51. What helped Starbucks succeed in places outside the United States?

   A. Only selling locally produced coffee beans.

   B. Working with other coffee-making companies.

   C. Opening restaurants in some places each year.

   D. Learning about local customers.

C

   People have always wanted to speak with animals. There are many books about this, especially children books. Now there are also movies, such as Dr. Doolittle. When you watch animals, it seems clear that they can communicate with each other. Many people wonder why people can’t also communicate with them.

   Scientists know how some animals communicate. Bees, for example, use their bodies. They do a kind of dance to give information about food. Birds, on the other hand, share information with sounds. They use certain sounds to protect their homes and to stay together when they fly. Some male（雄性） birds use lovely songs to attract a female（雌性）. Other animals communicate with both body movements and sounds. For example, dogs wag（摇摆） their tails（尾巴） when they are happy, and they bark（吠） when they are excited.

   People used to think it was possible to teach human language to animals. Parrots and other birds, for example, can learn to say words. But the birds just repeat the words. They don’t understand them. Some American scientists tried to teach English to chimpanzees, close relatives of human beings. However, this was impossible. Chimpanzees can’t move their mouths the right way. They could never learn to speak like people.

   Then scientists tried to teach human language to chimpanzees in other ways. Some tried with American Sign Language (ASL). Others tried with a simple computer. But chimpanzees could only learn to use a few words. They could never learn to use grammar. Their brains are very different from the brains of human beings.

   Now some scientists are studying the same points between human and animal language. In fact, some animals use sounds like people do. Dogs, for example, use an unpleasant, low sound to tell other dogs to stay away. People, too, use that kind of voice to say the same things. A dog’s noisy bark communicates that something is happening. People use the same high tone when they shout, “Watch out!”

   Scientists want to understand the language of other animals, such as whales and bears. To do this, they go out to the animals’ natural homes. They watch the animals for days or even years. They take pictures and make tapes recordings and share the information with other scientists. In this way, they hope to learn more about the way animals communicate, and maybe someday we’ll be able to communicate better with them.

50. What does the underlined word “hire” mean?

   A. Refuse to accept.                         B. Pay someone for a job.

   C. Be angry with.                         D. Be afraid of      

49. By the year 2000, Starbucks ______.

   A. opened 150 new stores                                 B. made coffee machines

   C. grew quickly all over the world           D. was still a small company

48. By 1981 there were ____ Starbucks stores in Seattle.

   A. five             B. four           C.    three                   D. two

   Things really began to change for the company in 1981. That year, Howard Schultz met three men. They are the owners of Starbucks. At that time, Schultz worked in New York for a company that makes kitchen things. He noticed that Starbucks ordered some special coffee makers, so he wanted to know something about the company. Schultz went to Seattle to have a look, and he liked what he saw. He wanted to become part of the company. In 1982, the Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company’s manger.

   In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy. The special atmosphere（气氛） of the coffee bars there caught his eyes. To Schultz it seemed that Italians spent their daily lives in three places: home, work, and coffee bars. His experience in Italy gave Schultz a new idea for Starbucks back in Seattle.

   Schultz created an atmosphere for Starbucks coffee shop that was comfortable and casual（随意的）, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Between 1987 and 1992, Starbucks opened 150 new stores - and that was only the beginning. By the year 2000, three new Starbucks stores opened somewhere around the world every day!

   Today, Starbucks has thousands of stores, including stores in twenty-six countries. Do you know why Starbucks succeed in cities outside the United States? One way is that Starbucks works with local（当地的）stores and restaurants. By working together with a store already in the city, Starbucks has a good understanding of customers in the city. This understanding helps Starbucks open stores in the right places for their customers.

47. You can call 5132683 to get the job as _____.

   A. a taxi driver        B. a dog keeper             C. a guitar teacher  D. a house seller

B

   The first Starbucks（星巴克） coffee shop opened in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was a small coffee shop and it made its own coffee beans. The coffee shop’s business did well. By 1981 there were three more Starbucks stores in Seattle.

46. If you are interested in the house, you can write to _____.

   A. Larry               B. David                      C. Mr. Black          D. Mr. White

45. You may visit www.music.com.au to _____.

   A. buy a house         B. have a guitar lesson   C. have a dog         D. get a job

E-mail: sdgt@163.com

House for sale

Two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.

Hot water 8:00 am-6:00 pm.

Beautiful sights out of the windows.

Write to Mr. Black.