Several years ago, my family gathered on Cape Cod for a weekend．My parents were there, my sister and her daughter too, two cousins and, of course, my wife, my son and me．We ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard held by a friendly waiter and had a wonderful time．With dinner concluded, the waiter set the check down in the middle of the table．That's when it happened．My father did not reach for the check．
In fact, my father did nothing．Conversation continued．Finally it dawned on me．Me!I was supposed to pick up the check．After all these years, after hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with the dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check and pulled out my American Express card．My view of myself was suddenly changed．With a stroke of the pen, I was suddenly an adult．
Some people mark off their life in years, others in events．I am one of the latter, and I think of some events as rites of passage．I did not become a young man at a particular year like 13, but when a kid strolled into the store where I worked and called me“mister”, I turned around to see whom he was calling．He repeated it several times－“mister, mister”－looking straight at me．The realization hit like a punch：Me!He was talking to me．I was suddenly a mister．
(1)
My father did not reach for the check because ________．
[ ]
A．
it was in the middle of the table
B．
I was no longer a child
C．
he had no money with him
D．
he did not notice the check
(2)
The underlined part“it dawned on me”in the second paragraph means ________．
[ ]
A．
I understood
B．
it was my turn
C．
it surprised me
D．
I felt sorry
(3)
From the passage, we can infer that ________ paid for restaurant meals before．
[ ]
A．
I
B．
my mother
C．
my parents
D．
my father
(4)
The kid called me“mister”because ________．
[ ]
A．
I was respectable
B．
I was an adult male
C．
I worked in the store
D．
he knew me
(5)
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
Ten years ago, Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer working in California’s Silicon Valley, began thinking about how to use the internet for a trading system in which buyers and sellers could establish a genuine market price．Over a long holiday weekend he wrote the computer code．At first, a trickle of users arrived at his website－including his girlfriend, who traded PEZ candy dispensers．By the end of 1995, several thousand auctions had been completed and interest in eBay was growing．And it grew and grew．From this modest beginning, eBay has become a global giant, with around 150m registered users worldwide who are set to buy and sell goods worth more than ＄40 billion this year．
The remarkable tale of eBay’s growth points to some important lessons for any business trying to operate online－and today that includes, one way or another, most firms．The commercial opportunities presented by an expanding global web seem almost limitless．But the pace of change is rapid, and so is the ferocity of competition．To succeed, firms need agility, an open mind and the ability to reinvent themselves repeatedly．Most of all, they need to listen carefully to their customers, paying close attention to what they do and don’t want．
Such qualities, of course, would be valuable in any kind of business．Yet for online firms they are not a luxury, but necessary for mere survival．This is true for a variety of reasons．The internet is not only growing, but changing rapidly－which, in turn, changes the rules of the game for any business relying on it．The barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses, which means that just keeping track of your existing rivals is not enough．These may not represent the greatest competitive threat tomorrow or the next day．That could come from a number of directions－a firm in a different type of online business; one that does not yet exist; or even from one of your own customers．On top of all this, the behavior of many consumers is constantly changing as well, as individuals discover new ways to shop and interact with each other via the web．
All these factors make the internet a dangerous place to do business, as well as one full of promise．eBay’s history demonstrates both of those things．It is probably safe to say that nothing like eBay could have existed without the internet－or could have grown so fast．Even though there have been signs of the firm’s blistering pace slowing a bit in America, its most “mature” market, there remain vast opportunities overseas, particularly, some argue, in China．Meg Whitman, eBay’s chief executive, believes the company is still only at the beginning of what it could achieve．
(1)
What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
To introduce the founder of eBay and his girlfriend．
B．
To demonstrate how clever the founder of eBay is．
C．
To show how eBay started and has grown．
D．
To introduce eBay to people．
(2)
Which of the following best summarizes Pierre Omidyar’s intention with regard to eBay?
[ ]
A．
To set up a global internet business．
B．
To allow people to freely buy and sell on the internet at acceptable prices．
C．
To set up a mechanism on the internet to allow people to trade at true market prices．
D．
To se up a business mechanism for his girlfriend．
(3)
Which of these is it NOT necessary for a company selling on the internet to do?
[ ]
A．
Have the most competitive price for each of their online products．
B．
Be able to change to suit the prevailing market conditions．
C．
Be prepared to consider all options and alternatives．
D．
Have a good idea of what their customers do not want．
(4)
What does “barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses” in paragraph 3 mean?
[ ]
A．
It is easier to set up an internet business than a conventional one．
B．
Internet trade is growing faster than traditional business sector．
C．
It is cheaper to set up an internet business than a traditional one．
D．
Companies generally prefer to do business online rather than offline．
(5)
Why does the article conclude that the internet “is a dangerous place to do business”?
[ ]
A．
Because companies that sell online may be unreliable．
B．
Because there are no controls on doing business on the internet．
C．
Because doing business online is unpredictable．
D．
Because even companies like eBay have problems doing business online．
阅读理解
Ten years ago, Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer working in California’s Silicon Valley, began thinking about how to use the internet for a trading system in which buyers and sellers could establish a genuine market price．Over a long holiday weekend he wrote the computer code．At first, a trickle(细流)of users arrived at his website－including his girlfriend, who traded PEZ candy dispensers．By the end of 1995, several thousand auctions had been completed and interest in eBay was growing．And it grew and grew．From this modest beginning, eBay has become a global giant, with around 150m registered users worldwide who are set to buy and sell goods worth more than ＄40 billion this year．
The remarkable tale of eBay’s growth points to some important lessons for any business trying to operate online－and today that includes, one way or another, most firms．The commercial opportunities presented by an expanding global web seem almost limitless．But the pace of change is rapid, and so is the ferocity(残暴)of competition．To succeed, firms need agility, an open mind and the ability to reinvent themselves repeatedly．Most of all, they need to listen carefully to their customers, paying close attention to what they do and don’t want．
Such qualities, of course, would be valuable in any kind of business．Yet for online firms they are not a luxury, but necessary for mere survival．This is true for a variety of reasons．The internet is not only growing, but changing rapidly－which, in turn, changes the rules of the game for any business relying on it．The barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses, which means that just keeping track of your existing rivals is not enough．These may not represent the greatest competitive threat tomorrow or the next day．That could come from a number of directions－a firm in a different type of online business; one that does not yet exist; or even from one of your own customers．On top of all this, the behavior of many consumers is constantly changing as well, as individuals discover new ways to shop and interact with each other via the web．
All these factors make the internet a dangerous place to do business, as well as one full of promise．eBay’s history demonstrates both of those things．It is probably safe to say that nothing like eBay could have existed without the internet－or could have grown so fast．Even though there have been signs of the firm’s rapid pace slowing a bit in America, its most “mature” market, there remain vast opportunities overseas, particularly, some argue, in China．Meg Whitman, eBay’s chief executive, believes the company is still only at the beginning of what it could achieve．
(1)
What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
To introduce the founder of eBay and his girlfriend．
B．
To demonstrate how clever the founder of eBay is．
C．
To show how eBay started and has grown．
D．
To introduce eBay to people．
(2)
Which of the following best summarizes Pierre Omidyar’s intention with regard to eBay?
[ ]
A．
To set up a global internet business．
B．
To allow people to freely buy and sell on the internet at acceptable prices．
C．
To set up a mechanism on the internet to allow people to trade at true market prices．
D．
To se up a business mechanism for his girlfriend．
(3)
Which of these is NOT necessary for a company selling on the internet to do?
[ ]
A．
Have the most competitive price for each of their online products．
B．
Be able to change to suit the prevailing market conditions．
C．
Be prepared to consider all options and alternatives．
D．
Have a good idea of what their customers do not want．
(4)
What does “barriers to entry are still low compared with those for most offline businesses” in paragraph 3 mean?
[ ]
A．
It is easier to set up an internet business than a conventional one．
B．
Internet trade is growing faster than traditional business sector．
C．
It is cheaper to set up an internet business than a traditional one．
D．
Companies generally prefer to do business online rather than offline．
(5)
Why does the article conclude that the internet “is a dangerous place to do business”?
[ ]
A．
Because companies that sell online may be unreliable．
B．
Because there are no controls on doing business on the internet．
C．
Because doing business online is unpredictable．
D．
Because even companies like eBay have problems doing business online．
阅读理解
We have met the enemy and he i s our s．We bought him at a pet shop．When monkey-pox, a di sea se u sually found in the African rain fore st suddenly turn s up in children in the American Midwe st, it' s hard not to wonder of the di sea se that come s from foreign animal s i s homing in on human being s．“Mo st of the infection s we think of a s human infection s started in other animal s, ” say s Stephen Mor se, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedne s s at Columbia Univer sity．
It' s not ju st that we're going to where the animal s are; we're al so bringing them clo ser to u s．Popular foreign pet s have brought a whole new di sea se to thi s country．A strange illne s s killed I sak sen' s pet s and she now think s that keeping foreign pet s i s a bad idea, “I don't think it' s fair to have them a s pet s when we have such alimited knowledge of them．” say s I sak sen．
“Law s allowing the se animal s to be brought in from deep fore st area s without stricter control need changing．” say s Peter Schantz．Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call．Re searcher s believe infected animal s may infect their owner s．We know very little about the se new di sea se s．A new bug(病毒)may be kind at fir st．But it may develop into something harmful．Monkey-pox doe sn't look a major infectiou s di sea se．But it i s not impo s sible to pa s s the di sea se from per son to per son．
(1)
We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may ________．
[ ]
A．
come from Columbia
B．
prevent u s from being infected
C．
enjoy being with children
D．
suffer from monkey-pox
(2)
Why did I sak sen advi se people not to have foreign pet s?
[ ]
A．
Becau se they attack human being s．
B．
Becau se we need to study native animal s．
C．
Becau se they can't live out of the rain fore st．
D．
Becau se we do not know much about them yet．
(3)
What doe s the phra se “the wake－up call” in Paragraph 3 mo st probably mean?
[ ]
A．
A new di sea se．
B．
A clear warning．
C．
A dangerou s animal．
D．
A morning call．
阅读理解
My father made a deal with me that he would match whatever I could come up with to buy my fir st car．From the time I wa s a saver．My allowance, back in tho se day s, wa s twenty five cent s a week．I grew up on a farm near a small town called Ventura．In tho se day s the area wa s mo stly agricultural．The climate wa s and still i s a s clo se to perfect a s you could get．I earned some of my money picking one crop or another．When I wa s about ten, a school friend' s family owned walnut orchard s(果园)and it wa s harve st time．She told me we could earn five dollar s for every bag of walnut s we picked．I certainly learned about picking walnut s that day．Not surprisingly, that wa s my fir st and la st time a s a walnut picker．
In 1960 my grandmother pa s sed away．She left me 100 share s of AT＆T．One hundred share s of stock don't seem like much today but back then tho se share s paid me＄240 per year in dividend s(利息)．That wa s huge for a kid my age．
By the time I wa s seventeen．I had saved up ＄ 1, 300 and I knew exactly that I wanted．Ithink my father wa s somewhat suri sed when I announced I had saved up ＄ 1, 300 and wa s ready to buy my new car．I'll never forget the evening my father said, “Let' s go see about that car”．I wa s so excited．
My father could have ea sily ju st given me the car but he alway s in si sted that hi s children work for what they got．Thi s wa s not a bad thing．I learned self-reliance．Self-reliance i s equal to freedom．Now that I think about it I need to be thanking my father．
(1)
Which one of the following s didn't belong to the saving of ＄1, 300?
[ ]
A．
Weekly allowance．
B．
Her earning s by picking crop s．
C．
Share s left by grandma．
D．
Money earned from selling share s．
(2)
The underlined part in the second paragraph probably meant ________．
[ ]
A．
she didn't have the chance of picking walnut s
B．
enough money had been earned for her car
C．
the work wa s too hard for children like her
D．
she had no time to do that again for some rea son
(3)
We can know from the pa s sage the author got her car at the age of ________．
[ ]
A．
16
B．
17
C．
18
D．
19
(4)
The purpo se of the author' s father doing like that wa s to ________．
