Read the article and choose the best
answer (a, b or c), according to the text
The
Hard Rock Cafe Story
"No matter where you are or what time it is,
there's something going on at a Hard Rock Cafe. All over the world our cafes
not only serve great food, but they serve up great music."
Hard Rock Cafes around the world symbolize the
timeless energy, originality and unifying spirit that have helped to shape rock
music over the last century.
The first Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) opened its doors to the
public on June 14, 1971, in London.
Founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, two
enterprising and music-loving Americans, HRC was a classic at once, attracting
crowds of customers with its first-rate, but moderately priced American bill of
fare, warm service and ever present rock'n' roll music and sensibility.
With more than 108 Hard Rock Cafes in 41 countries
Hard Rock Cafe has become a truly global phenomenon. From its launch in London,
England, to New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo, and on to such exotic
locales as Kuala Lumpur and Taipei, Hard Rock offers a special experience to
its devoted, ever-expanding clientele.
HRC has also become the world's leading collector and
exhibitor of rock 'n' roll memorabilia.*
It all started when Eric Clapton, a regular at the
first Hard Rock Cafe in London, asked the staff if he could hang his guitar on
the wall to mark his favourite bar stool as "his spot".
They did and one week later, a package from "The
Who's" Pete Townshend arrived by messenger with a guitar and a note with
the message, "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."
Ever since then, Hard Rock Cafes have been collecting
pieces of rock memorabilia and covering their walls with them. Their
unparalleled collection consists of more than 60,000 pieces. It is rotated from
restaurant to restaurant and provides the world's most comprehensive
"visual history" of rock 'n' roll.
These treasures include an awe-inspiring collection of
classic guitars and other instruments, posters, costumes, music and lyric
sheets, album art, platinum and gold LPs, photos and much more.
Throughout its history, HRC has been governed by a
special service philosophy: "Love All - Serve All." HRC is a place
where all people have always been welcome, regardless of age, sex or class.
Since it was established Hard Rock Cafe has taken part
in a wide variety of human activities around the world. Following its idea of
being more than just a restaurant, Hard Rock tries to connect its business and
its passion to make the earth a safer, healthier and a better place to live.
For example, HRC cafes take an active role in organizing parties to raise funds
for different local charities.
They have also founded special initiatives like 'Save
the Planet' or 'Ambassador Program'.
All in all, today Hard Rock Cafe International is an
entertainment and leisure company that continues to successfully expand the
Hard Rock brand through countless music-related activities.
1.
The first Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) was opened by
A London Hard Rock fans.
B two Americans.
C Eric Clapton.
2.
Lots of people like these cafes because there you can hear
A rock 'n' roll
music.
B all kinds of
music.
C your favourite
heavy metal music.
3.
The big collection of rock memorabilia
A is shown in a
museum in the USA.
B can be seen in
the London HRC.
C is passed from
restaurant to restaurant all over the world.
4.
Pete Townshend sent his guitar to the first HRC in London because
A he wanted to do
the same as Eric Clapton before him.
B it was a present to the staff.
C he wanted to
pay his bill with it.
5. Hard Rock Cafes also organize
A instrument
sales for musicians.
B school
concerts.
C activities to
help people or the environment.
Now a little grammar
Choose the correct item
1 'Where is my bank book?'
'If you............in the drawer, you'll find it.'
A had looked
В look
С looked
2 'Can I go and play football, please, Mum?'
'If you........your homework, you can go and play.'
A finished
В had finished
С have finished
3 'Dad shouted at me today.'
'Well, if you.......... the window, he wouldn't have shouted at you.'
A didn't break
В hadn't broken
С don't break
4 'When ice melts, it.........water.'
'Everyone knows that!'
A becomes
В will become
С would become
5 'I'm going to a party tonight.'
'If I weren't ill, I..........with you.
A come
В will come
С would come
6 'If I were rich, I............around the world.'
'Perhaps you will one day.'
A will sail
В can sail
С could sail
7 'Have you seen Daniel recently?'
'No. If I have time, I.............him tomorrow.'
A would visit
В might visit
С visit
8 'Paul lost his watch.'
'Well, if he had looked after it, he............it.'
A wouldn't lose
В won't lose
С wouldn't have lost
9 'If you hadn't watched that film, you..............nightmares.'
'You're right.'
A wouldn't have had
В won't have
С don't have
10 'I can't find my wallet.'
'If I were you, I ...... in my jacket pocket.'
A would look В will look С am looking
B Commodities
in short supply always create excessive pressures on the market.
You are going to read a text about tulips. For questions
1-15, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to
the text.
TULIPOMANIA
The tulip, Dr Mackay tells us, was introduced
from Constantinople to Western Europe, and particularly to Holland, in the
middle of the sixteenth century. It became increasingly popular among the rich
until, by 1634, “it was deemed a proof of bad taste for any man of fortune to be
without a collection of them”. By then, the middle classes had decided that
they too could not be seen without tulips, and paid increasingly outrageous
prices for them. At a time when you could pick up a suit of clothes for 80 florins,
people invested 100,000 florins buying 40 roots. Tulips became so valuable that
they had to be sold by the perit, “a small weight less than a grain”. Some
tulips were more valuable than others, but none was as prized as the Semper
Augustus. In early 1636, there were only two of these in Holland: one went for
12 acres of land; the other for 4,600 florins, a new carriage, two grey horses
and a complete set of harness. Newcomers to Holland sometimes paid for their
ignorance of the mania. A sailor, arriving at a wealthy merchant‘s house, was
offered “a fine red herring” for his breakfast. He was partial to onions and
seeing a bulb very like an onion on a counter, he slipped it into his pocket
and headed off to the quay to eat his breakfast. He was found, quietly sitting
on a coil of rope, finishing off his 3,000-florin Semper Augustus. Up to now,
the tulip market still had a semblance of order. However, extraordinary prices
had become, it was driven by the pursuit of a relatively rare commodity. In 1636,
however, tulip exchanges were set up in the stock markets of several Dutch
cities, and the speculators moved in. According to Dr Mackay: “The
stock-jobbers, ever on the alert for a new speculation, dealt largely in
tulips, making use of all the means they so well knew how to cause fluctuations
in prices. By judicious trading as prices decreased and flowed, many people
grew rich.”
A golden bait hung temptingly out before the
people, and one after the other they rushed to the tulip-markets, like flies
around a honey-pot. Everyone imagined that the passion for tulips would last
forever... The riches of Europe would be concentrated on the shores of the
Zuyder Zee, and poverty banished from the favoured climate of Holland. Everyone,
“even chimney-sweeps and old-clothes-women” grew tulips. Lawyers,
“tulip-notaries”, appeared to make their bit from the trade. The rich, for
their part, were no longer inclined to put such valuable commodities in their
garden, preferring to join in the trade, and it was not long before some of
them realised that the market had lost all logic. They started to sell, and
panic soon spread through the market. Buyers who had agreed to pay so many
florins when tulips were delivered in six weeks’ time, refused to pay because
the price had fallen in the meantime. As sellers demanded the full amount and
buyers refused to pay, debtors were announced by the hundred. Substantial
merchants were reduced almost to beggary, “and many a representative of a noble
line saw the fortunes of his house ruined.” There was an attempt to bring some
order to the market as it crashed around the tulip holders’ ears. They tried to
persuade the government, which told them to agree on a plan between themselves.
Eventually, after much argument, it was agreed that all contracts made at the
height of the mania, before November 1636, would be declared null and void, and
that those made after that date should be nullified by the purchaser paying 10
per cent to the vendor.
This displeased both sides, and The
Tulipomania collapsed in disorder. “Those who were unlucky enough to have had
stores of tulips on hand at the time of the sudden reaction were left to bear
their ruin as philosophically as they could,” Dr Mackey says. “Those who had
made profits were allowed to keep them; but the commerce of the country
suffered a severe shock, from which it took many years to recover.”
1. What does Dr Mackay
say about the tulip?
A It originated in western Europe.
B It
flourished in Constantinople.
C It
triggered an insane craze.
D It
was a most unusual plant.
2. According to Dr
Mackay, by 1634 the possession of tulips was thought to be
A a sign of bad taste.
B an
unnecessary extravagance.
C a
status symbol.
D a
display of one’s popularity.
3. What does the
writer say about the unfortunate sailor who had never been to Holland before?
A He paid 3,000 florins for what he thought was
a tulip bulb.
B He
was tricked into eating an expensive tulip bulb.
C He
stole 3,000 florins from a wealthy merchant’s house.
D He
consumed what he thought was an inexpensive onion.
4. What apparently
happened throughout 1636?
A New tulip trading venues were created.
B Tulip
exchanges led to a decrease in market prices.
C Speculators
tried to keep tulip prices steady.
D Dealers
tried to find commodities other than tulips to trade in.
5. What reason does
the writer give for the eventual collapse of the tulip market?
A The rich undermined confidence in the market
for tulips.
B The
poor could no longer afford to buy tulips on the open market.
C There
was not enough money in circulation to meet the demand of the market.
D Producers
could no longer supply enough tulips for the market.
6. In the penultimate
paragraph, what does the writer say the merchants eventually agreed to
solve
the crisis?
A Contracts made before November 1636 would be
honoured.
B Those
with unsold supplies would be compensated.
C Those
who had made a profit would be taxed.
D Contracts made after November 1636 would
be subjects to partial payment.
7. What points is the
article intended to illustrate?
A It is often difficult to supply the market
with the commodities it demands.
B Commodities
in short supply always create excessive pressures on the market.
C Our
acquisitive nature can create ridiculous artificial demand for commodities.
D Buying
and selling is an art about which little is understood.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий