3) Disney also plans to___________________________

me park in France. Disney has(1)to the accusation with comments of its own. People from Disney have said that the company is very sensitive to the idea that its park shows a(n)(2)of cultural concerns. They have tried to make it more European by(3)European cultural elements. The legends and fairy tales which come from Europe(4)prominently in the park. The(5)development of the theme park, in fact, has a European base. Disney has also(6)that the park will be special. It will have a uniqueness(7)to its European setting. All the direction(8)in the park will be in two languages. They will be in French(9)in English. Some performers in the park will(10)in French, Spanish and English.(11)the other hand, Disney will remain American. Disney does(12)that the park is American. That is, it does have an American cultural focus in(13). Disney sees this(14)something important. It is the main selling(15)to attract people. The 320 million European citizens who live(16)a two-hour flight want to visit Disney, because it is American. The Europeans coming to the park would be disappointed by a park that is strictly representative(17)their own countries. The people who visit the park will be very happy with the American culture they see(18)by Disneyland During their trip, they will experience not only the cultures of Europe,(19)that of the US as well. One thing is(20)though: All other previous theme parks in Europe have been unsuccessful. It is not yet clear how a Disney theme park will do in France.

A.Osaka, Berlin

B.Paris, Hong Kong

C.London, Hong Kong

D.Paris, London

me park in 错误rance. Disney has(1)to the accusation with comments of its own. People from Disney have said that the company is very sensitive to the idea that its park shows a(n)(2)of cultural concerns. 正确hey have tried to make it more European by(3)European cultural elements. 正确he legends and fairy tales which come from Europe(4)prominently in the park. 正确he(5)development of the theme park, in fact, has a European base. Disney has also(6)that the park will be special. It will have a uniqueness(7)to its European setting. All the direction(8)in the park will be in two languages. 正确hey will be in 错误rench(9)in English. Some performers in the park will(10)in 错误rench, Spanish and English.(11)the other hand, Disney will remain American. Disney does(12)that the park is American. 正确hat is, it does have an American cultural focus in(13). Disney sees this(14)something important. It is the main selling(15)to attract people. 正确he 320 million European citizens who live(16)a two-hour flight want to visit Disney, because it is American. 正确he Europeans coming to the park would be disappointed by a park that is strictly representative(17)their own countries. 正确he people who visit the park will be very happy with the American culture they see(18)by Disneyland During their trip, they will experience not only the cultures of Europe,(19)that of the US as well. One thing is(20)though: All other previous theme parks in Europe have been unsuccessful. It is not yet clear how a Disney theme park will do in 错误rance.

rents could have fun together. The more Walt dreamed of a “magical park”, the more imaginative and elaborate it became.

[2] The original plans for the park were on 8 acres next to the Disney Studio lot on Hyperion Avenue in Burbank where his employees and families could go to relax. However, the amusement parks of the 1920’s and 30’s were tawdry, dirty, sleazy places. Other parks across the country were no better. As Walt Disney sat at a bench, at an amusement park, watching his daughters play, he noticed how ragged and filthy the small amusement park was. He also observed people’s reactions to different rides, and noticed how children’s parents had nothing to do. They would be anxious to go home, while their children were still having fun, and playing.

[3] This is where Walt was conjuring, and planning a new type of amusement park; one that would be clean, and would have attractions for parents and children together. He dreamed and hoped of building a “little family park” where parents could take their children for a day of fun—for both kids and adults. Still, Walt felt that it was possible to build a different kind of park…a “themed” park that had fun attractions and a beautiful atmosphere…a park that wouldn’t decline into an ugly, gaudy, cheap place… a park that “would never be completed—as long as there is imagination in the world.” The Second World War had a devastating effect on the Disney Studios. With no money, Walt shelved his ideas for the time being. However, during the war, Walt had time to come up with new ideas, and creations for his magical park. Disneyland in Los Angeles opened to a star-studded fanfare on July 17th, 1955. Construction of “The Happiest Place on Earth” was completed in one year, a tremendous engineering and planning success that is still to be admired. Its opening was a media event that even as late as the 1990’s, has rarely been exceeded for glitz, glamour, excitement, and drama.

[4] Nowadays, the entertainment giant has Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in five different places around the world. They are the Disneyland Resort in Los Angeles, Walt Disney World in Florida, Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo Disney Sea, Disneyland Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland respectively. The Wall Street Journal reported on January 9, 2009 that Disney and the Shanghai government had signed a proposal outlining the legal and financial framework for its first theme park in mainland China, targeting one of the largest and most prosperous markets in Asia. Now the proposal is waiting for being approved by the central government. This is really a sensation among Chinese children and their parents.

[5] Among the exciting Disney parks and resorts, Disney World in Florida is the biggest amusement resort, twice the size of Manhattan. It was opened on October 1, 1971, five years after Walt Disney’s death. It attracts people of most tastes and most income groups, and people of all ages, from toddlers to grandpas. Within Walt Disney World Resort there are 4 Theme Parks, 2 Water Parks, 2 shopping, dining and entertainment areas and one world-class sports complex. The central attraction of the resort is the Magic Kingdom. This theme Park features enchanting entertainment and classic attractions across seven whimsical lands. Tourists can meet beloved Disney Characters, watch parades and spectacular fireworks and see how fairytale dreams can come true. Almost everywhere you go, there are models of people and animals. Besides, they move and talk most realistically. There is, for example, the Hall of Fame, which displays models of all the American Presidents since George Washington. The Presidents talk, using the actual words they once used as living Presidents. There is much else to see: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, New Orleans Square, and Toontown. Each of the original lands has been altered —— and had new attractions added —— over the years.

[6] Disneyland near Los Angeles has a lot of wonderful things to see and do, but Walt Disney World in Florida has a huge number of wonderful things to see and do. The two places are almost incomparable. If you had a single day to spend at a Disney theme park you would choose Disneyland without a passing thought. If you have a week, though, you’ll go to Walt Disney World. In fact, in one full week it’s not possible to see everything at the Florida complex.

[7] Even though Walt Disney wasn’t able to see how his park prospered and grew into the 21st Century, his legacy still lives on with us. Throughout Disneyland and throughout the entire world, he will always be there. “The Happiest Place on Earth” will always be there, too.

51、What impelled Walt Disney to have the idea of building his “magical parks”？()

A.The tawdry, dirty, and sleazy amusement parks of the 1920s and 1930s.

B.His daughters’ love for “magical parks”.

C.His own love for “magical parks”.

D.Americans’ love for “magical parks”.

52、What does the third paragraph mainly talk about？()

A.Because of lack of money, Walt shelved his ideas for the time being during the Second World War.

B.What Walt’s amusement parks look like.

C.The Second World War had a devastating effect on the Disney Studios.

D.The opening of Disneyland in Los Angeles was a media event.

53、So far, how many Walt Disney Parks have been opened around the world？()

A.3

B.2

C.5

D.4

54、In which city of the mainland China will the Disney World be opened very soon？()

A.Beijing

B.Guangzhou

C.Shenzhen

D.Shanghai

55、Among the existing Disney parks and resorts, which one is the biggest？()

A.Walt Disney World in Florida

B.Disneyland Resort in Los Angeles

C.Hong Kong Disneyland

D.Tokyo Disney Resort

You are given the following data about Walt Disney and News Corporation, two of the major corporations in the media and entertainment industry. The data are for the end of the financial year 1999, and are in US$ millions. Though News Corporation is based in Australia, it also trades on the NYSE, and its data in the following table, like those for Walt Disney, are according to the U.S. GAAP.a. Compute the ROE for Walt Disney and News Corporation. b. Use the DuPont model to analyze the difference in ROE between the two companies, identifying the elements that primarily cause this difference.

Not to Expect Profits Soon from Euro Disney

The Euro Disney Corporation, acknowledging that its elaborate theme park had not performed as strongly as expected, announced Thursday that it would sustain a net financial loss of unpredictable scale in its first financial year.

At the time of the April opening of the park, which stands on a 4,800-acre site 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of Paris, Euro Disney officials said they expected to make a small profit for the financial year ending September 30． But since then the park has been hit by a number of problems.

"We were geared up for a very high level of operations," John Forsgren, the company's chief financial officer said in a telephone interview. "It has been very strong, but not as strong as we geared up for."

"While attendance is very strong," he said, "our cost levels do require adjustment for the current revenue level."

The parent company, Walt Disney Corporation, said Thursday that its income rose 33 percent in the quarter. But it warned investors against expecting profits soon from Euro Disney, of which it owns 49 percent.

Euro Disney said that although attendance levels had been high, "the company anticipates that it will sustain a net loss for the financial year ending September 30, 1992". It added that "the amount of the loss will depend on attendance and hotel use rates achieved during the remaining portion of the critical European summer vacation period". The announcement amounted to an extraordinary reversal for Euro Disney, which opened amid immense celebration and widespread predictions of immediate success.

At the time of the opening, on April 12, the company's shares were trading at 140.90 francs ($28.07), and had been as high as 170 francs earlier in the year. They dropped 2.75 percent Thursday to close at 97.25 francs. Mr. Forsgren said he thought the market had "reacted a bit emotionally to preliminary information". He added, "By all objective standards the park is very successful. The long-term acceptance is strong, the rest is just details."

The company said that 3.6 million people had visited the park from April 12 to July 22, a performance superior to that of comparable start-up periods at other Disney theme parks. But it warned that, given the likely strong seasonal variation in attendance, it was not possible to predict future attendance or profits.

Reacting to the announcement, stock market expert Paribas Capital Markets Group issued a "sell" recommendation on Euro Disney stock, saying that attendance levels for the period were 15 percent below its expectations and profit from sales of food and other goods was 10 percent below. It predicted that the company would lose 300 million francs in the current financial year and continue losing money for two more years.

The main problem confronting Euro Disney appears to be managing its costs and finding an appropriate price level for its over 5,000 hotel rooms. Clearly, costs have been geared to a revenue level that has not been achieved, and the company is beginning to drop hotel prices that have been widely described as excessive.

Mr. Forsgren said the number of staff, now at 17,000, would "come down significantly in the next two months, mainly through the loss of seasonal employees". Of the current staff, 5,000 are employed on a temporary basis, he said.

He also acknowledged that the lowest-priced rooms at the resort had been cut to 550 francs ($110) from 750 francs at the time of the opening, and that some rooms were being offered at 400 francs for the winter season. Analysts believe hotel use has been running at about 68 percent of capacity, although it is currently over 90 percent.

"The key issue is costs, " said one financial expert. "They have no idea what their winter attendance levels will be and they're battling to get costs to an appropriate level. The stock's still too expensive, but I think in the long term they'll get it right."

Still, huge doubt hangs over the company's plans to keep the theme park open through the cold European winter—something no other theme park in Europe has ever attempted. Last month, the company said it was having difficulty attracting people from the Paris region. Mr. Forsgren said that French attendance was improving and accounted for 1 million of the 3.6 million visitors, with most of the rest coming from Britain and Germany. Only 1 percent of visitors have been American.

For its third quarter ending June 30, the first in which the park had been operating, the company announced revenues of 2.47 billion francs ($492 million), but gave no profit or loss figures in line with the French practice of only giving such figures at year's end. In the first half, the company earned 75 million francs, mainly from investment income and sale of construction rights on its site.

cises for children. The younger, it seems，the better. “With the babies in our family,” she said, “I start working them out in the hospital. ”Ms. Bolhuis turned her exercises into a company，Gymtrix，that offers a library of videos starting with training for babies as young as 6 months. There is no lying in the crib playing with toes.

Infant athletes, accompanied by doting parents on the videos, do a lot of jumping, kicking and, in one exercise, something that looks like baseball batting practice．①

The growing competition in marketing baby sports DVDs includes companies with names like athleticBaby and Baby Goes Pro. Even experts in youth sports seem startled that the age of entry has dipped so low. “That’s really amazing．What's next？”said Dr. Lyle Micheli，an orthopedic surgeon.

Dr. Micheli said he did not see any great advantages in exposing babies to sports. “I don't know of any evidence that training at this infancy stage accelerates coordination,” he said. One of his concerns, he said, is“the potential for even younger ages of overuse injury. ”

The Little Gym，based in Scottsdale, Ariz.，begins classes for children at 4 months old. Bob Bingham, the company's chief executive, said that about 20,000 youngsters under 2-about a quarter of the total enrollment-were signed up for classes at locations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. That is a sizable increase from last year, he said. The company, which has gyms in 20 countries, plans to open 100 locations over the next five years. My Gym, based in Sherman Oaks, Calif. , said 55 percent of those who attend classes at its 200 locations-157 in the United States-were 2 or younger.

The entrepreneurs behind these businesses-gym teachers, accountants and former professional athletes among them-make no claims about turning today's babies into tomorrow's Super Bowl star．② In the past，marketing claims for products geared toward babies have caused trouble for companies. Disney, which owned the popular Baby Einstein brand, dropped the term “educational” after a children's-rights group objected to contentions that babies who watched “Baby Einstein” were learning．③ Disney also offered refunds.

That's not enough to sell Dr. Micheli on the idea of sports classes for tykes. Before rushing off to a day of treating injured athletes, he said, “We won't be putting their brochures in our clinic. ”

阅读以上文章，回答 97～101 题

第 97 题 It can be inferred from the passage that babies __________．

[A] are not allowed to play with toes any more

[B] are expected to do exercises as early as possible

[C] are video-taped by parents as much as possible

[D] are taken good care of by coaches in many gyms

of the (1)_____ national railway system. In an industry lacking exciting growth (2)_____, its plan to use real-estate assets in and around train stations (3)_____ is drawing interest.

In a plan dubbed "Station Renaissance" that it (4)_____ in November, JR East said that it would (5)_____ using its commercial spaces for shops and restaurants, extending them to (6)_____ more suitable for the information age. It wants train stations as pick-up (7)_____ for such goods, as books, flowers and groceries purchased (8)_____ the Internet. In a country (9)_____ urbanites depend heavily on trains (10)_____ commuting, about 16 million people a day go to its train stations anyway, the company (11)_____. So, picking up purchases at train stations spare (12)_____ extra travel and missed home deliveries.

JR East already has been using its station (13)_____ stores for this purpose, but it plans to create (14)_____ spaces for the delivery of Internet goods.

The company also plans to introduce (15)_____ cards—known in Japan as IC cards because they use integrated (16)_____ for holding information—(17)_____ train tickets and commuter passes (18)_____ the magnetic ones used today, integrating them into a single pass. This will save the company money, because (19)_____ for IC cards are much less expensive than magnetic systems. Increased use of IC cards should also (20)_____ the space needed for ticket vending.

A．privatized

B．individualized

C．personalized

D．characterized

minary count of a shareholder vote announced at the media giant's annual meeting Friday. Disney did not give tallies for individual board members at the meeting, which comes a year after a shareholder revolt roiled Disney and led to Chief Executive Michael Eisner being stripped of his role as board chairman.

Disney's annual meeting for shareholders, which is taking place in Minneapolis, contrasts greatly with last year's confab in Philadelphia, which at times resembled a heavyweight bout with dissident ex-director Roy E. Disney taking the stage to challenge the leadership of company CEO Michael Eisner. Since then, the company has delivered on its promise to grow earnings more than 50 percent and the stock has also seen a double-digit rise in value. A hostile all-stock takeover bid from cable TV giant Comcast Corp., which hung over last year's meeting, has since disappeared as Disney's stock has outperformed that of its rival.

Eisner joked about the year gone by at a recent analyst meeting, a gathering that last year "was punctuated by a vacation postcard from [ Comcast CEO ] Brian Roberts," Eisner said. The card was returned to sender," he said, noting that the past year Disney has delivered "stellar performance that defied the gravity of a year ago." But as shareholders gather Friday in Minneapolis, they will also hear the echoes of the troubles that roiled last year's meeting, when investors delivered a stinging vote of no confidence to Eisner, who later relinquished his role as board chairman.

In contrast to last year, most proxy consulting firms have endorsed Disney's board and lauded the company for the corporate governance strides it has made. Yet just in time for the meeting, a hefty new book, written with Disney's cooperation, paints an unflattering portrait of Eisner and his heir apparent, President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger.

The book, "DisneyWar," by James B. Stewart, shows Eisner unsure about the qualifications of his second-in command and Iger complaining about his lack of visibility in the company. "No one takes me seriously," Iger said to one executive outside of Disney, according to the book. Iger's comment came in the midst of his effort to mm around Disney's troubled ABC network, which was fourth in the ratings and, according to the book, Eisner's growing impatience with that effort.

Why was Michael Eisner stripped of his role as the board chairman of the Walt Disney Co. a year ago？

A．He was too old.

B．He carded out a series of wrong policies.

C．The shareholders agitated the Disney and he had to leave.

D．He wanted to enjoy an earlier retirement.

A.She also plans to get a pet.

B.Dan is allergic to cats.

C.Animals will soon be allowed in Dans building.

D.Dan will get a lift to his apartment from a relative.