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 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 lean about customers’ spending power.

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

4.The TV ads of Sparrow ________ .

A．changed people’s views on pop stars

B．a(chǎn)mused the public with original songs

C．focused on the superiority of its products

D．influenced the eating habits of the audience

5.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

【答案】

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.B

5.B

【解析】

1.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)首段末句“And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required”可知答案為C。

2.詞義猜測題。根據(jù)單詞所在的語境句“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，while表示對比，前后句結(jié)構(gòu)相似：那些Sparrow的顧客對Sparrow連鎖很支持，而其他快餐食物連鎖的顧客卻不愿意離開它們。顯然，此處的它們即是指其他快餐連鎖。

3.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段話“Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time”可知，他所做廣告的目的是建立公司與公眾的良好關(guān)系。故選A。

4.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第三段話“The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars”可知答案為B。

5.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章末段“These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated”可知，他的努力是成功的，使公司更具競爭力。故答案選B