It was once unheard-of to be a businessman in China. Nowadays, though, it’s quite common to become your own boss. Let’s say you have an idea. Maybe you want to open an English school or sell Japanese comics. First, you need a business plan. It sets out what you’ll sell and how much everything will cost. Most businesses that fail didn’t have this. If you need to borrow money at the start, banks will ask for a detailed plan.
The best starting place for a business plan is the 4Ps: product, place, price and promotion. All these must be strong to be successful.
□Product
Your product must have something unique. What makes it special compared to other similar products? If you want to start a noodle shop that has nothing new, don’t expect people to show much interest. You can research your product. For food, let people try it for free. For toys, let a few children play with them to see if they like them.
□Place
There’s no point having a product that people want to buy if your shop is in an empty mall. Think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. Where do they usually go shopping? When looking at possible places, spend the day there. See how many people pass by. Also, are there other shops nearby selling similar products? If so, how can you be better than them?
□Price
Work out how much it costs to make or provide your product. As a general rule, your price will be double the cost. After all, you’re also paying for rent, staff and you need to eat too!
□Promotion
How can you attract people to your shop? Advertising in newspapers and on TV is expensive. Perhaps you can get free advertising by getting a newspaper to write about your business.What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．How to start a business. |
| B．Starting a business soon. |
| C．Starting your own business. |
| D．Preparations for starting a business. |
According to the author, the reason why most businesses fail is due to lack of ________.
| A．a business plan | B． a shop | C． money | D．successful businessmen |
If you want to start a noodle shop, you should ________.
| A．expect people to show much interest |
| B．research your noodles |
| C．let people try it at a low price |
| D．let children have a try |
What does “If so” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．There are shops selling the goods like yours. |
| B．Many people pass by. |
| C．You should think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. |
| D．You should spend the day on possible places. |
You are selling toys to children. It costs 5 yuan to make each one. How much should you charge the children for each toy?
| A．15 yuan. | B． 5 yuan. | C． 10 yuan. | D． 50 yuan. |
“I say, I’m pleased to see you,” said the little man standing by the letter-box.
“Oh, hello,” I said, remembering he was a new neighbor. “Simpson, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.” He seemed quite pleased by my ready recognition.
“I wonder if you could lend me some money,” he continued. “My wife gave me a letter to post, and I’ve just noticed it isn’t stamped.”
“yes, they never are,” I said, sympathetically（同情地）.
“It must go tonight—it really must! I’d get stamps out of the machine,” explained Simpson,” Only I find I have no small change about me.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I haven’t either,” I said.
“Oh, dear, dear,” he said.
“Yes, well,” I said, intending to move off. But he looked so unhappy standing there with the blue unstamped envelope that I really hadn’t the heart to desert him.
So I took him to my house and found some pennies and gave them to him, who, in the most business like way, made a note of the loan in his pocket-book, and left. But soon he turned up again.
“I’m sorry I am a stranger round here and —well, I’m rather lost…”
It took me several minutes to explain to him where the post office was. In the end I felt as lost as Simpson and had to accompany him to the post office, but, only to find the automatic stamp-machine was empty!
“Oh!” Simpson was so desperate that he dropped the letter on the ground and when he picked it up there was a large black spot on its face.
“Dear me,” he said, “My wife told me to post it tonight. I’d better post it, if you know what I mean.”
I did know. Or, at least, I knew Mrs Simpson.
Then I got a good idea, “Post the letter unstamped—let the other man pay double postage on it in the morning. ” And he had to agree.
Finishing off our job, I took him home.
“I’m so grateful to you, really,” he said when we reached his home. “That letter—it’s only an invitation to dinner to Mr… Dear me!”
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing. Just something I’ve remembered.”
“What?”
But he didn’t tell me. He just opened his eyes and his mouth at me like a wounded gold- fish, murmured（低声说话）a “Good-night”, and went inside.
All the way home I was wondering what it was that he had remembered.
But I stopped wondering the next morning, when I had to pay the postman double postage for a blue envelope with a large black spot on its face.Simpson was very happy when the writer greeted him because ____.
| A．they were good friends |
| B．he had a very important letter to post |
| C．he saw somebody he could turn to at last |
| D．he didn’t expect the writer to recognize him instantly |
In the writer’s view, ____.
| A．the consequence would be very severe if Simpson didn’t obey his wife |
| B．wives never gave their husbands money to post a letter |
| C．it bothered him to lead Simpson to the post office |
| D．he was as foolish as Simpson |
What did Simpson suddenly remember when they got his home?
| A．His wife was waiting for him to return. |
| B．The letter was only an invitation to dinner. |
| C．The letter was just addressed to the writer. |
| D．It’s unfair for the other man to pay for the letter. |
How would the writer describe Simpson?
| A．Stupid and careless. | B．Careless but warm-hearted. |
| C．Optimistic and kind. | D．Cautious but stubborn. |
I can’t think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Some festivals are celebrated by an entire country, while others many be unique to a single city. Festivals play an important role in a certain culture. Just enjoy them!
Batalla del Vino—Haro, Spain
For many years, June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. Bring a bottle of wine and prepare to be washed in red wine in the heart of Spain’s grape-growing area. After a church ceremony, crowds flock（集结）to the hills for the battle, where white shirts will be made bright purple by the end of the morning.
Bay to Breakers—San Francisco, California
Created after the terrible 1906 earthquake as a way of encouraging people, the race has become one of the region’s most important events. Held every year on the third Sunday of May, the race runs through the city from the Bay to the Pacific Breakers. The real highlight, however, is the thousands of people dressed up in a show.
Pillow Fight Day—Worldwide
These events are organized mainly through the Internet. Tens of thousands of people participated in the 4th annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 2,2013. From London to Vancouver to many other cities, the festivals were held in more than 100 countries. So just bring a soft pillow in early April, and watch feathers flying.
Koninginnedag— The Netherlands
Although their Queen’s birthday is really during the winter, she celebrates it on April 30th — the country’s official “Queen’s Day” since 1949.
Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of shining wigs（假发）and body paints, as crowds gather in the squares and on boats in the canals. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.People celebrated Batalla del Vino by ____.
| A．wearing bright purple shirts |
| B．pouring wine onto others’ white shirts |
| C．flocking to the hills after a ceremony |
| D．holding a drinking wine competition |
The underlined word “highlight” in the passage means ____.
| A．the most exciting part | B．the brightest part |
| C．the highest part | D．the hardest part |
Which of the festivals has the shortest history?
| A．Batalla del Vino. | B．Bay to Breakers. |
| C．Pillow Fight Day. | D．Koninginnedag. |
Which of the statements is NOT true?
| A．June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. |
| B．The race is held every year to encourage people. |
| C．Pillow Fight Day is held in more than 100 countries. |
| D．The Queen of the Netherlands was born on April 30th. |
Education is another area where the presence of arts and crafts is more than welcome. If children realize the importance of art and creativity from a young age, they can grow up to be more confident, more creative, and definitely more mature. Schools are the breeding（孕育）grounds for future painters and movie makers, and these arts should be encouraged wholesomely in such an environment.
Sadly, many parents do not understand why art is important for children, and subconsciously（潜意识地）force them to follow career paths that are common and conformist（墨守成规的）in nature. This is fair enough in its own way, because the world does need some standard blue collar and white collar jobs to continue its existence; but this is a choice that children should be allowed to make for themselves. The doors to creativity and expression must not be shut in their faces, even if it comes at a cost of making more money.
To put it more scientifically, here are some benefits of kids’ art activities that give a suitable answer to the question “Why is art important in schools?”
1.Exposure to art, music and drawings at an early age improves the amount of brain activity in children.
2.It increases the span of knowledge in the minds of children, thus making them sharper and more educated.
3.It builds up the levels of self-confidence, self-esteem（自尊）, motivation, cooperation and communication in children.
4.It helps children understand other people’s opinions and points of view as well.
5.It helps them sharpen their problem-solving skills, decision-making and gives them the possibility of really exploring their imaginations.According to the passage, it is generally accepted that ____.
| A．art plays a very important role in education of children |
| B．children are expected to be blue-collar or white-collar workers |
| C．schools should encourage children to learn arts and crafts |
| D．children should be allowed to make choices for themselves |
The writer holds the view that ____.
| A．schools should only bring up future painters and movie makers |
| B．children grow up to be more confident and more creative in schools |
| C．children should be encouraged to learn art to develop their creativity |
| D．art activities can help children solve all the problems they meet with |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Arts and crafts lessons are very popular in schools. |
| B．Art is not paid enough attention to in schools now. |
| C．Art activities improve the amount of brain activity. |
| D．Art education builds up the levels of self-confidence. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Importance of Art in Schools. |
| B．Relation between Art and Creativity. |
| C．Importance of Education. |
| D．Future of Children. |
Paul Salopek is an old-fashioned explorer, setting out on foot to circle the world. He is also a modern-day explorer. On top of a few clothes, a small first-aid kit and notebooks, he is carrying a recorder, a video camera, a small computer and a satellite phone—a telephone that connects to a satellite and can be used in many places where cell-phones don’t work.
The journey is long 21,000 miles! It will take seven years to complete it.
Salopek was born in California and spent his childhood in Mexico. He says he has always liked to travel and doesn’t like to rush. At the age of fourteen, he climbed Moun. Whitney in California and crossed the state’s Sierra Nevada Mountains alone. When he was fifteen years, he walked the length of Death Valley. He once rode a mule 2,000 miles through mountains in Mexico.
A longtime reporter, Salopek has reported from Africa, Asia and Mexico. Now 51 years old, he plans to keep writing. As he travels around the world, he is writing stories about the people he meets and the way they live. He looks for how people find local solutions to big problems such as lack of food and water. He also records the sounds he hears and takes photos of the sky and the Earth’s surface.
The long walk started in the Rife Valley in Ethiopia in East Africa. Many consider East Africa to be home to the first humans, who lived 160,000 years ago.
Salopek is retracing the paths our ancestors took as they left Africa and settled in parts of the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas. As Salopek is walking, he is learning more about himself and all of humankind.The underlined phrase “on top of” in the first paragraph can be replaced by ____.
| A．in addition to | B．in the light of |
| C．in reference to | D．in the service of |
The author develops the third paragraph mainly by ____.
| A．providing examples |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．making a careful analysis |
| D．following the order of time |
According to the passage, Paul Salopek is a ____.
| A．doctor who likes carrying the small first-aid kit |
| B．writer who likes traveling, exploring and studying |
| C．journalist who likes traveling, exploring, writing and studying |
| D．photographer who is good at using satellite communication equipment |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Paul Salopek Reflecting People’s Real Lives |
| B．Paul Salopek Following Man’s First Footsteps |
| C．Paul Salopek Going for a Seven-year Study |
| D．Paul Salopek Looking back upon the Childhood |
Your best friend is possibly the most important person in your life. But sometimes friendship’s road is not always smooth, or it’s a total dead end. What do you do when this happens?
Scenario(设想) 1: Drifting Apart(渐行渐远)
You’ve found that your friend no longer wants to jog (慢跑)with you. She’d rather hit the chat rooms, or she’s become crazy about hanging with her new interest.
It’s a bummer when old friends start having less in common. But it might still be worth trying to get into your friend’s new interest, trying something new on your own, or meet some new folks who like doing the things you enjoy. Another thing to try is talking to your friend about it- in a non-this-is-your-fault(过错) way. The goal is telling how you feel, not “winning”.
Scenario 2: Fights
“Yes, he is.” “No, he isn’t.” the argument could continue forever.
No matter how sure you are that you’re right, friendship is based on RESPECT. Since you and your friend aren’t clones(克隆), you will disagree sometimes! Is it worth fighting over? If it is trivial(无价值的), why not give it up? Agree to disagree(保留不同意见) and get on well with life. Even if you’ll never agree, try to see the other person’s viewpoint. At least honor his right to have his own opinions. Never get physical. Violence can make a small problem into a disaster.
Scenario 3: End of the Road
Is the friendship over? If you are not the one ending it, it feels as if a knife cut your heart into pieces. But the thing is that you can’t force someone to be your friend. Give yourself time. But don’t freeze in a looking-back, holding pattern(模式). Be open to new friendship. You never know when the “best friend forever” will come along.The underlined word “bummer” in the third paragraph can be replaced by “________ thing”.
| A．normal | B．common |
| C．unpleased | D．guilty（负疚的） |
You are advised not ______ when your friend reduced communication with you.
| A．develop the same interest as our friend does |
| B．blame（责怪） your friend for not being as friendly to you as before |
| C．give in to the friend who has hurt your feeling deeply |
| D．stick to the friendship that was built up in the past |
In the writer’s opinion, showing disagreement ______________.
| A．will surely lead to the end of a long friendship |
| B．shows that you don’t respect your friend |
| C．is natural and normal behavior of human being |
| D．means you have nothing in common with your friend. |
The purpose of the passage is to teach you ________________.
| A．how to mend a broken friendship |
| B．how to keep a long friendship |
| C．what to do when a friendship changes |
| D．what to do to win new friends |