiàn)危機到新的CEO通過積極努力最終走向成功。

1.B把握關(guān)鍵句第一段中“Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining”排除A選項；“the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. ”中一個unhealthy成為選項C的干擾點。D選項無涉及，”And to make matters worse ,its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.” 由此可得答案C

2.C 把握關(guān)鍵句第二段中第二句He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them.. 此處，turn away from 表示“從....處走開”，所以from之后應(yīng)該表示主語的原始位置，所以應(yīng)該是other fast-food chains所以C正確。

3.D 把握第三段中關(guān)鍵句:Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.”such an attempt to（表目的） establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public”直接定位到正確答案A

4.A把握最后一段These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.“their efforts paid off”意為“他們的努力得到了回報”，而非償清債務(wù)，所以排除選項A；C選項和D選項未涉及，因為“Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated”所以正確答案是B；。

考點：考查故事類短文閱讀。