Question

(2013·高考山東卷，D)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.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

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】本文為一篇記敘文。主要講述了Sparrow快餐店的CEO Carl Pearson在Sparrow經營不善的情況下，采用了一種新的廣告宣傳方式，與顧客之間建立了一種積極的關系，吸引了潛在的顧客，使它最終成為了最著名的快餐連鎖店之一。本文皆在告訴讀者新穎的經營理念決定著企業的命運。

1.

2.2】解析：選D。詞義猜測題。畫線單詞them前面提到Sparrow已有的顧客對連鎖店抱著積極的態度，而其他快餐店的顧客不愿意離開別的快餐店，由此可知them指代的是“其他的快餐連鎖店”，故選D項。

3.3】解析：選A。細節理解題。根據第三段中的Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.可知Pearson發動廣告宣傳的目的是為了與公眾建立一種良好的關系。句中的positive與選項A中的good對應，因此選A項。

4.4】解析：選B。細節理解題。根據第四段中的The TV ads of Sparrow focused on enterainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars.可知廣告是靠新穎的原創歌曲來吸引人的，故選項B為答案。第四段中的第一句指的是改變了傳統的廣告模式，而不是改變了人們對流行明星的看法，因此選項A是錯誤的；根據第四段的最后一句Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product...可知選項C“注重產品的優勢”是錯誤的；選項D“影響了觀眾的飲食習慣”在文中未提及。

5.5】解析：選B。推理判斷題。根據最后兩段中的內容，Pearson又作出了其他決定，樹立了Sparrow的新形象，他的努力獲得了成功，Sparrow成了最成功的快餐連鎖店之一，可知Pearson的成就是使Sparrow更有競爭力了，故答案為B。選項A“他設法還清了Sparrow的債務”，選項C“他幫助Sparrow接管了一家公司”以及選項D“他提高了Sparrow員工的福利”在文中均未提及。