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题型:阅读理解-七选五 难度:0.4 引用次数:125 题号:18812588

Elon Musk’s start-up was an internet company called Zip2 on his father’s investment (投资).     1     Things got so bad for Elon at one point that the only bed he could afford was the couch in their start-up’s office. However, he eventually found some investors who saw promise in the company and its useful city guide mapping software. In 1999, he sold the company for $307 million.

After selling the company, Musk earned 22 million dollars. He went on to invest that money into his next venture. It was a financial services company he co-founded called X.com.         2     Just three years after starting up X.com, lining it up with PayPal.com, he sold it off to eBay for $1.5 billion.

Thanks to eBay, Musk’s net worth would grow to be $123 million. At this point Musk could’ve retired early and lived happily ever after.     3     Musk invested most of the newfound millions into two companies. One of them was Tesla Motors, an electric transportation.     4    

    5     And his commitment paid off. Tesla, is now one of the most valuable companies in the world and SpaceX is worth near $100 billion.

A.And this is what Musk actually did.
B.But that’s not how legends are made.
C.This time he was favored by good fortune.
D.The second one was Solarcity, a solar energy company.
E.That was a time when Musk had to struggle financially.
F.Musk poured his money, blood, sweat, and tears into both companies.
G.The other was SpaceX, a company on commercial space exploration.
【知识点】 商业人物

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阅读理解-七选五(约290词) | 较难 (0.4)

【推荐1】For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans.     1    Whether they are worn for work or for fashion today. Strauss' invention continues to be popular not only among Americans but also among people around the world.

Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829.     2     He grew up in Kentucky before moving to New York in 1847. Before becoming an American citizen and moving to the West in 1853, Strauss worked in his brother's dry goods business. This gave him a chance to produce his famous invention. After the gold rush of 1949, Strauss decided to move to the West to seek his fortunes.   

Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals. Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners. At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth.     3    When he heard miners complaining that their clothes were easily broken or they usually tore their pockets during mining, he decided to use a special fabric to make pants for the miners. These pants proved so popular that he quickly ran out of materials to make more.

In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets(铆钉).This made the pants last a long time. Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent.     4       

The business has been growing ever since and Levi Strauss' company is now one of the largest clothing companies in the world.   

By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion.     5    

A.As a young boy, he moved with his family to the United States.
B.Nobody knew what kind of material was suitable.
C.He did and Levi jeans have been made with metal rivets ever since.
D.However, he did not get much business for those products.
E.He also made a great contribution to America's clothing industry.
F.Since they were invented by Levi Strauss, they have become a symbol of American consumer culture.
G.As the business grew, Strauss got much money from it.
2021-11-24更新 | 111次组卷
阅读理解-阅读单选(约350词) | 较难 (0.4)
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【推荐2】Eldon Musk, the entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and Space X, may have a little more time on his hands, as he's leaving his position on the board of the Open AI, according to a blog post.

The departure is likely the result of Tesla's moving into the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which he said in 2017 would be the “best in the world” and would even be able to “predict your destination.” Musk will continue to “donate and advise the organization,” Open AI said in a blog post on Feb. 20, adding that “As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will avoid a potential future conflict for Eldon.”

Musk and Y Combiner CEO Sam Altman co-founded the nonprofit enterprise in December 2015, its mission is to develop safe artificial general intelligence and ensure those developments are made public. Open AI researchers published a paper on the site ArXiv. org, detailing the possible secure threats that come with “malicious” AI. In fact, Musk has heard the “evil AI” alarm several times. On Aug. 11, 2017, he warned that artificial intelligence poses a bigger threat to humanity, and he told a gathering of state governors that the government needs to regulate AI before robots start “killing people.”

Musk's departure from the Open AI board could mean big things for Tesla. As Eton Goodbye, a financial reporter, noted on Futurism, the move “could signal that Tesla is more deeply committed to their own AI projects than we thought.” He added, “Those who have had their ears to any rumors (谣言) that Tesla is ready to deliver vehicles capable of Level 5 autonomy could take this new Open AI development as a sign that the company is inching closer to that unapproachable goal.” No company has reached that level of autonomy, which means that a driverless car could navigate any road under any conditions and that all the human “driver” would need to do is to input a destination.

1. Why does Eldon Musk leave his position?
A.To create safer AI.
B.To build powerful Internet.
C.To develop social communication.
D.To avoid a possible conflict with Tesla.
2. What is the Eldon Musk's attitude towards the AI?
A.Ambiguous.
B.Supportive.
C.Negative.
D.Sympathetic.
3. What does the underlined word “malicious” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Advanced.
B.Unpopular.
C.Poisonous.
D.Traditional.
4. What can we infer from Eton Goodbye's comments?
A.Level 5 autonomy is impossible.
B.The rumors about Tesla is meaningless.
C.He has no confidence in Open AI.
D.Level 5 autonomy could set human drivers free.
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【推荐3】Ingvar Kamprad, who started IKEA as a teenager, died at the age of 91. He built one of the world’s biggest furniture companies.

There are two aspects of modern life that we have IKEA to thank for: flat-pack (平板包装) furniture and a shop layout.

IKEA first brought out its flat-pack furniture in the 1950s. Whether you love or hate this concept, it was a stroke of genius and an effective way of making the masses value the brand. Obvious aspects of it are cost-efficiency and the practicality of shipping.

When IKEA made the switch away from selling furniture that was already assembled, it was most likely unaware of how it would influence its consumers. Yet scientists have since managed to explain why consumers simply can’t get enough of building their own furniture. The simple act of touching products can increase your overall perceived (感知到的) value of the product. Couple this with the fact that the more effort a consumer has put into building something the more they like it.

Tests have shown that the actual act of putting something together (even though there may be sweat and tears involved) so that it becomes a complete object produces a much more favorable perception of that object than one would get from purchasing it in a complete form. The phenomenon is known as the IKEA effect. This effect is further improved by the fact that touch itself is related to emotion. This means that when we touch something the emotive part of our brain is activated so that we experience a close connection with the product emotionally. Thus, the happy assembler of that flat pack will, once finished, feel proud of their achievement and experience feelings of being closely connected to the item.

The layout of the IKEA store has also paved the way for a more creative way of thinking about how to guide customers. If you have ever visited one of its huge warehouse (仓库) stores, you may have gone in thinking you were going to buy a few items, only to find yourself coming out of the store with a shopping cart full of things. This is because of its circular design and one-way system. This design means                                 you often can’t see what is coming next and fear you will miss something if you don’t continue all the way along the path.

IKEA’s creative ability to tap into the unconsciousness of consumers is undoubtedly a big part of its success — and also why it’s been copied by many other companies. Even though Ingvar Kamprad is no longer with us, IKEA has inherited from him a spirit of thinking outside the box to communicate with consumers. It will be interesting to see what follows next.

1. What can we learn about Ingvar Kamprad?
A.He preferred to sell furniture rather than produce it.
B.He set up IKEA with the help of a couple of psychologists.
C.He was aware that his ideas would influence customers and other companies.
D.His idea of flat-pack furniture has made his company popular with the public.
2. The underlined word “assembled” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “_______”.
A.packed upB.ordered beforehand
C.fit togetherD.torn apart
3. What is the key to IKEA effect?
A.Offering an opportunity to test products.B.Arousing a sense of familiarity.
C.Adding some additional value.D.Providing better after-sales service.
4. What’s the special feature of the IKEA stores in design?
A.Flat-packed products.B.Large-sized layout.
C.Free-accessed shopping.D.Round-shaped route.
5. The layout of the IKEA stores is aimed to _______.
A.meet people’s needsB.promote its own sales
C.catch others’ imaginationD.improve the shopping experience
6. What’s the author’s attitude towards IKEA’s business philosophy?
A.Positive.B.Critical.
C.Doubtful.D.Ambiguous.
2021-09-05更新 | 90次组卷
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