完形填空易挖空部分

A"Just sign here, sir," the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package. The package consisted of a long, narrow box carefully wrapped in brown paper. Opening the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside — a very old one with a beautifully carved wooden handle. Although he had not seen it in more than 20 years, he recognized it immediately . Oscar was 16 when he first saw the unusual umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat, impressed by its beauty , Oscar felt a strong desire to find its owner . Oscar convinced t he manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat where Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O'Brien. Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O'Brien's house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. "May I help you?" she asked. "I'd like to return it if it's yours," Oscar said, holding out the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for. "Why, yes! It's mine," replied Mrs. O'Brien with a wide smile and shining eyes. "It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your kindness ?" "No, ma'am," he said, "My grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward. " "Well, that's exactly what my father used to say. What is your name, young man?" Years later Oscar was staring at the finely c arved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O'Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how old it was. Why had it arrived here today? As if in answer , a note fell from the paper. It reads: Mrs. O'Brien wanted to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, unselfish gesture long ago.BEveryone in business has been told that success is all about attracting and retaining (留住) customers. It sounds simple and achievable. But, in reality , words of wisdom are soon forgotten. Once companies have attracted customers they often overlook the second half of the story. In the excitement of beating off the competition, negotiating prices, securing orders, and delivering the product, managers tend to become carried away. They forget what they regard as the boring side of business—ensuring that the customer remains a customer. Failing to concentrate on retaining as well as attracting customers costs business huge amounts of money annually. It has been estimated that the average company loses between 10 and 30 per cent of its customers every year. In constantly changing markets, this is not surprising. What is surprising is the fact that few companies have any idea how many customers they have lost. Only now are organizations beginning to wake up to those lost opportunities andcalculate the financial implications. Cutting down the number of customers a company loses can make a big difference in its performance. Research in the US found that a five per cent decrease in the number of defecting (流失的) customers led to profit increases of between 25 and 85 per cent. In the US, Domino’s Pizza estimates that a regular customer is worth more than $5,000 over ten years. A customer who receives a poor quality product or service on their first visit and as a result never returns, is losing the company thousands of dollars in potential profits (more if you consider how many people they are likely to tell about their bad experience). The logic behind cultivating customer loyalty is impossible to deny. “In practice most companies’ marketing effort is focused on getting customers, with little attention paid to keeping them”, says Adrian Payne of Cornfield University’ School of Management. “Research suggests that there is a close relationship between retaining customers and making profits. Established customers tend to buy more, are predictable and usually cost less to service than new customers. Furthermore, they tend to be less price sensitive , and may provide free word-of-mouth advertising. Retaining customers also makes it different for competitors to enter a market or increase their share of a market.CWhenever we hear about “the homeless,”, most of us think of the Developing world. But the Truth is that homelessness is everywhere. For example, how many of us would expect to see people living on the streets of a wealthy country like Germany? Kurt Muller and his wife Rita have spent eleven years making meals for the homeless of Berlin, Germany’s capital. They first began one long hot summer when most Germans were away o n holiday. Kurt and his wife stayed at home, made sandwiches, set up a table in the street and gave food to the homeless. The Mullers soon realized that food and clothing weren’t enough . “What these people also need is warmth and caring,” says Rita. The Mullers didn’t hesitate to give their phone number to the street people and told them to phone anytime. Rita make sure there was somebody at home to answer the phone and their home was always open t o anyone who couldn’t face another night on the street. The couple were soon spending all their time and money, so Kurt visited food and clothing companies to ask for donations. Today, over thirty companies regularly donate food and other goods to the cause(事业) and volunteers help to deliver them to the homeless. The public also give clothes and money and a shoe producer donates new shoes. Kurt and Rita receive no payment for their hard work. “ We feel like parents,” says Rita,“and parents shouldn’t expect money for helping their children. The love we get on the streets is our salary.” Though Rita admits she often gets tired . She says she will continue with her work because she likes the feeling of having made a difference to the world.When I settled in Chicago，my new city seemed so big and unfriendly, Then I had a physical problem and had to go to hospital for a thorough(全面的) examination. It seemed a small challenge compared to the one I was about to face ,but things started to go wrong right from the beginning , Not having a car or knowing the city, I was depending on a couple of buses to get me from A to B, although I’d left myself plenty of time, soon it was obvious I was going to be late, as I had mistakenly boarded a bus that was taking me in the opposite direction. I got off the bus and stood on the pavement not knowing what to do, I look into the eyes of a stranger who was trying to get past me, Surprisingly instead of moving on ,she stopped to ask if I was OK , After I explained my situation to her, she pointed to a bus stop across the street , where a bus would take me back into the city to my appointment . Sitting there waiting , I felt grateful that someone had been willing to help . Then, hearing a horn （喇叭）nearby, I looked up to see a car with my new friend waving at me to get in, She had returned to offer me a lift to the hospital. Such unexpected kindness from a passer-by was a lovely gift to receive, As I climbed out of the car at the hospital and turned to thank her, she smiled and told me not to lose faith，for all things are possible.。