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When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald’s in January 2004，the world’s biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia，but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining.One exception was France，where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as

head of the group’s French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs

to his compatriots.His task was to replicate this success in

all 41 of the European countries where anti-

globalisers’favourite enemy operates.

B.

So far Mr Hennequin is doing https://www.sodocs.net/doc/26977087.html,st year European

sales increased by 5.8%and the number of customers by 3.4%，

the best annual results in nearly 15 years.Europe accounted

for 36%of the group’s profits and for 28%of its

sales.December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain，and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly.

C

Mr Hennequin’s recipe for revival is to be more open about his company’s operations，to be“locally relevant”，and to improve the experience of visiting his 6，400 restaurants.McDonald’s is blamed for making people fat，exploiting workers，treating animals cruelly，polluting the environment and simply for being American.Mr Hennequin says

he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns.

D.

He introduced“open door”visitor days in each country which became hugely popular.In Poland alone some 50，000 visitors came to McDonald’s through the visitors’programme last year.The Nutrition Information Initiative，launched last year，put detailed labels on McDonald’s packaging with data on calories，protein，fat，carbohydrates and salt content.The details are also printed on tray-liners.

E.

Mr Hennequin also wants people to know that“McJobs”，the low-paid menia l jobs at McDonald’s restaurants，are much better than people think.But some of his efforts have backfired：last year he sparked a controversy with the introduction of a“McPassport”that allows McDonald’s employees to work anywhere in the European Union.Politicians accused the firm of a ploy to make cheap labour from eastern Europe more easily available to McDonald’s managers across the continent.

F.

To stay in touch with local needs and preferences，McDonald’s employs local bosses as much as possible.A

R ussian is running McDonald’s in Russia，though a Serb is in charge of Germany.The group buys mainly from local suppliers.Four-fifths of its supplies in France come from local farmers，for example.(Some of the French farmers who campaigned against the company in the late 1990s subsequently

discovered that it was，in fact，buying their produce.)And it hires celebrities such as Heidi Klum，a German model，as

local brand ambassadors.

G.

In his previous job Mr Hennequin established a“design studio”in France to spruce up his company’s drab restaurants and adapt the interior to local tastes.The studio is now masterminding improvements everywhere in Europe.He also set up a“food studio”，where cooks devise new recipes in response to local trends.

H.

Given France’s reputation as the most anti-American country in Europe，it seems odd that McDonald’s revival in Europe is being led by a Frenchman，using ideas cooked up in the French market.But France is in fact the company’s most profitable market after America.The mar ket where McDonald’s is weakest in Europe is not France，but Britain.

I.

“Fixing Britain should be his priority，”says David Palmer，a restaurant analyst at UBS.Almost two-thirds of the 1，214 McDonald’s restaurants in Britain are company-owned，compared with 40%in Europe and 15%in America.The company suffers from the volatility of sales at its own restaurants，but can rely on steady income from franchisees.So it should sell as many underperforming outlets as possible，says Mr Palmer.

J.

M.Mark Wiltamuth，an analyst at Morgan Stanley，estimates that European company-owned restaurants’margins will increase slightly to 16.4%in 2007.This is still less than in the late 1990s and below America’s 18-19%today.But it is much better than before Mr Hennequin’s reig n.He is already being tipped as the first European candidate for the group’s top job in Illinois.Nobody would call that a McJob.

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?

Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

TRUE if the statement reflects the claims of the writer

FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1.McDonald was showing the sign of recovery in all European countries except France after Denis Hennequin took office as the boss of Euro-markets.

2.Starting from last year，detailed labels are put on McDonald’s packaging and detailed information is also

printed on tray-liners.

3.France is said to be the most anti-American country in Europe，but the ideas of the“open door”visiting days

and“McPassport”are invented in the French market.

4.Britain possesses the weakest McDonald market among European countries and approximately 1214 McDonald’s restaurants are company-owned.

5.According to David Palmer，a restaurant analyst at UBS，David Hennequin should treat the problem about McDonald in Britain as the most important thing.

6.David Palmer suggested that the management of McDonalod in Italy should sell as many its outlets which lose money in business as possible for revival.

Questions 7-10

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 7-10 on your answe sheet.

7.The word“sterling”in line 3 of Paragraph A

means__________.

A.difficult

B.menial

C.terrible

D.excellent

8.Which of the following statements on the accusation of MacDonald is NOT TRUE?

A.It tends to make people fat.

B.Its operations are very vague.

C.It tends to exploit workers.

D.It tends to treat animals cruelly.

9.Which of the following measures taken by Denis Hennequin produced undesired result?

A.“Food Studio”scheme.

B.“Open Door”visitor days.

C.The“McPassport”scheme.

D.The Nutrition Information Initiative.

10.What did Denis Hennequin do so as to respond to local trends?

A.set up a“Food Studio”.

B.established a“Design Studio”.

C.hired celebrities as local brand ambassadors.

D.employed local bosses as much as possible.

Questions 11-14

Complete each of the following statements(Questions 11-14)with words or number taken from Reading Passage 1.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

11.After January 2004，McDonald was making improvement following a period of slump in America and Australia，but sales in Europe were………………………….

12.Business of McDonald in France and Britain was particularly good in December since customers took to……………………………..

https://www.sodocs.net/doc/26977087.html,pared with other countries，France is

McDonald’s……………………….next to America.

14.…………………….of McDonald’s restaurants in America are companied–owned and the figure is much lower than that in Britain.Part II

Notes to Reading Passage 1

1.sterling高质量的

e.g.He has many sterling qualities.他身上有很多优秀的品质。

2.menial不体面的，乏味的(工作、职业)

3.spruce up打扮整齐、漂亮、装饰

4.mastermind指挥、谋划(一个计划或活动)

e.g.The police know who masterminded the robbery.警察知道是谁策划了那次抢劫。

5.underperform表现不佳表现出低于标准的工作水平、企业出现亏本

Part III

Keys and explanations to the Questions 1-14

1.FALSE

See the second sentence in Paragraph A“One exception was France，where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as head of the gr oup’s French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his compatriots.His task was to replicate this success in all 41 of the European countries…”.

2.TRUE

See the last sentence in Paragraph D“The Nutrition Information Initiative，launched last year，put detailed

labels on McDonald’s packaging with data on calories，protein，fat，carbohydrates and salt content.The details are also printed on tray-liners.”

3.NOT GIVEN

See Paragraph D，E and H“Given France’s reputation as the most anti-American country in Europe，it seems odd that McDonald’s revival in Europe is being led by a Frenchman，using ideas cooked up in the French market.”.

4.FALSE

See the last sentence of Paragraph H and first sentence

of Paragraph L“The market where McDonald’s is weakest in Europe is not France，but Britain…Almost two-thirds of the 1，214 McDonald’s restaurants in Britain are company-owned…”

5.TRUE

See the first sentence of Paragraph I“Fixing Britain should be his priority，”says David Palmer，a restaurant analyst at UBS”.

6.NOT GIVEN

See the last sentence of Paragraph I“So it should sell

as many underperforming outlets as possible，says Mr Palmer”.

7.D

See the first sentence of Paragraph A“One exception was France，where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as head of the group’s French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his compatriots”.

8.B

See the second sentence of Paragraph D“McDonald’s is blamed for making people fat，exploiting workers，treating animals cruelly，polluting the environment”

9.C

See the second sentence of Paragraph E“But some of his efforts have backfired：last year he sparked a controversy with the introduction of a“McPassport”that allows McDonald’s employees to work anywhere in the European Union..”

10.A

See the last sentence of Paragraph G“He also set up

a“food studio”，where cooks devise new recipes in response to local trends”.

11.sluggish or declining

See the first sentence of Paragraph A“When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald’s in January 2004，the world’s biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia，but sales in Europe were sluggish or decl ining.”

12.seasonal menu offerings

See the last sentence of Paragraph B“December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain，and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly”.

13.most profitable market

See the second sentence of Paragraph H“But France is in fact the company’s most profitable market after America”.

14.15%

See the second sentence of Paragraph I“Almost two-

thirds of the 1，214 McDonald’s restaurants in Britain are company-owned，compared with 40%in Europe and 15%in America”.

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Next Year Marks the EU's 50th Anniversary of the Treaty A. After a period of introversion and stunned self-disbelief， continental European governments will recover their enthusiasm for pan-European institution-building in 2007. Whether the European public will welcome a return to what voters in two countries had rejected so short a time before is another matter. B. There are several reasons for Europe’s recovering self-confidence. For years European economies had been lagging dismally behind America (to say nothing of Asia)， but in 2006 the large continental economies had one of their best years for a decade， briefly outstripping America in terms of growth. Since politics often reacts to economic change with a lag， 2006’s improvement in economic growth will have its impact in 2007， though the recovery may be ebbing by then. C. The coming year also marks a particular point in a political cycle so regular that it almost seems to amount to a natural law. Every four or five years，European countries take a large stride towards further integration by signing a new treaty： the Maastricht treaty in 1992， the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997， the Treaty of Nice in 2001. And in 2005 they were supposed to ratify a European constitution，laying the ground for yet more integration—until the calm rhythm was rudely shattered by French and Dutch voters. But the political impetus to sign something every four or five years has only been interrupted， not immobilised， by this setback. D. In 2007 the European Union marks the 50th anniversary of another treaty —the Treaty of Rome， its founding charter. Government leaders have already agreed to celebrate it ceremoniously， restating their commitment to “ever closer union”and the basic ideals of European unity. By itself， and in normal circumstances，the EU’s 50th-birthday greeting to itself would be fairly meaningless， a routine expression of European good fellowship. But it does not take a Machiavelli to spot that once governments have signed the declaration (and it seems unlikely anyone would be so uncollegiate as to veto it) they will already be halfway towards committing themselves to a new treaty. All that will be necessary will be to incorporate the 50th-anniversary declaration into a new treaty containing a number of institutional