1 . Andy Kong has worked very hard to get to where he is today. He credits becoming a millionaire by 20 to his strict Asian parents who tutored him at a young age by working for the family.
Kong, of Danville, Virginia, started working when he was only nine. English wasn’t a strong suit for Andy’s parents, and that’s where he was able to assist his family the most. After school and on weekends he would help out at their family-owned restaurant and nail salons. Not only did he do the labor work, but he was also involved in creating online ads. This was his introduction to the world of online business.
Andy started his Amazon business in the eighth grade. When he learned about Amazon Dropshipping (代发货模式) from a kid he saw on Instagram, he got inspired and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the store eventually got shut down because he was impatient with the growth. Instead of considering it a failure, he viewed this experience as a life lesson and learned from his mistakes. Meanwhile, his parents never stopped trying to talk him into focusing on school and their retail business.
“The biggest challenge when starting a business is getting someone to believe in you,” Andy says. He pushed through and did things for himself even when his loved ones discouraged it.
In 2019, Andy met his now business partners, and together, they created an Amazon management company called Project WiFi. This Project has proven to be extremely successful. They currently help over 55 clients run their online businesses, and plan to help many more in the future.
When asked about the secret to his success, Andy says, “Learning to sacrifice whether that’s family, friends, or soccer game for a single goal is the only way to succeed, rather than attempting multiple things. If it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing well with no shortcuts.”
1. Why did Andy work in his parents’ shops at a young age?| A．Because he could earn some pocket money. |
| B．Because his parents weren’t fluent in English. |
| C．Because his parents could help with his study. |
| D．Because he could get access to the Internet. |
| A．A new online business model. | B．Results of working impatiently. |
| C．Difficulties in Andy’s career. | D．Andy’s tense family relationship. |
| A．His early working experiences. | B．Lessons learned from his failures. |
| C．Gaining other people’s trust. | D．Focusing on the thing you choose. |
| A．Committed and generous. | B．Open-minded and motivated. |
| C．Creative and faithful. | D．Hard-working and sociable. |
1. What is the woman’s opinion about her idea of the online business?
| A．It’s unique. | B．It’s practical. | C．It’s challenging. |
| A．To see their works. |
| B．To look for inspiration. |
| C．To do business with them. |
| A．Offer free delivery. | B．Charge a small fee. | C．Give a discount. |
| A．It’s luxury. | B．It’s of good quality. | C．It’s environmentally friendly. |
3 . Known as the birthplace of hip-hop, the South Bronx in New York City is a global center for music and art. However, it also suffers from poverty and pollution. Heavy trucks deliver unwanted construction waste to sorting stations, which then transfer waste to distant landfills.
Just graduating from college and working for an environmental group, Omar started to think about redirecting waste to those in need. He wondered, “Instead of destroying things like old doors, why not make this business a ‘cooperative’, which means people who work in the business own it and share the profits?”
Omar decided to start his business. He handed out flyers (小传单) along the truck-jammed, waste-filled streets to find individuals with similar ideas and interests to join him. Eventually, Omar found four workers and secured a warehouse. They reached out to relevant people, offering to remove items from construction sites for free. Soon, their warehouse was filled with donated materials, including 80 new toilets, unwanted doors, theater seats, and even a giant popcorn machine.
A few years ago, Omar started his first cooperative devoted to reusing construction waste. The cooperative began selling construction supplies at reasonable prices to neighborhood builders and home owners. With support from city officials, Omar began developing a new training program to equip local residents with the necessary skills for environmentally impact jobs.
Omar said, “Think about a wooden door that you’ve just bought. In order to produce that, someone had to cut down trees. In order to ship it across the country, someone had to pump oil out of the ground. You can avoid all that if you buy a good used door. And at the same time, you can reduce pollution, save money, and create jobs in communities like the South Bronx.”
Omar even had the image of a future with a whole network of green cooperative businesses in the area, which would work together to reuse different kinds of construction materials. “If you have a use for something,” Omar said, “it’s no longer waste.”
1. What do we know about the South Bronx in paragraph 1?| A．It is free from poverty. |
| B．It pays little attention to art. |
| C．It suffers from a lack of landfills. |
| D．It faces the problem of waste pollution. |
| A．To seek for minds alike. |
| B．To search for new materials. |
| C．To build a warehouse for waste. |
| D．To find repairmen for old doors. |
| A．Modest and cautious. | B．Wealthy and intelligent. |
| C．Humorous and generous. | D．Creative and hardworking. |
| A．Omar — A Successful Builder |
| B．Waste — A Way to Get Business |
| C．Old Doors — Useful Recyclable Resources |
| D．The South Bronx — The Best-known Construction Site |
1. What is the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Classmates. |
| B．Husband and wife. |
| C．Teacher and student. |
| A．Interesting. | B．Helpful. | C．Difficult. |
| A．She hasn’t decided what to do. |
| B．She will start her own business. |
| C．She prefers living a peaceful life. |
The Shanghai Municipal Employment Promotion Center poll of 1,276 graduates in several universities and colleges in the city, released last Friday, showed 59.78 percent of respondents considered the possibility of setting up a company or at least a small store. "But they just stop at the 'thinking' stage," it stated.
Respondents put the top reasons for not going it alone down to a shortage of investment and a lack of business opportunity. They also listed lack of business experience and social networks, the need for advanced study and objections from family members as factors that stood in their way.
More than 90 percent of the interviewees said they would rather take up a job after graduating and then consider starting their own business two or three years down the road.
Guo Bing, a senior student in Shanghai International Studies University majoring in English, decided he wanted to be his own boss last year. But he is looking for a job first. "If I fail to find a satisfying job, I would like to establish a company in exhibition services," Guo said.
The Shanghai native has some relatives working in a local printing plant. With their help, Guo hopes to produce exhibition brochures at a relatively low price. He is also confident that his English language skills can help him do well in the industry.
"Social networking is an important factor leading to business success," Guo said.
Guo said that the shortage of graduate jobs is the main reason driving more university students to set up a business right after their graduation.
Jiang said the university sets up a business guide team made of government officials and professionals. They regularly give training courses to students who show an interest in having their own business. The parents of university graduates are more willing to help their children start up alone, the survey showed" Once you win the support of your family, you have won half the battle," Guo added.
1. Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．A Tough Job Market |
| B．Graduates Who Can Only Dream of Being Boss |
| C．The Ambitious Fresh Graduates |
| D．The Story of Guo Bing |
| A．The lack of business opportunity and investment. |
| B．The shortage of business experience. |
| C．Less skilled English language. |
| D．Their family members’ objections. |
graduation?
| A．Their family don’t support them. |
| B．Their social networking is not good. |
| C．There are not enough graduate jobs. |
| D．They want to achieve greater success. |
| A．He has started his own business with the help of his relatives. |
| B．English is his major in the university. |
| C．He is trying to find a job which can satisfies him. |
| D．He is a Shanghai native. |
| A．The parents whose child graduates from university soon. |
| B．Those who will graduate from university. |
| C．Those who want to be bosses. |
| D．The officials who work in the government. |
