英语六级
With its recession-friendly coffee prices, plentiful tables and available bathrooms, McDonald's restaurants all over the country, and even all over the world, have been adopted by wise customers as a coffeehouse for grass roots, a sort of everyman's Starbucks. Behind the Golden Arches, older people seeking company and conversation, schoolchildren putting off homework time and homeless people escaping the cold have transformed the banquettes into headquarters for the kind of leisurely socializing. And so restaurant managers and franchise owners are often frustrated by these, their most loyal customers. Such regulars hurt business, some say, and leave little room for other customers.
Tensions can sometimes erupt. In the past month, those tensions came to a boil in New York city. When management at a McDonald's in Flushing, Queens, called the police on a group of older Koreans, prompting outrage at the company's perceived rudeness, calls for a worldwide boycott and a truce mediated by a local politician, it became a famous case of a struggle that happens daily at McDonald' s outlets in the city and beyond.
Is the customer always right, even when they sit for long hours without spending? The answer seems to be yes among those who do the endless sitting at McDonald's restaurants in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; Midtown Manhattan; Astoria, Queens; and the East Village. If Mike Black's friends are looking for him, they know to check the McDonald's on Utica Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, he said. That is where Mr. Black, who is in his 50s, spends hours opening and reading his junk mail. "I don't eat fast food," he said, arguing that his one coffee entitled him to all the leisure time he needed. "I just come here to hang out and deal with my mail."
At some of New York City's 235 McDonald's outlets, customers say they have adopted the fast-food franchise as a care for a less affluent crowd, a view strengthened by the company's newer offerings, like McCafe coffee drinks. "We're pleased many of our customers view us as a comfortable place to spend time," Lisa McComb, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email, citing free Wi-Fi and areas for children to play as part of the appeal. "McDonald' s offers convenience and value in a fun and familiar atmosphere."
But the leisurely cafe culture and the business plan behind fast food are in opposition. Although. signs hang in many McDonald' s stores instructing customers to spend half an hour or less at the tables, Ms. McComb said there was no national policy about discouraging longtime sitting.
McDonald´ s managers and franchise owners are frustrated because
A.the business of McDonald's is suffering from recession
B.McDonald's has little room for customers to stay
C.McDonald's is regarded as a place of leisurely socializing
D.it's difficult to find loyal customers in America
与经济衰退匹配的咖啡价格、充足的餐桌,又有卫生间可以使用,全美乃至全世界的麦当劳餐厅,都被一群会算经济账的顾客当成了平民咖啡馆.或者说像是老百姓的星巴克。在金色的拱形M标志下,老人寻求陪伴与交流、学生消磨做作业前的时光,无家可归者则进来御寒。这些人把餐厅的软垫条凳变成了某种悠闲社交的大本营。因此.餐厅经理与店主常常被这些最忠诚的客户搞得焦头烂额。有人说,此类常客影响了生意,害得别的客人几乎找不到位子。
有时还会爆发冲突。过去一个月里,这样的冲突在纽约市达到白热化的程度。在皇后区法拉盛的一家麦当劳,管理层报警驱逐一群韩裔老人。一些人对他们眼中麦当劳的粗鲁无礼表示愤慨,呼吁展开全球性的抵制活动。一名地方政坛人士出面调停,暂时促成了和解。这一事件成为知名案例,代表了纽约及更大范围内的麦当劳门店时时面临的困境。
客户永远都是正确的吗?即使他们一坐不起又不花钱。在布鲁克林区皇冠高地、曼哈顿中城、皇后区阿斯托里亚及东村占领了麦当劳的人看来,答案似乎是肯定的。麦克·布莱克说,如果朋友要找他,就知道去布鲁克林区弗莱布许的尤蒂卡大道上的那家麦当劳看看。在那里,50多岁的布莱克一坐就是几个钟头,在那里点开和阅读垃圾邮件。“我不吃快餐,”他说,并且认为一杯咖啡足以允许他消磨所需的休闲时光。“我就是来这里待着,处理一下邮件。”
纽约市共有235家麦当劳.其中一些店面的客户说.他们已经把这个快餐连锁店当成了较贫穷阶层的咖啡馆.这个观点也因为麦当劳麦咖啡的咖啡饮品等新产品而得到了加强。
“很多顾客都认为在我们这里消磨时光很舒适,我们对于这一点感到高兴。”麦当劳女发言人丽莎·麦库姆在电子邮件中说。她说免费无线网络和儿童玩耍区域是吸引力的一部分。“麦当劳以一种有趣而熟悉的氛围给人们提供了舒适和价值。”
但是,轻松的咖啡文化和快餐业背后的商业计划是相互矛盾的。麦库姆说,虽然许多麦当劳店内都悬挂着告诉客户在餐桌上停留的时间不要超过半小时的告示.但并没有任何禁止人们在店内逗留过久的国家规定。
解析
细节题。根据题于关键词定位到第一段。关键词前面提到 …have transformed the banquettes into headquarters for the kind of leisurely socializing(把餐厅的软垫条凳变成了某种悠闲社交的大本营.,这一现象造成了餐厅经理与店主常常被这些最忠诚的客户搞得焦头烂额。因此,正确答案是C。
你可能感兴趣的试题
A.deal with a boycott caused by customers
B.force a group of older Koreans to leave
C.suppress customers' rudeness toward the company
D.mediate a struggle happening in McDonald's
A.People can find their friends whenever they go into McDonald's.
B.Customers stay in McDonald' s for a long time mainly for leisure.
C.McDonald's is open specially to a less affluent crowd.
D.New York City's 235 McDonald's outlets are different in designs.
A.makes McDonald's fast food business more successful
B.asks customers to spend less time in a restaurant
C.requires national policy about discouraging longtime sitting
D.is not totally in accordance with fast food business
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