Play it safe. Don’t take risks. High school is too early to make a difference. None of these criticisms were enough to stop me. I saw a real problem in the education system, and I wanted to deal with it. Some people pay over $70 an hour for private tutoring. My company charges less. I started my business only about four months ago, but I already have 11 tutors and make over $200 in revenue (收益) a week.
It started when someone contacted me and asked me to tutor her child for $15 an hour once a week. Friends began to take notice, and asked me where I got the part-time job — and that was when my eyes opened to the opportunity in front of me. I created a website, wrote a marketing plan and found qualified tutors who were friends of mine. We received an overwhelming response, with over 30 people requesting tutoring. As it progressed, I found my business knowledge limited. So I went to used book sales where I picked up lots of business textbooks.
The road to a successful business, however, was not easy. My partner didn’t respond to many of the people, so many potential clients were lost. Once I discovered what my partner was hiding from me, I immediately messaged each person personally saying I would get back to them soon, and I pointed them to our website. After a few weeks, word from mouth began to spread. Clients began coming to us, and we no longer had to advertise heavily.
You may be wondering why I started a business in the first place. It is a great way to show leadership experience, make money for yourself, and give you the opportunity to employ your classmates. While it is one of the riskiest things you can do, it is one of the most rewarding things. Leadership is one of the main qualities colleges look for, and the bravery and experience you show through starting a business shines through on applications.
1. What does the writer probably do?A.He is probably a student. | B.He is probably a teacher. |
C.He is probably a client. | D.He is probably a salesman. |
A.attending a class | B.listening to lectures |
C.finding a partner | D.reading business books |
A.Reliable. | B.Dishonest. | C.Determined. | D.Responsible. |
A.His advice on starting a company. |
B.His business plan in the near future. |
C.His motivation of starting a business. |
D.The process of applying for a college. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】If you live in New York, you can always come across a special sight-a public trash cans contain various colorful flowers.
They are the work of Lewis Miller, a designer who uses leftover flowers and plants from weddings and other events.
"They’re our flowers to New York,” said Irini Greenbaum, a designer. “That’s really the message- to gift flowers to New Yorkers for no other reason than to make them smile. If they're really early risers and they come while we’re making them, they ask us what it’s for, and we say, “It’s for you,
After finishing the job, they leave a sign near each of their colorful vases, so that curious people can search online and find more information about it.
A.The cans took like a giant vase. |
B.Some of them truly don't believe us. |
C.You should say “thank you” to the designer. |
D.Lewis came up with the idea in October 2016. |
E.Everything is paid for out of Lewis' own pocket. |
F.In fact, there are many preparations they have to make. |
G.People are not satisfied with what the designers have done. |
【推荐2】When I was young, I wondered why neighborhoods didn’t plant fruit trees to build community Later, my husband and I decided the right way to answer this question was to do it ourselves, so we began to fill our front yard with fruit trees, such as strawberries, pomegranates (石榴) and oranges.
Every crop (庄稼) brought us closer to neighbors and strangers. The food was an excuse to communicate. Kids in the neighborhood, including our sons, learned patience and gentle timing. When we had extra, we’d share it. Then, we received a powerful lesson:a gift hidden as a loss. Our first-ever crop of pomegranates had ripened (成熟), but at harvest (丰收), they were all gone, stolen in the middle of the night.
We were shocked, sad and angry. One of my friends had fun suggesting we post a sign to curse (诅咒) thieves who stole our fruit.
And suddenly, the lesson was clear. We did need a sign, but our sign would encourage sharing and community. Last fall, we had a larger crop of pomegranates. We posted a sign that read, “If you’d like one, please knock and introduce yourself and we’d be happy to cut one off the tree for you. Cutting saves the branches (枝条) and is good for future growth so we can continue to share with new friends like you. Thanks, the Green Family.” Out of eight pieces of fruit, one pomegranate was taken, and most others gifted to new friends.
This year, we planted three new fruit trees — a peach, a pear and a plum. Today, I am happy to role model generosity (慷慨,大方) for my young sons and to have been blessed (祈福) with the chance to provide an edible (可食的) front yard (院子) for others.
1. What was the author and her husband’s decision?A.To plant fruit trees in their front yard. |
B.To invite their neighbors to share fruits. |
C.To help their neighbors by planting fruit trees. |
D.To find the right answer to their neighbor’s question. |
A.provided food for the whole family |
B.satisfied the needs of her neighbors |
C.made her family lead a happier life |
D.offered a chance to get close to others |
A.was made at the request of her friends |
B.was quite effective in stopping thieves |
C.didn’t bring the author any new friends |
D.contained information about the Green Family |
A.Prevention is better than cure. |
B.Learning to share is important. |
C.Never judge a book by its cover. |
D.Good fences make good neighbors. |
As this series of stories shows, the paths to becoming a CEO may vary, but the people in that position share the qualities of commitment, work ethic (守则) and a strong desire for building something new.And every CEO take risks along the way—putting your life savings on the line to start a software company or leaving a big business to be one of the first employees at a startup.
I grew up in Minnesota, and learned how to be an entrepreneur (企业家) from my father, who has run a small business for almost 30 years.I went to Georgetown University and tried a lot of business activities in college with varying degrees of success.And I always had a dream job pattern: to walk to work, work for myself and build something for consumers.
I'm only 29, so it's been a quick ride to CEO.Out of college, I worked for AOL as a product manager, then moved to Revolution Health and ran the consumer product team.In mid-2007 I left Revolution Health and started LivingSocial with several other colleagues, where I became a CEO.
Career advice; Don't figure out where you want to work, or even what industry you'd like to work at.Figure out what makes you do so.What gives you a really big rush? Answer why you like things, not what you like doing...and then apply it to your work life.Also, just because you're graduating, don't stop learning.Read more books than you did in college.If you do, and they're not, you're really well-positioned to succeed in whatever you do.
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?
A.The author hasn't achieved his childhood ambition. |
B.The author thinks there is some easy way to become a CEO. |
C.The author had an ambition of becoming a CEO in his childhood. |
D.The author believes success stories of CEOs can be beneficial to everybody. |
A.try not to take risks |
B.stay in the same business |
C.have a strong sense of creativity |
D.save every possible penny |
A.His father had far-reaching influence on him. |
B.He used to run the consumer product team for AOL. |
C.His business activities at college ended up in more failure than success. |
D.He started LivingSocial when he was still a student of Georgetown University. |
A.Well begun is half done. |
B.One is never too old to learn. |
C.Time and tide wait for no man. |
D.Everything conies to him who waits. |
【推荐1】I’m 16. On a recent night, while I was busy thinking about important social issues, like what to do over the weekend and who to do it with, I overheard my parents talking about my future. My dad was upset not the usual stuff that he and Mom and, I guess, a lot of parents worry about like which college I’m going to, how far away it is from home and how much it’s going to cost. Instead, he was upset about the world his generation is turning over to mine, a world he fears has a dark and difficult future—if it has a future at all.
He sounded like this: “There will be a pandemic that kills millions, a devastating energy crisis, a horrible worldwide depression and a nuclear explosion set off in anger.”
As I lay on the living room couch, eavesdropping(偷听) on their conversation, starting to worry about the future my father was describing, I found myself looking at some old family photos.
There was a picture of my grandfather in his Citadel uniform. He was a member of the class of 1942, the war class. Next to his picture were photos of my great-grandparents, Ellis Island immigrants. Seeing those pictures made me feel a lot better. I believe the world my generation grows into is going to get better, not worse. Those pictures helped me understand why.
I considered some of the awful things my grandparents and great-grandparents had seen in their life times: two world wars, killer flu, a nuclear bomb. But they saw other things, too, better things: the end of two world wars, the polio(小儿麻痹症) vaccine, passage of the civil rights laws. They even saw the Red Sox won the World Series—twice.
I believe that my generation will see better things, too—that we will witness the time when AIDS is cured and cancer is defeated. I will see things as inconceivable to me today as a moon shot was to my grandfather when he was 16, or the Internet to my father when he was 16. Ever since I was a little kid, whenever I’ve had an awful day, my dad would put his arm around me and promise me that “tomorrow will be a better day.” I challenged my father once, “How do you know that?” He said, “I just do.” I believe him. My great-grandparents believed that, and my grandparents, and so do I.
1. On a recent night, the author’s dad was upset about ________.A.the high college tuition fees |
B.the coming dark and difficult future |
C.a different future for the author’s generation |
D.the long distance between the college and the author’s home |
A.Though the world was full of awful things, it would get better. |
B.If you open your heart, you will see that goodness is everywhere. |
C.People of different generations have every confidence in their future. |
D.The terrible things around us could be a threat to the future generation. |
A.However challenging life is, try to take control of it. |
B.Whether you believe or not, wonders will definitely happen. |
C.Whenever possible, never hesitate to challenge your parents. |
D.Whatever hardships you are suffering, you can expect a better future. |
A.Imperceptible. | B.Undebatable. |
C.Unimaginable. | D.Unacceptable. |
【推荐2】Doctors are known to be terrible pilots. They don’t listen because they already know it all. I was lucky: I became a pilot in 1970, almost ten years before I graduated from medical school. I didn’t realize then, but becoming a pilot makes me a better surgeon. I loved flying. As I flew bigger, faster planes, and in worse weather, I learned about crew resource management (机组资源管理), or CRM, a new idea to make flying safer. It means that crew members should listen and speak up for a good result, regardless of positions.
I first read about CRM in 1980. Not long after that, an attending (主治的) doctor and I were flying in bad weather. The controller had us turn too late to get our landing ready. The attending doctor was flying; I was safety pilot. He was so busy because of the bad turn, he had forgotten to put the landing gear (起落架) down. He was a better pilot —and my boss — so it felt unusual to speak up. But I had to: our lives were in danger. I put aside my uneasiness and said, “We need to put the landing gear down now!” That was my first real lesson in the power of CRM, and I’ve used it in operating room ever since.
CRM requires that the pilot/surgeon encourage others to speak up. It further requires that when opinions are from the opposite, the doctor doesn’t overreact, which might prevent fellow doctor from voicing opinions again. So when I’m in the operating room, I ask for ideas and help from others. Sometimes they’re not willing to speak up. But I hope that if I continue to encourage them, someday someone will keep me from “landing gear up”.
1. The author deepened his understanding of the power of CRM when ________.A.he saved the plane by speaking up | B.he was in charge of a flying task |
C.his boss landed the plane too late | D.his boss operated on a patient |
A.following flying requirements | B.overreacting to different opinions |
C.listening to what fellow doctors say | D.making a mistake that may cost lives |
A.CRM: A New Way to Make Flying Safe | B.Flying Makes Me a Better Doctor |
C.The Making of a Good Pilot | D.A Pilot — Turned Doctor |
【推荐3】At an outdoor restaurant, a cockroach(蟑螂)flew in and landed on a woman. She started screaming out of fear;with a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was spreading, as everyone in her group also got into a panic. The woman finally managed to flick the cockroach away but it landed on a man in the group who continued the drama. In the relay(接力赛)of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon a waitress who had rushed to their rescue.
The waitress stood firm, calmed herself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on her blouse. When she was confident enough, she grabbed it and threw it out of the restaurant.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, I started wondering: was the cockroach responsible for their funny behavior?If so, then why was the waitress not disturbed?She handled the situation to near perfection, without panic.
It was not the cockroach, but the inability of the customers to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed them. I realized that it was not the shouting of my children or my boss or my wife, but my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbed me.
It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturb me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam. More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
I understood. I should not react in life. I should always respond. The customers reacted, while the waitress responded. Reactions are always instinctive(本能的), while responses tend to be well thought out.
1. What happened in the outdoor restaurant?A.A cockroach was found in a woman's food and then a man found the same problem. |
B.A cockroach appearing in the restaurant caused a state of panic among the customers. |
C.The waitress had to apologize to the customers for a cockroach. |
D.A woman and a man were trying to rescue the waitress from the cockroach. |
A.Disturbance. | B.Success. |
C.Frustration. | D.Harmony. |
A.complain your delay |
B.feel upset and annoyed |
C.relax yourself by listening to music |
D.expect someone to clear the road right away |
A.Speak less, do more! |
B.Actions speak louder than words! |
C.Mind your manners while in a restaurant! |
D.Don't react just from your feelings; respond positively! |
【推荐1】It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away.
I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sat around the edge of a white bucket. How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond? I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf and stuck my feet into very large boots.
I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, save for my children. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.
The snow circling around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.
As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn’t some dragon slayer (屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children’s faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.
1. What was the author’s feeling when seeing all three chickens sitting around the bucket?A.incredible | B.worried |
C.shy | D.confident |
A.By searching for the white bucket. |
B.By wearing protective clothes. |
C.By following the sound of the hens. |
D.By shouting at the henhouse. |
A.The author’s children liked dragon slayers. |
B.The children watched their mother all the way. |
C.The author struggled to be a hero. |
D.The author enjoyed herself in the snow. |
A.Weather in extreme. | B.Hens in trouble. |
C.Kindness in need. | D.Hero in the snow. |
【推荐2】Like all cultural institutions, galleries and art fairs are adapting to a new reality.
Art Basel Hong Kong, Asia's biggest contemporary-art fair, was cancelled because of covid-19, but anyone he who had planned to visit last week could enjoy an experimental alternative: the viewing room. At the click of a keyboard) you could enter an overall view but private visual salon, without having to brave the airless Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
There, on one webpage, was Jeff Koons riffing(翻唱)on Botticelli's "Primavera" in a tribute to the history of painting at David Zwirner Gallery. Ota Fine Arts offered one collector the chance to acquire an "infinity(无限)room“, one of the most Instagrammed artworks of recent years- the creation of the fantasies, nonagenarian (九十多岁) Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. White Cube presented a large collection of international works by Andreas Gursky (German), Theaster Gates (American) and Beatriz Milhazes (Brazilian). But not every artist, gallery and form showed to equal advantage in this alternative fair. Not surprisingly, simple two-dimensional works in bright colours came across best No sculpture or conceptual art was included
Besides depth and texture, there are aspects of gallery hopping that a website is unlikely to copy. One is serendipity —the sense of wandering between artworks and encountering the unexpected. Another is sociability. Art is a communion between artist and viewer, but galleries and fairs are also places to swap opinions and share enthusiasms.
There are ways to compensate (or these inevitable(不可避免的)disadvantages. As they shut their physical doors, some of the world's nest galleries and museums are offering advanced interactive visits, 360 degree videos and walk around tours of their collections, all without queues and high ticket prices. One of the best is laid on by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; its tour allows visitors to view its Vermeers and Rembrandts, including the magnicent "Night Watch”, far more closely than would normally he possible. Another standout offering is from the Museu de Arte de SPaulo, which has an even broader collection. On its virtual platform, its pain tings, spanning 700 years, appear to be hanging in an open-plan space, seemingly hung on glass panels, or "crystal easels” as the. museum calls them, ideal for close-up inspection,
1. From the paragraph 3, we may knowA."Primavera" was originally painted by JeKoons |
B.“innity room” was the most popular artworks of recent years on social media |
C.White Cube displayed a great many works by artists from different nations |
D.Various paintings and statues showed on the webpage are well-received |
A.surprise | B.treasure | C.expectation | D.compromise |
A.To introduce some popular art show in the world. |
B.To show that there are some alternative ways to promote the display during covid-19 epidemic. |
C.To prove that paintings hung on glass panels can be ideal for close-up inspection, |
D.To release some information about some extraordinary art shows. |
A.Art beyond the internet. | B.Fascinating art. |
C.Art under covid-19. | D.gallery hopping |
【推荐3】The name Sahara comes from the Arabic word for “desert” or “steppe”. At 3.5 million square miles, an area roughly the size of the United States, the Sahara Desert in northern Africa is the largest desert in the world. It spans the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 130 F. But it can also be as low as 2.5 percent, the lowest in the world. Most of the Sahara receives less than five inches of rain per year, while large areas sometimes have no rainfall at all for years.
At the heart of the Sahara is the landlocked north African country of Niger. Here the sand dunes can be 100 feet tall and several miles long. Here sand plains stretch over an area larger than Germany where there is neither water nor towns. Yet sitting in the midst of the surrounding desert is the town of Bilma. Suddenly there are pools of clear water. Surprisingly, there are groves of date palms. Underground water resources, or oases(绿洲), sufficient to support irrigated(灌溉)agriculture are found in dry stream beds and depressions. Irrigation ditches run off a creek to water fields. Corn, ‘cassava, tea, peanuts:hot peppers, and orange, lime, and grapefruit trees grow in these fields. Donkeys and goats graze on green grass.
The Sahara of Niger is still a region where you can see a camel caravan of 500 camels tied together in loose lines as long as a mile, traveling toward such oasis towns. There a caravan will collect life-sustaining salt, which is mined from watery basins, and transport it up to 400 miles back to settlements on the edges of the desert. The round trip across the vast sands takes one month
1. This passage is mainly about___________.A.life in the Sahara | B.the deserts of Africa |
C.the town of Bilma. | D.the way camels travel |
A.less than five inches per year | B.less than ten inches per year |
C.less than twenty inches per year | D.zero |
A.a place where no one lives |
B.an area where winters are freezing |
C.an area that attracts many tourists |
D.a place of contrasts |
A.expert trainer | B.group traveling together |
C.railroad train | D.a small, fast sailing boat |
【推荐1】Completely avoiding the problem of supply shortages of things like hand sanitizer (消毒剂), a robot has been developed to kill viruses, bacteria, and other harmful germs from hospital floors and other surfaces. Sweetly named Robot Violet, it is proven to kill viruses—and can sanitize an entire hospital room in half the time it would take to do the same task using conventional “deep cleaning” approaches.
The long tube-like light looks like one you might see in a factory, but it floats around the room. Violet’s powers come from ultraviolet (紫外线的) rays shot at very short wavelengths. These break down the DNA in germs and stop them from being able to reproduce and can arrest the spread of germs, ideally including COVID-19, though they are still waiting for test results for the virus to see if the robot can officially be relied upon to remove it.
Many surfaces of various hospital equipment need to be washed by hand. Inventor Connor says his robot would greatly improve this cleaning process, allowing hospitals that are packed with patients to clean rooms and equipment without any human being present. “This system could reduce dependency on the use of chemical-based solutions, which may be effective but requires rooms to be emptied for several hours during sanitization, making them impractical for many parts of the hospital,” Connor said.
Ultraviolet rays are damaging to humans, so they cannot be used to sanitize hands or other areas of skin. To avoid unnecessary harm, an AI system automatically shuts off ultraviolet light if it finds that someone has moved in front of it. The team hopes to produce 50 units in the coming weeks—with their first robot possibly ready for duty by Easter.
If COVID-19 spreads like wildfire, hospitals will need all the innovations like this to prevent it. “We are very happy with the progress we are making,” Connor added.
1. The Robot Violet is designed to_____________.A.solve the problem of labor force shortage |
B.prevent the global spread of COVID-19 |
C.kill viruses in hospitals more efficiently |
D.avoid people being infected with viruses |
A.By using chemical sanitizer. | B.By sending out ultraviolet rays. |
C.By giving off short waves. | D.By keeping the rooms empty. |
A.Hospitals are in desperate need of sanitization supplies. |
B.Doctors use new equipment to fight against COVID-19. |
C.Medical Al system is making rapid and steady progress. |
D.New robots with ultraviolet light are used to kill viruses. |
【推荐2】In this semester, Professor Van Rijnsoever of Utrecht University of the Netherlands is to teach “Dutch Culture in the World”, in English.
The language is the university’s choice. Actually sixty percent of masters’ programs at Utrecht University are in English. At higher degrees' level, no courses are taught in Dutch at all.
Utrecht is not alone.
The University of Eindhoven has even completely kicked the Dutch language out of its campus. Even the sandwiches in the stores there are sold as cheese rather than with the Dutch word “kaas”.
As a result, the Netherlands has one of the world’s highest levels of English proficiency (流利)among non-native speaking countries, second only to Sweden.
But not everyone is happy with that .
“I don't mind. Most of the literature is in English,” says Professor Van Rijnsoever. “As a teacher it’s not that much of a problem because we also do research in English. For the students, you see they are struggling to express themselves properly.”
He added “We aren’t as good at English as they think we are. We shouldn’t use a weaker language in education. If we use just English in higher education, Dutch will get worse. We add a bit of English and we lose a bit of Dutch. We cannot master Dutch and English at the same time.”
Actually, English is so widely used in Dutch universities that a group of lecturers are worried about a possible “linguicide” and demanded that the universities stop creating more courses in English until an official research has been carried out.
“Dutch is our mother tongue. Our culture is based on Dutch,” says Annette de Groot, a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam. “What would happen to our identity(身份)if our mother tongue is no longer the main language of higher education?”
“It is high time for an honest debate.” said a teacher from the University of Erasmus.
1. Which university teaches all its courses in English?A.Utrecht. | B.Eindhoven. | C.Amsterdam. | D.Erasmus. |
A.The highest level of English proficiency in the Netherlands. |
B.The teaching of “Dutch Culture in the World" in English. |
C.The kick out of the Dutch language from all schools. |
D.The widespread use of English in the Dutch universities. |
A.The all- English courses might weaken the mastery of Dutch. |
B.Students can learn two languages equally well at the same time. |
C.The stress on English can help the spread of Dutch culture. |
D.The students of Utrecht are happy with the all-English courses. |
A.The birth of a language. | B.The loss of one’s cultural identity. |
C.The war between cultures. | D.The popularity of a language. |
【推荐3】Could it be your after-dinner coffee that keeps you awake at night? Perhaps you are one of those people who simply can’t take coffee in the evening, because the caffeine(咖啡因)in it makes you excited. Coffee with caffeine does make some people restless, just when they want to go to sleep. So, before you rush to the doctor for “something to make you sleep”, change over to H.A.G.—a new kind of caffeine—free coffee, the nicest coffee so far. This kind of coffee is made by modern scientific methods and has come to the perfection for the greatest pleasure that drinking good coffee gives, but without any harmful effects. H.A.G. is the coffee that continental people, who are such great coffee drinkers, have been taking in the evenings for over 50 years. Make your choice of H.A.G.. Enjoy good coffee and good sleep. Health food stores and most groceries have H.A.G. coffee. If there is any difficulty, send (with your name and address) for free sample(样品)from the A.A. SUPPLY CO. LTD. 31/32 Priory Park Road, London, N. W. 6.
1. Reading it, we can know that the massage is about ________ of a new kind of coffee.A.an advertisement | B.an instructions |
C.the use | D.good effect |
A.it can help people to have a good sleep |
B.it has been used by continental people for over 50 years |
C.it has no caffeine in it and has no bad effect |
D.it can make people happy and excited |
A.take less ordinary coffee | B.take ordinary coffee with H. A. G. |
C.take a lot of H. A. G. coffee | D.try some H. A. G. coffee |
A.If you want to try some H. A. G. coffee, you can ask for free sample from the company. |
B.The writer of passage suggests that the readers should use H. A. G. coffee. |
C.You can get H. A. G. coffee only in health food stores. |
D.The writer tells us that H. A. G. coffee is better than other coffee. |