阅读试题

Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged wastaken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in anunhealthy 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(营业额).

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

阅读试题

71. 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

72. 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

73. 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 lean about customers; spending power.

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

74. The TV ads of Sparrow ________ .

A. changed people's views on pop stars

B. amused the public with original songs

C. focused on the superiority of its products

D. influenced the eating habits of the audience

75. 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

参考译文

Sparrow是一个拥有200家餐厅的快餐连锁店。几年前，Sparrow所属的集团由另一家公司接管。虽然Sparrow没有显示出下降的迹象，但是它的连锁链总体上仍处于不健康的状态。随着越来越多的快餐理念进驻市场，Sparrow的菜单不得不去争夺注意力。更糟的是，它的新老板不计划提供它所需的资金。

Sparrow又毫无进展地经营了两年。直到新CEO卡尔•皮尔森出现，他决定增加Sparrow的市场份额。他做了一项调查，表明已经在Sparrow连锁餐厅消费过的消费者是非常积极的，而在其它快餐连锁店消费的客户却不愿离开他们所消费的连锁店。Sparrow不得不开发新的促销活动。

就Sparrow这个品牌的未来而言，皮尔森面临着一场挑战。连锁店现任老板更青睐于将Sparrow餐厅重新命名为马西餐厅。皮尔森坚决反对，他主张策划一场广告宣传活动，旨在说明来Sparrow餐厅的消费者都是快乐的。在那时，公司要与普通大众建立良好关系的尝试是不同寻常的。皮尔森坚信顾客数量是成功的关键，而不是顾客的加速能力。最后，餐厅老板接受了他的想法。

这个活动本身也改变了快餐行业的传统广告风格。Sparrow的电视广告专注于娱乐以及由各种各样的明星表演的具有原创特色的歌曲。它不是展示一个特定产品的优越性，而是把Sparrow的内涵植入到潜在客户的心里去。

皮尔森还做出了他认为有助于新Sparrow形象的其他决定。例如，他提出给那些营业额增长到一定程度的餐厅减少租金。

这些努力得到了回报。Sparrow很快成为其经营区里最成功的快餐连锁店之一。

答案解析

71. C 考查细节理解。根据第一段的最后一句"And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required."可知, Sparrow面临的问题是资金缺乏。

72. D 考查代词指代。根据画线词所在句"while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to tum away from them"可知，此处的them指代的是other fast-food chains。

73. A考查推理判断。根据第三段的"Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company andthe general public"和”Finally, the owner accepted his idea."可知，Pearson开始广告宣传的目的是建立企业和公众之间的良好关系。

74. B 考查细节理解。根据第四段的第二句"The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars."可知B项正确。

75. B 考查推理判断。根据文章的最后一句可知，Pearson的努力得到了回报，Sparrow不久就成为当地最成功的连锁饭店之一，由此可推知他使得Sparrow更有竞争力。