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__________.
| A．put up with unfair terms | B．change your business line |
| C．enlarge your business scope | D．let them operate your business |
The 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 |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Why are newspapers and TV broadcasts filled with disaster, corruption and incompetence? It may be because we’re drawn to depressing stories without realizing, according to psychologists.
When you read the news, sometimes it can feel like the only things reported are terrible, depressing events. Why do the media concentrate on the bad things in life, rather than the good? In fact, many people often say that they would prefer good news.
The researchers present their experiment as solid evidence of a so called “negativity bias(偏见)”, psychologists’ term for our collective hunger to hear, and remember bad news.
It isn’t just delight in other people’s misfortune, the theory goes, but that we’ve evolved to react quickly to potential threats. Bad news could be a signal that we need to change what we’re doing to avoid danger.
As you’d expect from this theory, there’s some evidence that people respond quicker to negative words. In lab experiments, flash the word “cancer”, “bomb” or “war” up at someone and they can hit a button in response quicker than if that word is “baby”, “smile” or “fun”. We are also able to recognize negative words faster than positive words, and even tell that a word is going to be unpleasant before we can tell exactly what the word is going to be.
There’s another interpretation (解释)that researchers put on their evidence: we pay attention to bad news, because on the whole, we think the world is more hopeful than it actually is. When it comes to our own lives, most of us believe we’re better than average, and that, like the cliches, we expect things to be all right in the end. This pleasant view of the world makes bad news all the more surprising and arresting. It is only against a light background that the dark spots are highlighted.
So our attraction to bad news may be more complex than just journalistic prejudice or a hunger springing from the darkness within.What is “negativity bias” according to psychologists?
| A．It is one’s delight in others’ misfortune. |
| B．It is one’s habit of reacting quickly to potential threats. |
| C．It is a signal with which we can avoid danger. |
| D．People are born to hear and remember bad news. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Journalists only feel like reporting depressing bad news. |
| B．It is true that there are no good stories to be reported. |
| C．People unconsciously pay more attention to bad news. |
| D．People like to hear pleasant words rather than bad words. |
What will be read first by most readers according to the theory?
| A．Movie star arrested for taking drugs. |
| B．Movie star went on a campaign for ASL disease. |
| C．Movie star accepts Ice Bucket Challenge |
| D．Movie star awarded the third Oscar in three years. |
What causes people to focus more on bad news than on good news?
| A．The world is believed to be more hopeful than it actually is. |
| B．It is expected things will be all right in the end. |
| C．The world is believed to be full of darkness. |
| D．It is believed that we are better than others. |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Four million children are caught up in the war in Syria. Thirteen-year-old Rabia is one of them. Tall and thin, she sits shaking in a yellow T-shirt at the Al Marj settlement, close to the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Home for Rabia was once a two-story house near Damascus. Now it is a tent shared with her nine family members.
Rabia’s face is covered with dirt, and she is tired and cold. She has just finished work, picking up potatoes that fell from a truck. Her typical day starts at 4 a.m., and she works a double shift that lasts about 16 hours, putting potatoes into bags. The only choice for her is that she can choose the first eight hours or the second eight hours. For this, she gets paid about $8 a day.
Working means Rabia misses school. Back in her village, she was the best in her class and good at everything. Her favorite subjects were Arabic literature and math. But, like many children now living in the settlements — there are no official refugee（难民）camps in Lebanon — that was Rabia’s old life. Life before war, before her family moved five times to escape the bombs, before leaving behind her bedroom, her toys and her friends without packing a bag, before “half the people I know” were dead.
The old life was full of laughter with her sister, Wala. But Wala, 14, got married two days ago to an 18-year-old Lebanese. Rabia is happy for her sister. Life in the settlement is tough — the children have nowhere to play, the bathing is poor and sexual abuse is out of control. You can’t blame parents — often confused, illiterate and poor — who want to marry off their daughters. They fear for their safety.
Increasing numbers of Rabia’s girlfriends are getting married. Once in rural Syria, a girl got married at 16. According to UNICEF, the age is now dropping to 12 or 13. It is no secret that Lebanese men want to marry Syrian refugee girls, who work hard and don’t ask for anything. Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. |
| C．A history book. | D．A travel magazine. |
The underlined word “shift” in Para. 3 probably refers to ______.
| A．the extra task | B．the low pay |
| C．the potato factory. | D．the working period |
The writer's purpose for writing Para. 4 is to ______.
| A．present the dream of Rabia |
| B．show the damage of the war |
| C．predict the future of Syrian girls |
| D．compare the life before war and now |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I was a very luck girl. Many girls didn’t know they could participate or even be good at sports, but I never needed to be told that because I grew up with my grandmother who was a great Olympian. Even today, many girls need that extra nod in sports, but where can they get it?
Winners Never Quit by Mia Hamm This picture book has a great message about how important attitude is in sports. I especially love the main character who is a child. This makes little girls and boys find themselves in similarly frustrating situation. You will find yourself saying “Winners Never Quit” a lot reading this book. |
Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey This book takes the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and personalizes it for young readers. Many young girls who love sports more than princess will like the main character and hopefully understand her desire to do what she loves. |
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull It’s a true story of Wilma Rudolph, an African-American Olympian who, despite having polio(小儿麻痹) as a child, became the first American woman ever to win three gold medals at one Olympic Games. What did Wilma have in her corner? Not much more than great determination. This story is incredibly inspiring and the illustrations(插图) by David Diaz bring the amazing facts straight to your heart. |
Basketball Belles by Sue Macy This book is set in 1896 and the attractive illustrations by Matt Collins take readers back to that time. The author takes you back into that gymnasium and makes you see not only how amazing that first game was for those devoted women who played in it, but also how important it was to all the women that have played basketball ever since. |
What do we know about Winners Never Quit?
| A．Its story happened in ancient times. |
| B．It shows sport isn’t always easy for children. |
| C．It tells the story of a successful adult player. |
| D．It mainly attracts girls who desire to be successful. |
The main character who may play basketball was written by ______.
| A．Mia Hamm | B．Shana Corey |
| C．Kathleen Krull | D．Sue Macy |
What do the four books have in common?
| A．They are all picture books intended for teenagers. |
| B．They all contain knowledge about the Olympics. |
| C．They all inspire girls to participate in sports. |
| D．They are all about modern sports players. |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
This March is a busy month in Shanghai. There’s a lot to do. Here are the highlights.
Live Music—Late Night Jazz
Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet player. He’s coming with his new 7-piece band, Herbie’s Heroes. Herbie is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t expect to get much sleep. This is Herbie’s third visit to Shanghai. The first two were sold out, so get your tickets quickly.
Scottish Dancing
Take your partners and get ready to dance till you drop. Scottish dancing is fun and easy to learn.
Instructors will demonstrate the dances. The live band, Gordon Stroppie and the Weefrees, are also excellent.
Exhibitions—Shanghai Museum
There are 120,000 pieces on show here. Your can see the whole of Chinese history under one roof. It’s always interesting to visit, but doubly so at the moment with the Egyptian Tombs exhibition. There are lots of mummies and more gold than you’ve ever seen before. Let us know if you see a mummy move!
ining –Sushi chef in town
Sushi is getting really big in Shanghai. In Japan, it’s become an art form .The most famous Sushi “artist” is Yuki Kamura . She’s also one of the few female chefs in Japan. She’ll be at Sushi Scene all of this month.
For a full listing of events, see our website.Suppose you are going to attend an activity at 8:00p.m. on Saturday, which one can you choose?
| A．Live Music—Late Night Jazz |
| B．Scottish dancing |
| C．Exhibitions—Shanghai Museum |
| D．Dining—Sushi chef in town |
Which of the following is true according to the advertisements?
| A．Scottish dancing is so interesting and easy that it never tires you out. |
| B．The performance given by the American jazz band won’t last long . |
| C．Sushi is not popular in Shanghai as it is a kind of Japanese traditional food. |
| D．It is more interesting to visit Shanghai Museum for the exhibits from Egypt. |
From the text we may learn that Kamura is _________.
| A．a cook | B．a waitress |
| C．an instructor | D．an artist |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen（氮）. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed. ”The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _______.
| A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning. |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World. |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas. |
| D．China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever. |
From the passage we know that _______.
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog. |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit. |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches. |
| D．about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century. |