Question

(2013·山東卷)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' spending 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 songs performed by a variety of stars.Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention 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．Its customers found the food unhealthy.

C．It was in need of financial support.

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．Customers of other fast－food chains.

D．Other fast－food chains.

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

A．To build a good relationship with the public.

B．To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow.

C．To learn about customers' spending power.

D．To meet the challenge from Marcy's restaurants.

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

A．He managed to pay off Sparrow's debts.

B．He made Sparrow much more competitive.

C．He helped Sparrow take over a company.

D．He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees.

 

Answer 1

1.

2.

3.

4.

【解析】 本文講述了一個快餐公司在瀕臨倒閉的情況下，在Carl Pearson的帶領(lǐng)下重新煥發(fā)生機的故事。

1.

答案　C

2.2】解析　猜測詞義題。根據(jù)原文“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...”可知，其他連鎖店的顧客不愿離開他們的連鎖店，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，故選D項。答案　D

3.3】解析　推理判斷題。根據(jù)原文 “...Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time....”可以得知“……公司想建立跟大眾的友好關(guān)系”。故正確答案A。答案　A

4.4】解析　主旨大意題。 根據(jù)原文最后一段， “their efforts paid off”意為“他們的努力得到了回報”， Sparrow不久成為該地區(qū)最成功的快餐店之一。所以正確答案是B；C選項和D選項未涉及。答案　B。