新编六级听力练习 第395期

Passage Three
If you are in any major city in America, the chances are high that you are not far from a Starbucks. The company started in the West Coast city of Seattle, Washington, in 1971. Starbucks was [33]named after a character in the famous American novel "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. Today, there are more than twelve thousand Starbucks around the world.
Sales last year were almost eight billion dollars. The company believes in opening many stores in busy areas of cities. For example, there are about thirty Starbucks stores in downtown Seattle. Starbucks sells more than just plain coffee. It started a whole coffee culture with its own special language and coffee workers called baristas. It sells many kinds of hot and cold coffee drinks, like White Chocolate Mocha and Frappuccino. It also sells music albums, coffee makers, food, and even books. But [34]most of all, it sells the idea of being a warm and friendly place for people to sit, read or talk.
However, some people do not like the company's aggressive expansion. Faith Lapidus, a small coffee seller is taking the company to court. She says the way the company does business is illegal because it stops property owners from leasing stores to other coffee companies. She sees Starbucks as controlling the market and forcing out competition.
Nicolas O'Connell works for La Colombe, a coffee roasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He says Starbucks has helped to educate people about coffee from many countries. But [35]he criticizes the company for using machines more than people to make the coffee. Mr. O'Connell points out that the coffee culture is all about a hand-made product and interaction between people.

Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
33. Where did Starbucks, the store name come from?
正确答案：D
解析：短文说，Starbucks这个名字来自Herman Melville的著名小说Moby-Dick里的一个人物。故答案是D。从选项的提示词play，fiction可猜测题目可能与文学作品中的人物有关。录音主题是Starbucks，可进一步猜测Starbucks和某个人物有联系。Novell与novel拼写相似，但前者指的是以开发网络产品著称的美国公司。
34. What is Starbucks' most extraordinary character?
正确答案：C
解析：根据原文，Starbucks最特别之处在于它为人们提供一个温馨、友善的休憩、看书和交流的理想之地，这也是它的卖点。所以C正确。原形动词选项，题目可能问目的、建议或打算。根据短文主题，猜测与Starbucks的经营有关。边听录音边做好笔记。原文的关键词是most of all，最高级处往往是考点。
35. Why does Mr. O'Connell not like Starbuck?
正确答案：C
解析：短文说，Mr. O'Connel批评Starbucks在制作咖啡时用机器比用人手更多。故答案是C。由选项可知，题目问的是原因。听力录音中有两个例子说明有些人不喜欢Starbucks。例子里的细节往往是考点，而且会出现张冠李戴的陷阱。本题问的是第二个例子的内容。A和B涉及的是第一个例子，所以都排除。题目问的是Not like的原因，D是正面的说法，也可排除。