二、阅读理解(每题2分，共40分)

　　本部分共有四篇短文，每篇短文后面有四个阅读理解题，根据短文从A、B、C、D中选出最佳答案。

　　Passage 1

　　Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere, they have a language of their own.

　　One such thing is "get your act together". When things go wrong in a business, an employer may get angry, he may shout "get your act together". "Getting your act together" is getting organized. In business it usually means developing a calm and orderly plan of action. It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began. But it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry. Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes. The director may have said "Calm down now, get your act together." Word expert James Roger says the expression was common by the late 1970s.

　　Another expression used by American business people is "cut to the chase". For example, at an important meeting of one company, one official was giving a very long and uninteresting report and some people were falling asleep. Finally the president of the company said "Cut to the chase". "Cut to the chase" means stopping spending so much time on details or unimportant material, hurrying and getting to the good part. This saying was started by people who make movies. Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies. Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars or in airplanes or on foot. "Cut" is the director's word for stop. The director means stopping filming to leave some material and getting to the chase scene now.

　　11. The passage is mainly about_______C_______.

　　A. American business world

　　B. movie language

　　C. American business language

　　D. American businessmen

　　12. The expression "get your act together" probably came from ______B________.

　　A. schools B. the theater or movie industry

　　C. political field D. language labs

　　13. The expression "get your act together" was popular _____A_________.

　　A. by the late 1970s B. by the early 1970s

　　C. by the late 1980s D. by the early 1980s

　　14. The expression "cut to the chase" means_______D_______.

　　A. calm down and focus on the best part

　　B. stop filming the uninteresting parts

　　C. develop a calm and orderly plan of action

　　D. stop wasting time on details or unimportant material, hurry and get to the good part

　　15. "Chase" is the movie director's word for ______C________.

　　A. stop

　　B. action movies

　　C. scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars or in airplanes or on foot

　　D. unimportant material

　　Passage 2

　　Background music may seem harmless, but it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it. Recorded background music first found its way into factories, shops and restaurants in the USA. Very soon it spread to other parts of the world. Now it is becoming difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to background music.

　　To begin with, background music was intended simply to create a soothing(舒适的) atmosphere. Recently, however, it's becoming a big business. An American marketing expert has shown that music can boost sales or increase factory production by as much as a third.

　　But it has to be the light music. Lively music has no effect at all on sales. Slow music can increase receipts (收入) by 34%. This is probably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunity to spot items they would like to buy. Yet, slow music isn't always the answer. The expert found that in restaurants slow music meant customers took longer to eat their meals, which reduced overall sales. So restaurant owners might be well advised to play faster music to keep the customers moving-unless, of course, the resulting indigestion (消化不良) leads to complaints.

　　16. Background music was first used________D______.

　　A. in the cinemas and theatres in the USA

　　B. in the offices and hospitals in the USA

　　C. in the schools and churches in the USA

　　D. in the factories, shops and restaurants in the USA

　　17. An American marketing expert has found background music can________A______.

　　A. increase sales or factory production.

　　B. create a soothing atmosphere.

　　C. make people slow down.

　　D. make people forget their worries.

　　18. __C____________ has no effect on sales.

　　A. light music B. slow music

　　C. lively music D. none of the above

　　19. Slow music is useless in _______B_____ in increasing sales.

　　A. shops B. restaurants C. factories D. cinemas

　　20. Restaurants owners are advised to play ___D_________ to increase overall sales.

　　A. lively music B. loud music

　　C. slower music D. faster music