At the end of last week， Bodega Aurrerá， a Mexican subsidiary of the world's biggest retailer， Wal-Mart， opened a new store in the village of San Juan Teotihuacán， just north of Mexico City. Normally， such an event would cause little stir. Wal-Mart is already Mexico's biggest retailer too. And its shops seem to go down very well with its millions of bargain-hungry customers. But this particular opening was， in fact， the culmination of months of protests， legal actions， hunger strikes and hyperbole by those determined to stop it.

The reason is the location. Just 2.5km (1.6 miles) away is the ancient city of Teotihuacán， probably Mexico's most famous archaeological site. Amongst other attractions， it boasts the third-largest (by volume) pyramid in the world. For many Mexicans， the ancient site， abandoned by its mysterious inhabitants centuries before the Spanish conquerors arrived， remains the ultimate symbol of Mexican identity and nationhood. Thousands troop up to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun to celebrate the summer solstice.

To them， the idea of having a Wal-Mart next door is abhorrent. In the words of Homero Aridjis， a writer and one of the leading opponents， “it is like driving the stake of globalisation into the heart of old Mexico.” The controversy is only the latest in a string of protesters' attempts to save Mexican culture from what they see as a creeping menace. They won a famous victory by blocking a McDonalds restaurant from opening in the main square of the pretty southern colonial town of Oaxaca.

But this time they were on much thinner ground. For a start， Wal-Mart went through all the appropriate regulatory hoops， even getting permission from the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites， which judged that the store would cause no harm to the nearby ruins. A small stone platform was indeed found during construction of the new car park， but was preserved.

Just as importantly， the claim that the new store spoils the famous view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun is clearly bogus， as anyone who cares to get to the top can testify. The problem is not so much that you can see the Wal-Mart， but one of trying to distinguish it from the 30-odd other ugly， squat buildings that litter the surrounding countryside——to say nothing of the car parks， the electricity pylons and the large power station. Sadly， unrestricted building long ago ruined this particular view， as well as many others in Mexico.

To the diehards， the issue counts more than the view. But neither mattered much to the hundreds of locals who queued up for the opening， delighted to be freed of the small and expensive local shops. Despite a legal case pending against Wal-Mart and local officials， brought by an irate local left-wing politician， this is one battle that the American retailer has probably won.

注(1)：本文選自Economist; 11/13/2004， p42;

注(2)：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對(duì)象2001年真題Text 4(其中因2001年真題Text 4只有四個(gè)題目，所以本文第4題模仿參照對(duì)象為2003年Text 1的第四題);

1. Why the opening of Wal-Mart caused stir?

[A]Wal-Mart would have severe competition with the local stores.

[B]War-Mart would provide them with a larger choice and more benefits.

[C]It was said to have ruined the scene of the ancient site.

[D]There shouldn‘t be a store near the ancient site.

2. From Paragraph 2 we can infer that _________.

[A]the ancient city means a lot to the Mexicans

[B]a store will be too noisy for the ancient city

[C]the ancient city is very mysterious

[D]the pyramid is a good place for holding big ceremony

3. According to Wal-Mart， it has a good reason to build store there because _______.

[A]it proves no harm to the nearby ruins

[B]the scene of the ancient sites has been damaged

[C]customers want to buy some cheap products

[D]it has been widely accepted by the customers there.

4. It can be learned from Paragraph 5 that _________.

[A]the famous view is not as good as it used to be

[B]the city lacks planning in building

[C]the ancient site is littered with ugly buildings

[D]Wal-Mart shouldn‘t be fully responsible for the ruined view.

5. Toward the fate of Wal-Mart， the writer‘s attitude can be said to be _________.

[A]objective

[B]optimistic

[C]pessimistic

[D]biased

答案：CADDB

There is a new type of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns.It is sometimes placed among“situations vacant”，although it does not offer anyone a job，and sometimes it appears among“situation wanted”，although it is not placed by someone looking for a job either.What it does is to offer help in applying for a job.

“Contact us before writing your application” or “Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae or job history”is how it is usually expressed.The growth and apparent success of such a specialized service is，of course，a reflection on the current high levels of unemployment.It is also an indication of the growing importance of the curriculum vitae (or job history)，with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right.

There was a time when job seekers simply wrote letters of application.“Just put down your name，address，age and whether you have passed any exams” was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when I left school.The letter was really just for openers，it was explained，everything else could and should be saved for the interview.And in those days of full employment the technique worked.The letter proved that you could write and were available for work.Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest.

Later，as you moved up the ladder，something slightly more sophisticated was called for.The advice then was to put something in the letter which would distinguish you from the rest.It might be the aggressive approach.“Your search is over.I am the person you are looking for”was a widely used trick that occasionally succeeded.Or it might be some special feature specially designed for the job in view.

There is no doubt，however，that it is the increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the curriculum vitae.

1.The new type of advertisement which is appearing in newspaper columns____.

[A] informs job hunters of the opportunities available

[B] promises useful advice to those looking for employment

[C] divides available jobs into various types

[D] informs employers of people available for work

2.Nowadays a demand for this specialised type of service has been created because____.

[A] there is a lack of jobs available for university graduates

[B] there are so many top-level jobs available

[C] great importance is attached to written application

[D] jobs are becoming so varied that one needs advice to choose the right one

3.In the past it was expected that first-job hunters would____.

[A] write an initial letter giving their life history

[B] pass some exams before applying for a job

[C] have no qualifications other than being able to read and write

[D] keep any detailed information until they obtained an interview

4.The job history has become such an important document because____.

[A] there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertised

[B] there has been an increase in the number of applicants with degrees

[C] jobs are becoming much more complicated nowadays

[D] other supporting experiences for jobs are no longer required

5.What does the author think of the new advertisement?

[A] Necessary. [B] Fashionable.

[C] Superficial. [D] Aggressive.

參考答案：

1.[B] 文中所提到的新型廣告不是招聘廣告(it does not offer anyone a job)，也不是求職廣告(it is not placed by someone looking for a job either)。它旨在幫助申請(qǐng)工作的人寫好履歷(curriculum vitae)，為獲得工作做好充分準(zhǔn)備。參閱第一段和第二段第二句。 .

2.[C] 第二段第二、三句談到了新型廣告興起的兩個(gè)原因：1)它反映了目前的高失業(yè)率狀況;2)它表明寫好履歷越來(lái)越重要。第三段第三、四句又指出，過去，申請(qǐng)信只不過是個(gè)開端，重要的是面試。在充分就業(yè)的那些日子，這種技巧是奏效的，這封信證明你有寫作能力，且你已經(jīng)為接受這份工作做好了準(zhǔn)備，而你渴望的表情和機(jī)智的應(yīng)答為你做了其余的事。

3.[D] 參閱第2題題解，另請(qǐng)參閱第三段。

4.[B] 文章最后一段指出，目前，工作申請(qǐng)者大都是受過各種各樣的大學(xué)教育的人，顯然，這解釋了為什么寫好履歷尤其重要。由于多數(shù)人都受過大學(xué)教育，大家旗鼓相當(dāng)，這時(shí)，寫好履歷，突出自己的獨(dú)特之處，以達(dá)到鶴立雞群之效果尤其重要。

5.[A] 參閱其他題題解。重點(diǎn)參閱文章最后一段。