When I was a child I never said, "When I grow up, I want to be a CEO," but here I am. When I look back on my career, I realize the road to becoming a CEO isn't a straight, clear path. In fact, no two paths are the same. But whether you want to be a boss one day or not, there's a lot to learn from how leaders rise to the top of successful companies.
As this series of stories shows, the paths to becoming a CEO may be different, but the people in that position(位置) share the qualities of commitment（义务）, work ethic（道德） and a strong desire for building something new. And every CEO take risks along the way—putting your life savings on the line to start a software company or leaving a big business to be one of the first employees at a startup.
I grew up in Minnesota, and learned how to be an entrepreneur（企业家）from my father, who has run a small business for almost 30 years. I went to Georgetown University and tried a lot of business activities in college with success. And I always had a dream job pattern(模式): to walk to work, work for myself and build something for consumers(顾客).
I'm only 29, so it's been a quick ride to CEO. Out of college, I worked for AOL as a product manager, then moved to Revolution Health and ran the consumer product team. In mid-2007 I left Revolution Health and started LivingSocial with several other workmates, where I became a CEO.
Career advice: Don't figure out where you want to work, or even what industry you'd like to work at. Figure out what makes you do so. What gives you a really big rush? Answer why you like things, not what you like doing. . . and then apply it to your work life. Also, just because you're graduating, don't stop learning. Read more books than you did in college. If you do, and they're not, you're really well-positioned to succeed in whatever you do. What can we know from the first paragraph?
| A．The writer hasn't achieved his childhood ambition. |
| B．The writer thinks there is some easy way to become a CEO. |
| C．The writer had an ambition of becoming a CEO in his childhood. |
| D．The writer believes success stories of CEOs can be beneficial(有益的) to everybody. |
According to the writer, successful CEOs should _____.
| A．try not to take risks | B．stay in the same business |
| C．have a strong sense of creativity | D．save every possible penny |
What can we know about the writer from the passage?
| A．He started LivingSocial when he was still a student of Georgetown University. |
| B．He used to run the consumer product team for AOL. |
| C．His business activities at college ended up in more failure than success. |
| D．His father had far-reaching influence on him. |
What does the underlined phrase “figure out” mean? ______.
| A．断定 | B．弄清 | C．理解 | D．领会 |
Which of the following proverbs may the writer agree with according to the last paragraph?
| A．Well begun is half done. |
| B．Everything comes to him who waits. |
| C．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| D．One is never too old to learn. |
【湖南省娄底市2015年中考英语试题】简答题 阅读下面短文，根据短文回答问题。（共5小题，计10分）
Mom and dad are the most important people in your life. They have been looking after you since you were born, you should always love them. You should also get on well with them. But some children don't know how to do this. Here are some ways to help you.
Spend more time with your parents. Don't spend too much time playing computer games or watching TV. Ask your parents to play with you. Talk or go outside with them.
Be kind to your parents. You can make them happy with a smile when you come home. You can send your mother a card on Mothers' Day or tell your father a joke on his birthday. You can also clean your room by yourself.
Work hard. If you do your best in your studies, your parents will be proud of you.Who are the most important people in your life?
You need to spend more time with your parents, don’t you?
What can you do on Mother’s Day?
Will your parents be proud of you if you work hard?
How many ways can you use to get on well with your parents in the passage?
【湖南省娄底市2015年中考英语试题】任务型阅读 阅读下面短文内容，完成表格。（每空填1至3个单词）（共5小题，计10分）
Some Advice on Safety
Always play in a safe place. A park is a safe place because there is no cars or trucks. But do not talk to strangers. Never go with a stranger into a car.
Before crossing the road, stop and look both ways. Look left, look right and look left again.
Keep away from houses or buildings that are being built or knocked down. Something might fall on your head, or you might cut yourself on broken glass.
Medicines or pills can be dangerous. Never swallow(吞下) any pills or medicines you find in the cupboard.
Don’t swim in the pool or river without adults. Wear a life jacket whenever you go out in a boat. Even if you are not in the open sea and the water is not deep, you should have your life jacket on. It's easy to fall out of a boat.
Do not put your head out of a car, bus or train. Many children have been killed by doing this.
| When or where |
How to do |
| Play in a safe place |
Play in a park. Never talk to |
| When crossing a road |
Stop and look |
| Houses or buildings being built or knocked down |
Stay away. |
| Medicines or pills |
Never swallow any medicines without a doctor's advice. |
| In a |
Wear a life jacket. |
| On a bus, car or train |
Never put |
【贵州省安顺市2015年中考英语试题】任务型阅读。（每小题2分，共10分）
There once was a woman. She had a faithful(忠实的)dog. The dog was so faithful that she could leave her baby with the dog when she went out. (A) And after she returned， she would always find her baby safe.
One day， the woman left the baby with the dog and went shopping. When she returned， she found something had taken place in the house. There were bloodstains(血迹)all over the bedroom. The woman then thought of her baby. She cried and started looking for him. Then she saw the faithful dog. It was licking（舔）its mouth. It seemed that it had just finished a delicious meal. The woman was angry and thought that the dog had killed her baby. Without thinking too much， (B) ________________.
But as she continued looking for her child， she saw something else. Close to the bed， there was her baby and he was sleeping. And under the bed， there was a dead jackal(豺狼). The woman now understood what had happened. The dog tired to protect her baby from the jackal， but just now she killed the dog. How regretful she was!从文中找出与下句意义相近的句子。
The dog seemed to have just finished a good meal.将(A)处划线句子翻译成汉语。
根据文章内容，将(B)处补充完整。
把下面发生的事情排序：
①The woman found the bloodstains all over the room.
②The woman found her baby sleeping.
③The woman killed the dog.
④The woman started looking for her baby.What is the best title for the passage?
【2015年安徽省初中毕业学业考试英语试题】阅读下面短文，并用英语回答问题（请注意每小题后面的词数要求）
A mouse was surprised to discover that the farmer and his wife had a mousetrap（老鼠夹）in the house. It ran to warn everyone, “There is a mousetrap in the house!”
A hen raised his head and said, “Mr. Mouse, this mousetrap is only for you. I won’t be worried about it.” The mouse turned to a pig, “I am sorry, Mr. Mouse, but the mousetrap has nothing to do with me, either!” the pig said. Then the mouse turned to a cow, “It sounds like you have a problem, not me.” the cow said. The mouse returned to the house with head down and it was very sad because no one would help.
That night the farmer’s wife heard a loud sound and she rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness she could not see that it was a snake. The snake bit（咬）the farmer’s wife. The wife caught a bad fever and the farmer the best way to treat a fever was chicken soup. So the farmer killed the hen for the soup. The wife got worse and her friends came to visit her. The farmer had to kill the pig to feed them. But the wife didn’t get better and died. Her friends came and the farmer had to kill the cow to feed all of them.
So remember when any one of us is in trouble, we may all be in trouble.Why was the mouse very sad?（不超过5个词）
______________________________________________________________________________________What was caught by the mousetrap that night?（不超过5个词）
______________________________________________________________________________________What can we learn from the story?（不超过15个词）
______________________________________________________________________________________
【福建省福州市2015年中考英语试题】阅读下面四篇材料，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Flow like the river of change
Little stream ran down from a high mountain through many villages and forests. Then it reached a desert. “I went through so many difficulties. I should have no problem crossing the desert,” she thought. As she started, she found herself slowly disappearing into the sand. After many tries, she still failed. “Maybe I can’t reach the ocean,’’ she said sadly to herself.
At this time, a deep voice said, “If a breeze（微风）can cross the desert, so can a river.” It was the voice of the desert. But the little stream answered, ‘‘That’s because a breeze can fly, but I cannot.”
“That’s because you can’t give up what you are. Let yourself evaporate（蒸发）into the breeze, and it can take you across,” said the desert. “Give up what I am now? No! No!” The little stream could not accept this idea. “The breeze can carry the vapor（蒸汽）across the desert and let it leave as rain. The rain will form a river again,” said the desert. “And whether you’re a river or vapor, your nature never changes.” Hearing this, the little stream went into the open arms of the breeze. It carried her to the next stage of her life.
The course of our lives is like the experience of the little stream. If you want to go through difficulties in your life to head for success, you should also change the way you are.The little stream aimed to reach _____.
| A．the forest | B．the ocean | C．the desert | D．the river |
The little stream _____ before she got to the desert.
| A．didn’t meet much difficulty | B．was worried about herself |
| C．knew well about the desert | D．was confident about herself |
At first, the little stream didn’t accept the desert’s advice because _____.
| A．she failed many times | B．she was afraid of the breeze |
| C．she wasn’t able to fly | D．she wouldn’t give up what she was |
The little stream finally crossed the desert by _____.
| A．evaporating into the breeze | B．forming a river |
| C．disappearing into the sand | D．changing her nature |
What does the story mainly tell us?
| A．The road to success is not always easy and smooth. |
| B．Whatever others say, we should always be ourselves. |
| C．To succeed, we should change the way we are if necessary. |
| D．We may experience difficulty in life just like the little stream. |