Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money” it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small.
With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold.
As I was searching for “angel money”, I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet.
Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy” in-house.
Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him.
We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time.
Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success.
She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000.
I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven.
“I have confidence in your plan,” she said. “You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company.”
Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to___________.
| A．the salary it pays to its staff | B．the interest it pays to the bank |
| C．the way in which it raises capital | D．the speed at which it spends money |
By "Angel money", the author refers to__________.
| A．the money borrowed from banks | B．the money spent to promote sales |
| C．the money raised from close friends | D．the money needed to start a business |
To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to__________.
put up with unfair terms B. change your business line
C. enlarge your business scope D. let them operate your businessThe author easily built a team for his company because__________.
| A．they were underpaid at their previous jobs |
| B．they were turned down by other companies |
| C．they were confident of the author and his business |
| D．they were satisfied with the salaries in his company |
Louise decided to lend money to the author because__________.
| A．she wanted to join his company |
| B．she knew he would build a team |
| C．she knew his plan would succeed |
| D．she wanted to help promote his sales |
On June 21, 1982, Prince (王子) William, the future King of England, was born. Since then, he has won all the hearts of the public.
When he was very small, he got a number of nicknames (绰号)：King Tot, Willys, Billy, and William the Terrible！He was often found climbing into wastebaskets, trying to flush (冲刷) Dad’s shoes down the toilet (厕所) and pressing buttons, which often made alarm ring！
Prince William has a lot of rules to follow：no drinking in public, no smoking or taking drugs, no kissing girls in public. William was especially close to Diana. However, he has been brave beyond his years since his mother’s sudden death because of the car accident.
Prince William’s fans are growing in number every day. He got more than 12, 000 fan letters a week. When he made a trip to Canada, thousands of girls went frenetic and screamed, “William, will you marry me?” His favorite drink is coke and his favorite foods are burgers, fries, pizza, and chocolate. William also loves to search the World Wide Web. So next time when you’re online, you might be chatting with the future King of England.
Want to write to him? Here it is：
HRH Prince William
Kensington Palace Kensington, London W8 4PN Great BritainWilliam’s mother died when he was_____. .
A. 13 B. 20 C. 19 D. 15What does the underlined word “frenetic” mean?
A. Angry. B.Excited. C. Stupid. D. Comfortable.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. Prince William loves his mother very much.
B. Prince William likes western food.
C. Prince William has two brothers.
D. Prince William loves to use the computer. Where can you probably see the article?
A. In a magazineB. In a textbookC. In a sports reportD. On TV
阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题(请注意问题后的字数要求)。
[1]Everyone makes mistakes. How do you react when a family member, friend, or a classmate makes a mistake? Some of us may shout out , complain, or punish. Unfortunately, these reactions to mistakes sometimes greatly hurt both sides. In fact, there is a better way to deal with a mistake.
[2]Reframe（重组） "MISTAKE": Change "MISTAKE" into "MIS-TAKE." Doesn't that have a different feeling? Therefore, a mistake is not so bad as expected. We can learn from it and it is likely to lead to success in the end.
[3]Use mistakes as an opportunity for learning. Most of us want to hide our mistakes, but we may be more willing to share our "MIS-TAKES" and let others learn from them. Either an individual or a family can benefit by openly recognizing and correcting mistakes, rather than pretending that they didn't happen. In fact, a mistake, if corrected quickly and in a creative way, can become ___________for learning.
[4]Think of mistakes as opportunities to prove yourself. A mistake becomes an opportunity to create a close friend or customer. For example, in business, studies show that one of the things all customers want is recovery when the organization has made a mistake. They want us to apologize sincerely. With creative thinking, we can make them satisfied with the way we deal with a mistake.
[5] We have learned to allow people around us to make mistakes. Now give them “protection” when they make a mistake. If you give people both permission and protection, you will get along well with them. Show them how they can turn a mistake into learning something about themselves so they don’t make the same mistake again.What is the passage mainly about? (no more than 10 words)
________________________________________________________________What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)
____________________________________________________________Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words.(no more than 4 words)
__________________________________________________________Complete the following statement with proper words.(no more than 3 words)
If we think creatively, we are able to make people feel pleased with the way in which a mistake is_________________.Why should you show people how to turn a mistake into learning something about themselves ? (no more than 12 words)
____________________________________________________________________
What is the connection between violence and sports? Psychologists（心理学家） say that there are many reasons for violence at sports events. One is alcohol（酒精）. Many fans drink a lot at games. When people drink, they are more likely to do abnormal things. Psychologist Dennis Brock says, “Quiet people become loud. Normally nonviolent people become destructive.”
David Sampson, a sports sociologist, agrees, “These are often celebratory riots(暴乱)— a large number of very happy people mixed in with large amounts of alcohol. They don’t often seem dangerous in the beginning, but things get violent quickly.”
Another reason for violence at sports events is the crowd itself. When individuals are in a large group of people, they can lose their sense of personal responsibility. Edward Hirt, a social Psychologist, says that research shows that people do things in crowds that they would never do alone. People in crowds feel that no one knows who they are. Crowds also make people feel powerful. They stop making personal decisions. They just follow the crowd. Social psychologists call this a “mob mentality.”
Dave Zarifis, head of public safety at Northern Iowa University says, “Some people don’t even come to celebrate. They want to drink hard and make trouble. Someone does something stupid, and it grows from there. You get a mob mentality. People think it’s OK to do almost anything. They think, ‘There are so many of us and not enough of them.’ ”
Social psychologist Dr. Sharon Kennedy says that there are a few things officials can do to prevent violence. Making sure that an area is not overcrowded is very important. Officials should also think of games as “big parties.” Then they will prepare differently. Kennedy says that in Great Britain they are controlling the problem with cameras in all the stadiums. “When you know someone is watching, you are much less likely to behave badly.”Which of the following best gives the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．There’s a connection between violence and sports |
| B．There are many reasons for violence at sports events. |
| C．One cause of violence at sports events is alcohol. |
| D．David Sampson and Dennis Brock have the same opinion. |
Which of the following does NOT belong to a “mob mentality”?
| A．“ No one knows I’m doing this.” |
| B．“ It’s safe to do what many people are doing.” |
| C．“There are so many of us and not enough of them.” |
| D．“I must drink some alcohol to stop myself feeling shy.” |
How many experts are quoted by the writer of this passage?
| A．Five. | B．Four. | C．Three. | D．Two. |
The last paragraph is mainly about ______.
| A．how to turn games into big parties |
| B．how to prevent violence at sports events |
| C．why to fix cameras in stadiums |
| D．how to avoid oneself behaving badly |
What lesson can we learn from this passage?
| A．Never drink any alcohol no matter where you are. |
| B．Whenever you are watching a game, you should keep quiet. |
| C．Never follow blindly no matter how many people are doing something. |
| D．Be careful when you are at a stadium because there are cameras there. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．willing to spend time | C．careful with time | D．serious with time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendship |
There are many fun, free activities that you can do as a family. All that is required is a bit of imagination and some time set aside for fun. And the best part is that these are the kind of memories a child will remember for a lifetime.
Family game night
Find out any of the games that are already around the house. Kids often get computer games for Christmas or birthdays, and would love to have a chance to play with their family. Or, make up some games of your own. “Charades” is a fun game to play that will challenge a child to use his/her imagination. Divide the family into teams and let each team come up with words that the other has to act out.
________________________
Pick some time for the family to sit down and come up with their own masterpiece. It doesn't need to be just a drawing -- take some old magazines sitting around the house, let the kids cut out pictures and paste them into their own montage. Or, use items from nature. Let them use leaves, pine cones, twigs and whatever else they can find to create something from their imaginations.
Family Picnic
Taking the family for a picnic is a great way for some fun that doesn't cost any money. If the weather is nice, take them to a park or playground and let the kids have a day of playing. Or, if it is the middle of winter and a foot of snow is on the ground, set up a picnic in the living room.
Family Field Trip
A family field trip doesn't have to cost a dime. Ask a nearby farm if it would be alright to bring your kids out for a tour and to see some of the animals. Or take them to a park and make a scavenger hunt where they need to find certain items from nature. Ask a local business if you could bring the family for a tour to see how things work -- you might be surprised at the number of people who would be thrilled to share what they do with others, and it could be an interesting lesson for the kids.We can learn from the passage that “charades” ________.
| A．is a computer game |
| B．is too difficult for children |
| C．involves acting out words |
| D．should be played by more than four people |
What is the best title to be put in the blank of part two? ____________
| A．Family art time | B．Family gardening time |
| C．Family music time | D．Family cleaning time |
According to the passage, the family picnic____________.
| A．should be held in the middle of winter |
| B．can be held inside your house |
| C．will be very meaningful if held in offices |
| D．will cost much money if held on a farm |
Who might be most interested in this passage? _________.
| A．Parents | B．Teachers | C．Farmers | D．Employers |
The writer wrote this passage mainly to _____________.
| A．encourage children to use imagination. |
| B．share precious family memories |
| C．discuss young children’s interests |
| D．suggest fun activities to families |