Passage 3

The British are supposed to be famous for laughing at themselves, but even their sense of humour has a limit, as the British retailer Gerald Ratner found out to his cost. When Ratner took over his father's chain of 130 jewelry shops in 1984, he introduced a very clear company policy. He decided that his shops should sell down market products at the lowest possible prices. It was a great success. The British public loved his cheap gold earrings and his tasteless silver ornaments. By 1991, Ratner's company had 2,400 shops and it was worth over 680 million pounds. But in April of that year, Gerald Ratner made a big mistake. At a big meeting of top British businesspeople, he suited up and explained the secret of his success. People say "How can we sell our goods for such a low price?" I say "Because they are absolute rubbish." His audience roared with laughter. But the British newspapers and the British public were not so amused. People felt insulted and stayed away from Ratner's shops. Sales fell and 6 months after his speech, Ratner's share price had fallen by 42%. The following year, things got worse and Gerald Ratner was forced to resign. By the end of 1992, he lost his company, his career and his house. Even worse, 25,000 of his employees had lost their jobs. It had been a very expensive joke.

Question 22 What did Gerald Ratner decide to do when he took over his father's shops?
Question 23 On what occasion did Gerald Ratner explained the secret of his success?
Question 24 How did people feel when they leaned of Gerald Ratner's remarks?
Question 25 What does the story of Gerald Ratner suggest?

翻译真题

在西方人心目中，和中国联系最为密切的基本食物是大米。长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多数种植水稻，人们通常以大米为食；而华北大部分地区因为过于寒冷或过于干燥，无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。