2011 年英語專業(yè)四級閱讀理解

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Cordia Harrington was tired of standing up all day and smelling like French fries at night. She?owned and operated three McDonald’s shops in Illinois, but as a divorced mother of three boys, she
yearned for a business that would provide for her children and let her spend more time with them.

Her lucky moment came, strangely enough, after she was nominated in 1992 to be on the?McDonald’s bun committee. “The company picked me up in a corporate jet to see bakeries?around the world,” she recalls. “Every time I went to a meeting, I loved it. This was global!”

The experience opened her eyes to business possibilities. When McDonald’s decided it?wanted a new bun supplier, Harrington became determined to win the contract, even though she
had no experience running a bakery.

Harrington studied the bakery business and made sure she was never off executives’ radar.?“If you have a dream, you can’t wait for people to call you,” she says. “So I’d visit a mill and?send them photos of myself in a baker’s hat and jacket, holding a sign that says ‘I want to be your?baker.’” After four years and 32 interviews, her persistence paid off.

Harrington sealed the deal with a handshake, sold her shops, and borrowed $13.5 million.?She was ready to build the fastest, most automated bakery in the world.

The Tennessee Bun Company opened ahead of schedule in 1997, in time for a slump in U.S.?fast-food sales for McDonald’s. Before Harrington knew it, she was down to her last $20,000, not?enough to cover payroll. And her agreement with McDonald’s required that she sell exclusively?to the company. “I cried myself to sleep many nights,” she recalls. “I really did think, I am going?to go bankrupt.”

But Harrington worked out an agreement to supply Pepperidge Farm as well. “McDonald’s?could see a benefi t if our production went up and prices went down, and no benefi t if we went out
of business,” she says. “That deal saved us.”

Over the next eight years, Harrington branched out even more: She started her own trucking?business, added a cold-storage company, and now has three bakeries producing fresh buns and
frozen dough—all now known as the Bun Companies. Speed is still a priority: It takes 11 people?at the main bakery to turn out 60,000 buns an hour for clients across 40 states, South America,
and the Caribbean.

Grateful for the breaks she’s had, Harrington is passionate about providing opportunities to?all 230 employees. “Financial success is the most fun when you can give it away,” she says.

The current economy is challenging. Some of her clients’ sales have declined, but she’s found?new clients and improved effi ciencies to help sustain the company’s double-digit growth.?Cordia Harrington doesn’t have to stand on her feet all day anymore. Two of her three sons?now work for her. And she’s remarried—her husband, Tom, is now her CFO.

“This is more than a job,” says Harrington. “It’s a mission. I’m always thinking, how can?we best serve our employees? If we support them, they’ll do their best to look after our clients.

That’s how it works here.”

96. According to the passage, which of the following was most signifi cant in her early career?
A. Her nomination on the McDonald’s bun committee.
B. Her travel and the visits to bakeries around the world.
C. A business contract with local bun suppliers.
D. The interviews and experience in running a bakery.

97. “Harrington...made sure she was never off executives’ radar” (Paragraph Four) means that?she _____.
A. herself wanted to be a company executive
B. meant to hire executives to run the business
C. meant to keep her management knowledge and skills
D. focused on the management of the bakery business

98. How did she survive the crisis at the start of her bakery business?
A. By supplying buns for another company.
B. By opening her bun company ahead of schedule.
C. By keeping supplies up for McDonald’s.
D. By making a new agreement with McDonald’s.

99. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT in describing her current business?
A. It is fast growing. ? ? ? ? B. It is diversified.
C. Its clients are all local. ? D. It is more effi cient.

100. According to the passage, which of the following is fundamental to Harrington’s success?
A. Efficiency and love for the family. B. Perseverance and concern for employees.
C. Business expansion and family support. D. Opportunities and speed.

答案與解析：

96. B。細(xì)節(jié)題。選項(xiàng)A在第一段就被否決，D與文中內(nèi)容正好相反，她沒有任何開烘烤面包公司的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。C也不對，因?yàn)轭}干里明確強(qiáng)調(diào)的是對她早期職業(yè)規(guī)劃最有影響的一件事。

97. C。細(xì)節(jié)題。題干指向文中第四段，可以看出雖然開始想創(chuàng)業(yè)時并非一帆風(fēng)順，但她始終在為追尋這個夢想不停地學(xué)習(xí)和積累經(jīng)驗(yàn)，所以當(dāng)機(jī)會到來時她已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好了。

98. A。細(xì)節(jié)題。“But Harrington worked out an agreement to supply Pepperidge Farm as?well”此句是答題關(guān)鍵，從中可以看出除了麥當(dāng)勞外，她還為其他快餐店提供服務(wù)。

99. C。細(xì)節(jié)題。通篇可以看出她的事業(yè)是蒸蒸日上的，所以與此氛圍不符的C應(yīng)該是正確答案，注意題干是否定表述。還有在前面幾段，她透露說“This was global”與C選項(xiàng)正好完全相反，可據(jù)此直接選擇正確答案。

100. B。主旨題。文章前半部分講了她如何沒有放棄夢想，始終朝同一方向努力的事情，后半部分講了她的管理理念就是關(guān)注并資助員工，B最全面地概括了兩者，故是最佳答案。