Question

【题目】This day marks the rising of a new food startup, the first company to be financed entirely by the crowd, and of it every business thus relies on thousands of customers to grow. Lisa, 25, its main founder and CEO, believes it will be a path that will become increasingly popular, and ultimately will produce more thriving（繁荣的）businesses from the scratch.

“In the food industry, no venture capital (VC, 风险投资) will even look at you until you’ve hit a million in sales. As a fresh hand in business, unless you’re independently wealthy, you will likely need to raise some money before then,” Lisa complained. So few businesses approached VC firms at the beginning. It was no exception with her. Thus, she turned to a new financing tool at hand, crowdfunding, to raise money from the crowd who’d like to take a bet on her company.

But for a company, it didn’t make sense to seek investments when all they had was an idea and a few months of consumer testing data. The food market is extremely competitive. No investor would put money behind a totally unproven new super food product founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings. “But we had a story. And crowds love stories.” Lisa said delightedly. So she put together an online crowdfunding campaign, explaining how she began working with this amazingly nutritious plant in the Peace Corps and then started selling it in the U.S. to support the poor in the West Africa.

On the online platform where they were to raise the money, a friend convinced them to change their goal from $20,000 to $50,000. Lisa stayed up all night worrying they wouldn’t hit it. But they reached $24,000 in 24 hours and ended their funding with $53,000. Seeing the number, Lisa said, “Thank you! To my crowd and for your belief!”

【1】Why couldn’t Lisa get investments in a traditional way?

A. She lacked confidence in business.

B. Her food company was in poor condition.

C. VC demanded too much in choosing partners.

D. Consumers were not satisfied with her new products.

【2】According to the passage, crowdfunding ________.

A. ensures the investors a good return

B. aims to help badly managed companies

C. attracts more people to become investors

D. helps startups deal with money shortages

【3】The underlined word “twenty-somethings” refers to ________.

A. twenty impractical ideas B. young people over twenty

C. twenty inexperienced partners D. a company with twenty branches

【4】Which of the following best explains Lisa’s success?

A. Great minds think alike. B. Honesty is the best policy.

C. Many hands make light work. D. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】B

【4】C

【解析】文章讲述了一个年轻人丽莎，以一种众筹的方式筹集到一笔资金开创了自己的食品公司。

【1】C细节判断题。根据文章第二段中丽莎的话“在食品行业，只有你的销售额达到一百万，否则的话没有风险资本（VC、风险投资）会光顾你。作为一个新手，除非你非常富有，否则的话你只能在这之前自己筹集到一笔资金。”从中可知，VC在选择伙伴时要求很高。故选Ｃ。

【2】D细节理解题。第二段“she turned to a new financing tool at hand, crowdfunding, to raise money from the crowd who’d like to take a bet on her company.”及下文“The food market is extremely competitive. No investor would put money behind a totally unproven new super food product founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings.”可知，众筹资金帮助解决了资金短缺的问题。故选D。

【3】B猜测词义题。在第二段最后一句“So few businesses approached VC firms at the beginning. It was no exception with her. Thus, she turned to a new financing tool at hand, crowdfunding, to raise money from the crowd who’d like to take a bet on her company.”和下段中“No investor would put money behind a totally unproven new super food product founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings.”其中，the crowd与a bunch of 是同义词组。由此可知“twenty-somethings”是一群20多岁的年轻人。故选B。

【4】C推理判断题。文中的第二段“she turned to a new financing tool at hand, crowdfunding, to raise money from the crowd who’d like to take a bet on her company”第三段“No investor would put money behind a totally unproven new superfood product founded by a bunch of twenty-somethings.”及最后一段在网上发了个帖子来筹集资金，最终筹集到$53,000，最后丽莎说：“Thank you! To my crowd and for your belief!”可知，是众人的帮助她完成梦想。故选C。