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Passage3
Questions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
UnliketheirAmericanorEuropeancounterparts,carsalesmeninJapanworkhardtogetabuyer.Insteadoflyinglazilyaroundshowroomswaitingforcustomerstodropby,manyJapanesecarsalesmenstillgoouttogetthem.Theywalkwearilyalongthestreetscarsdoor-to-door.Newcustomersarehuntedwithfruitandcakesontheirbirthdays.Butlifeisgettingtough,andnotjustbecausenew-carsalesarefalling.
WithmoreJapanesewomen(whooftencontrolthehouseholdbudget)goingouttowork,thesalesmenincreasinglyfindnobodyathomewhentheycall.Thatmeansanothervisitintheeveningortheweekend.Thentheyfaceanextraproblem:morepeople,especiallytheyoung,prefertochooseanewcarfromashowroomwheretheycancomparedifferentmodels.
Evenaslateasthemid-1980ssome90%ofnewcarsweresolddoor-to-door.Insomeruralareasmostnewcarsarestillsoldthisway.Butinthebigcitiesmorethanhalfthenewcarsarenowsoldfromshowrooms.
AlthoughinvestinginshowroomsisexpensivebecauseofthehighcostofJapaneseland,dealershavelittlechoice.AlaborshortageandhigheramongJapan’sworkforcearemakingitdifficulttohiredoor-to-doorsalesmen.MostofaJapanesecarsalesman’sworkingdayisspentdoingfavorsforcustomers,likearranginginsuranceorpickingupvehiclesforservicing,ratherthanactuallyselling.
Japan’sdoorstepcarsalesmenarenotabouttovanish.Thepersonalservicetheyprovideissodeep-rootedinJapanthattheyarelikelytooperatealongsidetheglitteringnewshowrooms.Thetwosystemsevencomplementeachother.Whatincreasinglyhappensisthattheshowroomattractstheinterestofapotentialbuyer,givingthefootsoresalesmenafirmleadtofollowupwithahomevisit.
11.Japanesecarsalesusuallydonotwaitatshowroomsforcustomerstodropby;instead,.
A.theysellcarsdoor-to-door
B.theybuypresentsfortheircustomers
C.theyenjoythemselvesinrecreationcenters
D.theygoouttodomarketresearches
12.Impliedbutstated:thecompetitionincarmarketis.
A.lightB.moderateC.fierceD.unfair
13.Youngpeopleliketobuyanewcar.
A.athomeB.fromashowroom
C.madeintheU.S.A.D.madeinJapan
14.ThesquadronofJapanesecarsalesmenisreducingbecauseof.
A.alaborshortage
B.higherexpectationsamongJapan’sworkforce
C.highcostland
D.bothAandB
15.Japanesecarsalesmentotheircustomersmanyfavorssuchas.
A.showingthemaroundinanexhibition
B.arranginginsurance
C.payingthemavisitonweekends
D.sellingolecarsforthem
Scatteredthroughtheseasoftheworldarebillionsoftonsofsmallplantsandanimalscalledplankton.Mostoftheseplantsandanimalsaretoosmallforthehumaneyetosee.Theydriftaboutlazilywiththecurrents,providingabasicfoodformanylargeranimals.Planktonhasbeendescribedastheequivalentofthegrassesthatgrowonthedrylandcontinents,andthecomparisonisanappropriateone.Inpotentialfoodvaluehowever,planktonfaroutweighsthatofthelandgrasses.Onescientisthasestimatedthatwhilegrassesoftheworldproduceabout49billiontonsofvaluablecarbohydrateseachyear.Thesea’splanktongeneratesmorethantwiceasmuch.
Despiteitsenormousfoodpotential,littleeffortwasmadeuntilrecentlytofarmplanktonaswefarmgrassesonland.Nowmarinescientistshaveatlastbeguntostudythispossibility,especiallyasthesea’sresourcesloomevenmoreimportantasameansoffeedinganexpandingworldpopulation.
Nooneyethasseriouslysuggestedthat“planktonburgers”maysoonbecomepopulararoundtheworld.Asapossiblefarmedsupplementaryfoodsource,however,planktonisgainingconsiderableinterestamongmarinescientists.
Onetypeofplanktonthatseemstohavegreatharvestpossibilitiesisatinyshrimplikecreaturecalledkrill.Growingtotwoorthreeincheslong,krillprovidethemajorfoodforthegiantbluewhale,thelargestanimalevertoinhabittheEarth.Realizingthatthiswhalemaygrow100feetandweigh150tonsatmaturity,itisnotsurprisingthateachonedevoursmorethanonetonofkrilldaily.
Krillswimaboutjustbelowthesurfaceinhugeschoolssometimesmileswide,mainlyinthecoldAntarctic.Becauseoftheirpinkcolor,theyoftenappearasasolidreddishmasswhenviewedfromashiporfromtheair.Krillareveryhighinfoodvalue.Apoundofthesecrustaceanscontainsabout460calories—aboutthesameasshrimporlobster,towhichtheyarerelated.
Ifthekrillcanfeedsuchhugecreaturesaswhales,manyscientistsreason,theymustcertainlybecontendersasnewfoodsourceforhumans.
1.Whichofthefollowingbestportraystheorganizationofthepassage?
A.Theauthorpresentstheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofplanktonasafoodsource.
B.Theauthorquotespublicopiniontosupporttheargumentforfarmingplankton.
C.Theauthorclassifiesthedifferentfoodsourcesaccordingtoamountofcarbohydrate.
D.Theauthormakesageneralstatementaboutplanktonasafoodsourceandthenmovestoaspecificexample.
2.Accordingtothepassage,whyisplanktonregardedtobemorevaluablethanlandgrasses?
A.Itiseasiertocultivate.
B.Itproducesmorecarbohydrates.
C.Itdoesnotrequiresoil.
D.Itismorepalatable.
3.Whydoestheauthormention“planktonburgers”?
A.Todescribetheappearanceofonetypeofplankton.
B.Toillustratehowmuchplanktonawhaleconsumes.
C.Tosuggestplanktonasapossiblefoodsources.
D.Tocomparethefoodvaluesofbeefandplankton.
4.Whatismentionedasoneconspicuousfeatureofkrill?
A.Theyarethesmallestmarineanimals.
B.Theyarepinkincolor.
C.Theyaresimilarinsizetolobsters.
D.Theyhavegrasslikebodies.
5.Theauthormentionsallofthefollowingasreasonswhyplanktoncouldbeconsideredahumanfoodsourceexceptthatitis___.
A.highinfoodvalue.
B.inabundantsupplyintheoceans.
C.anappropriatefoodforotheranimals.
D.freeofchemicalsandpollutants.
