2018年成人英语三级考试阅读理解专题练习(14)

 　In 1939 two brothers, Mac and Dick McDonald, started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernadino, California. They carefully chose a busy corner for their location. They had run their own businesses for years, first a theater, then a barbecue restaurant, then another drive-in. But in their new operation, they offered a new, shortened menu: French fries, hamburgers, and sodas. To this minimal selection they added one new concept: quick service, no waiters or waitresses, and no tips.

　　Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents. Cheese was another four cents. Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity, for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food, and they insisted on their cook's sticking to their routine. Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime. The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened. They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.

　　Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954，when he was selling milk shake-mixing machines. He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brother's fast food restaurants and bought the right to franchise other copies of their restaurants. The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu, the equipment, even their red and white buildings with the golden arches.

　　Today McDonald's is literally a household name. Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers. In 1976, Mcdonald's had over $1 billion in total sales. Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history.

　　11.This passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald.

　　B. how McDonald's became a billion-dollar business.

　　C. Ray Kroc's business abilities.

　　D. the development of fast-food services.

　　答案：B

　　解析：答案B。本篇按时间顺序;以细节叙述的方式逐段告诉我们麦当劳餐厅是如何取得成功的。第一、二段讲述McDonald兄弟在加利福尼亚州新开餐厅的特色以及这些新的特色给他们带来的成功。第三段讲他们通过开连锁店在生意上所取得的进一步发展。通过前几段的铺垫，最后一段达到高潮，点明McDonald兄弟的经营史是现代美国商业史上最令人难以至信的成功故事。在1976年，他们的总销售额达十亿多美元。以整篇的结构来看，比较容易得出答案：这是一篇讲述McDonald兄弟如何取得经营上成功的故事。所以，正确答案是B项。答案A虽然与本篇内容也有关，但显然不如答案B项的内容确切，所以不能选A项。答案C项和D项都只是本篇的某些细节，而非主要内容，所以也不是正确答案。只有B项最为贴切地表达出本篇的内容，所以应选B项。

　　12. Mac and Dick McDonald had experience in managing all of the following businesses except ________.

　　A. a barbecue restaurant

　　B. a drive-in

　　C. an ice-cream parlor

　　D. a theater

　　答案：C

　　解析：答案C。第一段第三句写道："They had run their own businesses for years, first a theatre, then a barbecue restaurant, then another drive-in."惟独没提到ice-cream parlor，所以正确答案是C项。

　　13. We can conclude from this passage that ________.

　　A. Mac and Dick McDonald never became wealthy because they sold their idea to Kroc

　　B. Ray Kroc was a good businessman

　　C. the location the McDonalds chose was the only source of the great popularity of their drive-in

　　D. forty years ago there were numerous fast-food restaurants

　　答案：B

　　解析：答案B。从第三段我们可知，Kroc是一个精明的生意人。他很快就看出了McDonald快餐厅的独特魅力，于是不再做推销机器的推销员，而转而买下了开办McDonald连锁店的经营权。由此可得出结论：他是一个精明的生意人。所以，正确答案是B项。

　　14.As used in this passage, the word "minimal" means _______.

　　A. attractive

　　B. menial

　　C. basic

　　D. novel

　　答案：C

　　解析：答案C。第一段最后一句话说，除了这个基本菜单外，他们还加进了一个新概念，那就是：快服务，无侍者、无小费。Minimal的原义是：最小限度的，最小量的。在这个语境中，它的意思就是basic.所以，正确答案是C项。

　　15.As used this passage, the word unique" means ________.

　　A. aesthetic

　　B. financial

　　C. ethnic

　　D. unparalleled

　　答案：D

　　解析：答案D。第三段第二行写道：Kroc很快看出了兄弟俩快餐厅的独特魅力(unique appeal)。unique的意思是：绝无仅有，独一无二。所以正确答案是unparalleled，意即"无比的，无双的，没人能与之相匹的"。