【推荐1】McDonald's is the world single biggest food provider with annual sales of around $12.4bn. And the company's symbol Ronald McDonald is now （or so the company claims） the world's most recognized person after Santa Claus.
The first McDonald's restaurant was opened in San Bernardino, California, in 1948 by brothers Mac and Richard “Dick” McDonald. Mac ran the restaurant side; Dick was the marketing genius. He had already invented the drive-in laundry and had been the first person to use neon lights in advertising. Now he spotted the gap in the post-war, baby-boom market for cheap, family-orientated restaurants with simple menus, standardized food and efficient service.
After a slow start, business began to boom. By 1954, the brothers were joined by another entrepreneur, a kitchen equipment salesman called Ray A Kroc who owned the franchise to the Multimixer, milk shake maker used throughout the McDonald's chain. A year later, Kroc had bought the McDonald brothers' chain of 25 franchises for the equivalent of around $70m（￡44m）. Dick remained with the company until the Seventies, when he and Kroc fell out over Kroc's claim that the chain was his creation.
Today, an almost Stalinist cult of personality surrounds Kroc （who died in 1984） at McDonald's, while the brothers who gave the company its name have all but been written out of its history. But though Kroc did not found McDonald's, he was certainly responsible for the empire-building philosophy which led to its world domination. He ushered in such essential contributions to international cuisine as the Big Mac （1968） and the Egg McMuffin （1973）; and helped launch Ronald McDonald —— “in any language he means fun” —— on to television in 1963.
Every three hours, a new McDonald's franchise opens somewhere in the world; it can be found in more than 100 countries including India （vegetarian-only to avoid offending the non-beef-eating populace） and Israel （non kosher, despite fierce local objection）. McDonald's chain embodied the thrusting, can-do spirit of Fifties America with staff mottoes such as “If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean.”
1. McDonald's was founded _____.

A．by a kitchen equipment salesman

B．in California

C．by a marketing genius called Dick McDonald

D．after the first World War

2. What do we know about McDonald's brothers?

A．They were not McDonald's founders although they named the restaurant.

B．Their business was still in depression after several years.

C．They had clear job separation on business.

D．They sold their restaurant to a salesman in 1954.

3. Which is not Kroc's contribution to McDonald's ?

A．He launched the restaurant image Ronald McDonald on to television.

B．Under his lead, international cuisine as the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin earned worldwide fame

C．He spotted the gap in postwar market for cheap, family-orientated restaurants.

D．He built McDonald's empire with a philosophy which led to its world domination.

4. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．The single biggest food provider was however, not named after its founder

B．The international cuisine as the Big Mac, a beef hamburger, is provided every chain restaurant in the world.

C．Employees in McDonald's have no time to lean.

D．The symbol Ronald McDonald, means fun in any language, is said to the world most recognized person after Santa Claus.

【推荐2】If the world were a village of 1,000 people it would include:
•584 Asians                                           •124 Africans
•95 Eastern and Western Europeans            •84 Latin Americans
•55 former Soviets (including Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and other national groups)
•52 North Americans                              •6 Australians and New Zealanders
The people of the village would speak:
•165 Mandarin                                      •86 English
•83 Hindu/Urdu                                     •64 Spanish
•58 Russian                                          •37 Arabic
The above list covers the mother tongues of only half the village.
One-third of the people in the village are children, and only 60 are over the age of 65. Just under half of the married women in the village have access to modern equipment.
This year 28 babies will be born. Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from cancer. Two of the deaths will be of babies born within the year. With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018.
In this village of 1,000 persons, 200 people receive 75 per cent of the income; another 200 receive only 2 per cent of the income.
About one-third _______ clean, safe drinking water.
Of the 670 adults in the village, half cannot read nor write.
The village has a total yearly budget, public and private, of over $3 million—$3,000 per person if it is distributed evenly. Of the total 3 million:
$181,000 goes to weapons and warfare
$159,000 to education
$132,000 to health care
These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people. The other 900 are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together.
1. Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the text?

A．Environment.	B．Marriage.
C．Poverty.	D．Education.

2. The underlined part “have access to”means .

A．use

B．buy

C．produce

D．try

3. Which of the following is true about Mandarin according to the text?

A．Nearly one-third of Asian people speak Mandarin in the village.

B．About 8. 25 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village.

C．About 16. 5 per cent of the people speak Mandarin in the village.

D．Nearly all the Mandarin-speaking people are from Asia in the village.

4. The last sentence in the text implies that most of the people long for .

A．a peaceful world	B．good education
C．better health care	D．a life without anxiety

【推荐3】The science of setting goals.

It’s the time of year when we think to ourselves: our New Year’s resolutions will totally work out this time.     1    . But what if this year really could be different? Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist, shares four tips.            

Choose a goal that matters, not just an easy win. Our brains love rewards, so we often set simple goals that make it easy to check off boxes. But if that’s all are about, no wonder we end up abandoning them so quickly. A meaningful goal requires going deeper.     2    . For example, if you want to quit eating junk food, ask why you want to quit it. Then, if you want to quit it for your health, ask why you want good health.

    3    .When we set goals, it’s easy to focus on that magical ending. But we can’t control outcomes. We have to inch toward them, one choice at a time. Ask yourself, “What is the smallest thing I can do today that helps me reach my goal?” If you make daily choices that are consistent with your goal over and over again, you will eventually reach it.

Frame your goals positively. Focusing on what you want to bring into your life –not what you want to avoid — will make you more likely to actually pursue it. “Any sort of avoidance is going to trigger inhibition systems.     4    ,” says McGonigal.

Prepare for failure. Moments of failure are inevitable, but most of us abandon the goal entirely when minor failures and setbacks start piling up. Your task is not to avoid failures, but to plan for them. Ask yourself, “How am I likely to fail?” For example, if you’re likely to choose unhealthy meals when you’re hungry, carry a light snack that can tide you over.     5    .

A．Focus on the process, not the outcome

B．Psychologists call this an emergency plan

C．It really drives home why that goal matters

D．Never mind that we abandoned them very quickly

E．How you describe your goal makes a big difference

F．Think about what you want, and then ask yourself why

G．But positive goals are going to trigger approach and reward motivation