Questões de Inglês

Cordia Harrington was tired __( I )__ standing up all day and smelling like french fries __( II )__night. A proper ty developer, she also owned and operated three McDonald’s franchises in Illinois, but as a divorced mother __( III )__ three boys, she yearned __( IV )__ a business that would provide __( V )__ her children and let her spend more time __(VI) __ them.

Her aha moment struck, strangely enough, after she  was nominated in 1992 to be on the McDonald’s bun committee. “The other franchisees, all men, thought that was hilarious because of the word bun,” she recalls. “But the joke was on them: They didn’t know the company would be picking me up in a corporate jet to see bakeries around the world. Every time I went to a meeting, I loved it. This was global!”

The experience opened her eyes to business possibilities. When McDonald’s decided it wanted a new bun supplier, Harrington became determined to win the contract, even though she had no experience running a bakery. “You see a tiny crack in the door, and you have to run through it,” she says. “I really believed I could do this.”

Harrington studied the bakery business and made sure she was never off executives’ radar. “If you have a dream, you can’t wait for people to call you,” she says. “So I’d visit a mill and send them photos of myself in a baker’s hat and jacket, holding a sign that said ‘I want to be your baker.’” After four years and 32 interviews, her persistence paid off.

Harrington sealed the deal with a handshake, sold her franchises, invested everything she owned, and borrowed $13.5 million. She was ready to buildthe fastest, most automated bakery in the world.

Reader’s Digest

 

“Her aha moment” refers to

Movie News

‘Wolverine’ Online Leak: Howling Mad!

After the Hugh Jackman blockbuster lands on the web, Fox scrambles to punish the culprit – and protect its own bottom line

By Nicole Sperling

 

 It’s bold to steal a movie. Any movie. But a surefire blockbuster like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox’s make-or-break $130 million summermovie tentpole? That takes nerves of adamantium. And the fact that someone somehow did manage to swipe such an incredibly high-profile project is sending shock waves of panic throughout the industry. ‘’This is certainly a lesson for us all,’’ says Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman. ‘’We, like everybody else, thought our system was secure.’’ Yet, on April 1, there it was: an unfinished version of the movie, available online a full month before its release date. (Since then, the file has been accessed 100,000 times, and the blogosphere buzz has been mixed at best.) Fox is working with the FBI to find the culprit — ‘’Somebody’s going to end up in jail for a long time,’’ insists Rothman — but no arrests had been made as of press time. Hollywood bigwigs, who have taken their case for tougher antipiracy laws all the way to Congress, are certainly out for blood. ‘’You have to find the [thief] and you’ve got to give him serious time,’’ says director Tony Scott (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3). In fact, when he first heard of the theft, ‘’I said, shoot him!’’’ That harsh brand of justice has swept up those even tangentially involved in the scandal: Fox News columnist Roger Friedman was fired for downloading the movie and posting a positive review.

When the smoke clears, what impact will any of this have on the movie’s box office haul? Hard to say. When Ang Lee’s Hulk was pirated in 2003, Universal Pictures claimed the theft — of a close-to-finished print — cost it $100 million. (That could have been posturing: The movie was also leveled by brutal reviews. Universal had no comment for this story.) At least one industry insider thinks the exposure may boost ticket sales. ‘’Everyone was talking about Star Trek before this happened,’’ he notes. ‘’Now everyone’s focused on Wolverine.’’ With additional reporting by Chris Nashawaty and Christine Spines

(www.ew.com)

 

According to the text, culprit probably means

Movie News

‘Wolverine’ Online Leak: Howling Mad!

After the Hugh Jackman blockbuster lands on the web, Fox scrambles to punish the culprit – and protect its own bottom line

By Nicole Sperling

 It’s bold to steal a movie. Any movie. But a surefire blockbuster like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox’s make-or-break $130 million summermovie tentpole? That takes nerves of adamantium. And the fact that someone somehow did manage to swipe such an incredibly high-profile project is sending shock waves of panic throughout the industry. ‘’This is certainly a lesson for us all,’’ says Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman. ‘’We, like everybody else, thought our system was secure.’’ Yet, on April 1, there it was: an unfinished version of the movie, available online a full month before its release date. (Since then, the file has been accessed 100,000 times, and the blogosphere buzz has been mixed at best.) Fox is working with the FBI to find the culprit — ‘’Somebody’s going to end up in jail for a long time,’’ insists Rothman — but no arrests had been made as of press time. Hollywood bigwigs, who have taken their case for tougher antipiracy laws all the way to Congress, are certainly out for blood. ‘’You have to find the [thief] and you’ve got to give him serious time,’’ says director Tony Scott (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3). In fact, when he first heard of the theft, ‘’I said, shoot him!’’’ That harsh brand of justice has swept up those even tangentially involved in the scandal: Fox News columnist Roger Friedman was fired for downloading the movie and posting a positive review.

When the smoke clears, what impact will any of this have on the movie’s box office haul? Hard to say. When Ang Lee’s Hulk was pirated in 2003, Universal Pictures claimed the theft — of a close-to-finished print — cost it $100 million. (That could have been posturing: The movie was also leveled by brutal reviews. Universal had no comment for this story.) At least one industry insider thinks the exposure may boost ticket sales. ‘’Everyone was talking about Star Trek before this happened,’’ he notes. ‘’Now everyone’s focused on Wolverine.’’ With additional reporting by Chris Nashawaty and Christine Spines

(www.ew.com)

  

  

The article explains that

 __( I )__ you fancy a little underwater exploration without the hassle of learning to scuba dive, you’ll love the sub-scooter. It’s a battery-powered moped that propels you through water at a depth of 10 ft. (3 m), __( II )__ compressed air is pumped into a tiny glass cockpit from a boat on the surface — the resulting air pressure keeping water out of the hood. Pelagic treasures can be seen without even getting your hair wet.

  The sub-scooter’s downside is that it is only found in Mauritius. But the upside is that you have another excuse — __( III )__ the deep-sea fishing, the beaches and the tranquility — to visit this beautiful island nation in the Indian Ocean.

  Part of the vessel’s charm is that it offers an underwater encounter with no need for heavy oxygen cylinders or uncomfortable mouthpieces and masks. __( IV )__, the motor is virtually soundless, leaving sea creatures undisturbed and preserving a sense of the exotic. It won’t take you long to get a feel for the acceleration and steering, and you won’t need brakes: the coral is low-lying, and there’s nothing to bump into apart from other sub-scooters ( __( V )__ there’s little chance of that with scuba-diving guides pointing the way). Sure, the sub-scooter is too sedate for James Bond and probably rather restrictive for experienced divers, but it’s still a thrilling experience for visiting water babies. A two-hour excursion, including 30 minutes on a sub-scooter, costs about $160 for two people. Visit www.blue-safari.com for details.

(www.time.com)

 

The connectors that appropriately fill in blanks I, II, III, IV and V, in the text, are

Finding a New Boom Amid the Bust

Jun. 02, 2009

By Dan Kadlec

 

When it comes to what makes us happy at work, job-satisfaction surveys have been showing for years that the size of our paycheck is losing ground to intangibles like autonomy, mobility, low stress, flexible hours, job security, health coverage, paid time off and other benefits. Does pay matter? Of course it does. But as China and other emerging markets have gained ground on the U.S. economically, American workers have begun to come to grips with what that means: in many cases, finding a standard of living that is slipping relative to other nations, and saying zai jian (bye-bye, for those not yet into basic Mandarin) to generous and automatic pay raises across industries. The recession has only deepened this trend. 

Workers who are elated to simply have a job aren’t squawking about money, and according to a Randstad survey, they now name job security and benefits among the top factors in their happiness. Competitive pay is moving down the scale. Another expediter is demographics. The massive boomer generation is entering its retirement years undersaved and in need of continued employment. Yet boomers are determined to scale back hours and stress, and some at least are happy to trade a big salary for work with meaning and which allows for a better work/life balance, so long as the bills still get paid. America remains a land of opportunity and will continue to reward go-getters chasing dreams of wealth. But increasingly, our job market will also reward those who place a higher value on intangibles, and it will do so without relegating those people to a life of need. Certainly, jobs are scarce. Our economy has been shedding more than half a million positions a month. Yet even now there are pockets of employment, both for new grads and midlifers reinventing themselves, that offer decent pay with great benefits and security. 

Where are these jobs? Think green technologies, which may be at the root of the next economic boom. Think government, which under President Obama is getting bigger. Think education, which is in more demand than ever thanks to the arrival of boomer grandchildren and millions of workers in need of retraining. Think infrastructure, where much of the President’s nearly $800 billion stimulus effort will be focused. Think about risk assessment and controls in a chastened financial system. Think health care, which is booming as boomers grow fitfully into old age. Many such fields present opportunity now, and because they pay well above the median annual U.S. salary of $32,390, they are good to be a part of, even in a recovery.  

(www.time.com Adaptado.) 

Assinale a alternativa que está de acordo com as informações do texto.

Finding a New Boom Amid the Bust

Jun. 02, 2009

By Dan Kadlec

 

When it comes to what makes us happy at work, job-satisfaction surveys have been showing for years that the size of our paycheck is losing ground to intangibles like autonomy, mobility, low stress, flexible hours, job security, health coverage, paid time off and other benefits. Does pay matter? Of course it does. But as China and other emerging markets have gained ground on the U.S. economically, American workers have begun to come to grips with what that means: in many cases, finding a standard of living that is slipping relative to other nations, and saying zai jian (bye-bye, for those not yet into basic Mandarin) to generous and automatic pay raises across industries. The recession has only deepened this trend. 

Workers who are elated to simply have a job aren’t squawking about money, and according to a Randstad survey, they now name job security and benefits among the top factors in their happiness. Competitive pay is moving down the scale. Another expediter is demographics. The massive boomer generation is entering its retirement years undersaved and in need of continued employment. Yet boomers are determined to scale back hours and stress, and some at least are happy to trade a big salary for work with meaning and which allows for a better work/life balance, so long as the bills still get paid. America remains a land of opportunity and will continue to reward go-getters chasing dreams of wealth. But increasingly, our job market will also reward those who place a higher value on intangibles, and it will do so without relegating those people to a life of need. Certainly, jobs are scarce. Our economy has been shedding more than half a million positions a month. Yet even now there are pockets of employment, both for new grads and midlifers reinventing themselves, that offer decent pay with great benefits and security. 

Where are these jobs? Think green technologies, which may be at the root of the next economic boom. Think government, which under President Obama is getting bigger. Think education, which is in more demand than ever thanks to the arrival of boomer grandchildren and millions of workers in need of retraining. Think infrastructure, where much of the President’s nearly $800 billion stimulus effort will be focused. Think about risk assessment and controls in a chastened financial system. Think health care, which is booming as boomers grow fitfully into old age. Many such fields present opportunity now, and because they pay well above the median annual U.S. salary of $32,390, they are good to be a part of, even in a recovery.  

(www.time.com Adaptado.) 

Assinale a alternativa que completa corretamente a lacuna da frase, de acordo com as informações do texto.
 
The fact that boomers are growing fitfully into old age is a good___________ for choosing health care as a promising field in the job market.