Burn rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate was $ 75,000 a month. Four months after my company was set up, I had only a quarter of the starting capital left in the bank.
Looking for guidance, I went to talk to my friend, Arthur Walworth about my new venture. “Times of great change always bring out the risk-takers,” he said. “And they leave winners and losers. My grandfather invested a lot of money in a project of Thomas Edison’s that ended up in failure. ”
I was lost in thought at the notion (an idea or belief about something) of a Thomas Edison project ending in failure. Damn. It could happen to anybody! I must continue.
At that time CD-ROM sales had bombed, so investors were fleeing from the field. I didn’t turn away from mine entirely, but instead linked it to the Internet.
My plan was to offer consumers descriptions of home-design products by using a special software and let them modify the designs. Then we can enable them to get online professional and constructional help to have their houses built, decorated and furnished according to their own choice.
To realize my plan I needed investors, so I continued to meet regularly with venture capitalists. One said I had a great idea. But I needed to test it. Get the money somewhere. To get this money from a venture capitalist is going to cost my wife and my children! He turned down my request.
Wife? Children? I hardly remembered them.
I was working nonstop --- struggling to turn the key in the lock, to find the right way ahead. The pressure was terrible. It was just at this time that my parents and sisters stepped up. Two hundred thousand dollars. A lot of money to them, invested in this crazy son and brother without a moment’s hesitation. Dad and Mom had driven out from Chicago and seen the passion in my little office and the trouble at home.
With their help my company survived and has been prospering ever since.
【小题1】When the author’s company started operation, he had _______ .
| A．$ 450,000 | B．$ 400,000 | C．$ 350,000 | D．$ 300,000 |
| A．rely on famous people all be time |
| B．invest as much money as possible |
| C．face the risks of possible failure |
| D．think about nothing but success |
| A．furniture design and production |
| B．online home-design service |
| C．traditional home designing |
| D．home decoration business |
| A．to improve his service | B．to start a new business |
| C．to withdraw his money | D．to reduce his investment |
【小题1】B
【小题2】C
【小题3】B
【小题4】A
解析试题分析：本文讲作者新开了一个公司，仅仅四个月的时间就只剩开始投资的四分之一了。于是作者去咨询他的朋友，朋友说做生意，不是成功就是失败，作者很沮丧。后来CD-ROM的销售已经彻底失败了，大家纷纷逃离这个市场，而作者并没完全放弃，而是开始转向网络销售，最后，在家人的帮助下，作者的公司终于得救了。
【小题1】推理判断题。从第一段可知，作者说每月花75，000美元，四个月之后账户里只剩下四分之一的资金，我们用75，000乘以4得到的300，000美元应该是总共用掉的钱．这个数额占总资金的四分之一，计算可得总资金是400，000美元。故选B。
【小题2】细节理解题。从第1段Arthur所说的话“they leave winners and losers(不是成功就是失败)”可以看出前面所说的事情是有风险的。故选C。
【小题3】推理判断题。从文章第六段第一句话“．．．offer consumers descriptions of home—design products．．．”以及后面的“．．．have their houses built．decorated and furnished…”可知，选项A、D都只是公司业务的一部分，C项文中没有提及，只有B项才是完整的答案。故选B。
【小题4】细节理解题。由文章第五段第二句“I didn’t turn away from mine entirely，but instead linked it to the Internet．”可知，作者没有放弃而是开辟了新的路径，这与A项表述一致。故选A。
考点：考查故事类短文阅读。
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The unwanted disturbing of a mobile phone ringing at a critical moment has led to some famously strong reactions
British actor Richard Grif-fiths，stopped a performance at the National Theatre and ordered The offending party to leave
Judge Robert Restaino went considerably further．He was hearing a session of domestic violence offenders in a court when proceedings were interrupted by rings of a phone．
“Everyone is going to jail unless I get that instrument now,” he shouted．
Over the next two hours，the judge entered a period of “incredible madness”．He began by ordering the doors of the court locked，and set the officers to searching for the phone．
When that failed to find the offending item he ordered each of the defendants(被告) present in the room up to his bench and in turn asked them if they had no idea, he sent each in turn to jail(监狱).
All 46 of them．
When a defendant protested the judge’s actions were not fair to those who didn’t possess the phone，Restaino replied：“I know it isn’t．
Judge’s actions caused chaos．Extra officers had to be drafted into the court to control the crowd．and booking officers at the city jail were at full stretch．“We were playing Twister in here”, one said at the time．
Fourteen of the defendants were shackled(束缚 )in irons and sent to the county jail．
The judge cooled off and later that afternoon released all 46．
The “two hours of viral lunacy（疯狂）”, has probably cost Restaino his job．The commission ruled that he should be removed from his $14,000 job．Restaino now has 30 days to appeal(上诉)．
His lawyer pointed out that until that moment he had served 11 years as a judge without any disciplinary issues．“With the exception of two hours．his record is spotless．”
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the passage means _____．
| A．we are just playing games |
| B．we are struggling to control the crisis here |
| C．we can hardly survive the crisis |
| D．we’re searching casually |
| A．To indicate the disadvantage of mobile phone． |
| B．To scold the misusage of mobile phone． |
| C．To provide an excuse for Richard’s offence． |
| D．To support the opinion above |
| A．make Robert pay a large sum of money |
| B．make no difference to Robert |
| C．most likely make Robert lose his job |
| D．make him world famous |
| A．Phone-rage(狂怒) judge | B．Judge，prisoner and mobile phone |
| C．The story in court | D．Mobile phone in court |
| A．Robert is always challenging the disciplines |
| B．Robert is now in jail |
| C．judge is not a well-paid job |
| D．all the defendants didn’t follow Robert’s instructions willingly |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The light from the campfire brightened the darkness, but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones. It was a strange place. Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare. They liked camping, but not near this swamp.
“So,” Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals. “How did this place get its name ? ”
“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story,” warned Jack.
“Of course!” cried out Tom. “If there were anything to be scared of, you wouldn’t have chosen this place!”
“Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Jack, and he began this tale.
“Way back in time, a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here. He built that cottage over there to live in . In those days, the area looked quite different ---- it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal-clear river. After three hard years, Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops. He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.
“ ‘You are clearing too much land, ’ warned one old man. ‘ The land is a living thing. It will hit back at you if you abuse it. ’
“ ‘ Silly fool,’ said Dennis to himself. ‘If I clear more land, I can grow more crops. I’ll become wealthier. He’s just jealous!’”
“Dennis continued to chop down trees. Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed. He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door. He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land. He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”
“What happened? ” Martin asked. It was growing colder. He trembled, twisting his body closer to the fire.
“The land hit back ---- just as the old man warned, ” Jack shrugged. “Dennis disappeared Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater. His body was never found.”
“What a stupid story, ” laughed Tom. “Plants can’t …” Before he had finished speaking, he screamed and fainted (晕倒). The other two boys jumped up with fright, staring at Tom. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face. It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.
【小题1】The underlined word “dare” in Paragraph 1 is closed in meaning to ________.
| A．courage | B．assistance | C．instruction | D．challenge |
| A．To frighten them. |
| B．To satisfy their curiosity. |
| C．To warn them of the danger of the place. |
| D．To persuade them to camp in the swamp. |
| A．The old man envied him. |
| B．The old man was foolish |
| C．He was too busy to listen to others. |
| D．He was greedy for more crops. |
| A．He saw Dennis’s shadow |
| B．He was scared by a plant |
| C．His friends played a joke on him. |
| D．The weather became extremely cold. |
| A．Grasp all, lose all. |
| B．No sweat, no sweet. |
| C．It is no use crying over spilt milk. |
| D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A few days ago we – that’s me and the husband – took a cab to the station. Chat with the driver fell to the wrong of cyclists, and the misunderstanding of the road rules. So far as the rules of the road go, there seems to be one basic principle: when you are driving a car you hate bikes, when you are riding a bike you hate cars (and I guess walkers hate everyone).
There is an obvious difference of viewpoint built in here. It wasn’t until I started to drive a car (almost 20years after I had first rode a bike) that I actually realized that you could not see a cyclist at night without lights. In fact I now want to shout at late night cyclists without lights(like motortists once did at me): “You’ll get killed, sunshine, I can’t see you.”
The problem is that cyclists do ride headlong into danger. It's not just not having lights. It’s biking on pavements (and so threatening to injure a load of innocent walkers in the process) and biking down one-way streets the wrong way.
I admit that I do bike the wrong way down a one-way street sometimes. My feeble(软弱无力) defense is that I try always to do it as if I know I was doing wrong. That is slowly, with an apologetic look on the face, and ready to get off at any minute. I can’t bear the guys(一伙人) (usually, but not always it is guys) who do it as if they owned the place, and at high speed.
So cyclists are not entirely innocent. But they are among the disadvantaged groups, because the bottom line is that a car or a lorry can kill a cyclist and not the other way around.
【小题1】When did the writer realize the danger for late night cyclists without lights?
| A．Not until she became a driver herself. |
| B．Not until she had driven a car for 20 years. |
| C．After she was shouted at by a motorist. |
| D．After she was once knocked down by a group of guys. |
| A．angry | B．guilty | C．innocent | D．proud |
| A．walkers | B．passers-by | C．cyclists | D．motorists |
| A．She often took a cab with her husband. |
| B．She has been a motorist for over 20 years. |
| C．She used to ride a bike without lights at night. |
| D．She often biked the wrong way down a one way street. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
“All I could see was two sets of red eyes below me,” said Dave Gatty, an Australian farmer who spent seven days up a tree in remote bush land to escape crocodiles. Gatty, 52, said he was forced to take such drastic action after he accidentally went into a crocodile-infested area of Queensland. He only had two meat sandwiches to keep him going, as crocodiles moved beneath his tree each night until his rescue. Gatty said he decided it was safer to hold out for a rescue team than try to make a run for it. His problems began after he fell off his horse while out in the northern Australia outback. Dazed and bleeding, he climbed back on his horse and hoped it would lead him home. It was only when he regained his senses he realized that he had been taken into crocodile-infested area. “I had to get off the horse and I fell straight into a crocodile nest,” he told reporters.
“That frightened me. I couldn’t go back, it was too far and too dangerous, so I headed to the nearest high ground and stayed there, hoping someone would come and find me before the crocs did.”
Gatty explained how each night two crocodiles would sit at the bottom of the tree staring at him. Although Gatty’s two sandwiches ran out after three days, he was able to get running water during the day and knew rescuers were looking for him as he could see helicopters in the air above his tree.
“If I hadn’t seen the crocs circling me, and if I hadn’t fallen into the croc nest, I would have made a push for it. But I knew the safest thing was for me to sit and wait,” he said. A chocolate bar, given to him by rescuers after being moved to safety by using a winch(卷扬机), “was like a gourmet (delicious)meal,” he said.
【小题1】Gaddy felt _______ when he found himself trapped in the crocodile- infested area.
| A．panicked but optimistic | B．nervous and hopeless |
| C．upset and regretful | D．frightened but calm |
| A．Sandwiches | B．Running water |
| C．Chocolates | D．Staying up in a tree |
| A．a d e c b | B． d a e b c | C．a d e b c | D．d e a b c |
| A．a news story | B．a scientific fiction |
| C．a personal essay | D．a literary report |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
“I don’t think I can do this any more.” “Yes, you can. You only have five more radiation treatments to go. ” I held my wife Becky close.
Ever since the breast cancer diagnosis (诊断), she had tried hard to be strong for the kids and for me. When her diagnosis came, my first thought was there was no way I could lose my wife. The doctors assured us the cancer was discovered early so we were feeling positive.
Becky had received an operation and was recovering from it. After six weeks of radiation therapy(治疗), she was facing her final five treatments. She was weak and tired, in low spirits. Seeing her suffering, I felt so helpless and powerless.
As soon as I was outside, long-held frustration and anger erupted in me like a volcano. I took a hammer and suddenly was swinging as hard as I could, beating heavily on the front porch(门廊). While doing so, I imagined I was beating my wife’s cancer. With all my strength, I destroyed the porch.
During the treatment, my wife had been very brave. She said she had it easy, but I don’t think it was easy for her.
Seeing the porch gone, Becky shook her head at the window. I came into the room, not knowing how she would react to what I had done.
“Becky, are you mad at me?” She looked at me in surprise. “For what?” I pointed at the gate. “For tearing down the porch.” She laughed. “Look how sunny this room is now. I love that it’s bright in here.”
“You comforted me in my darker hour, Vince. You’ve found a way to deal with your own frustration. By destroying the porch, you let the sunshine in.”
As I looked around the brightened room, I realized the light that filled the space was the light of hope that shone so bright after the darkness. We never did re-build the porch.
【小题1】When the diagnosis came out, _______.
| A．the author had little hope that his wife would survive |
| B．the author was determined to save his wife’s life |
| C．the author’s wife refused to receive radiation treatments |
| D．the author felt lucky that his wife’s disease was not serious |
| A．he wanted to release his frustration |
| B．he was disappointed with his wife |
| C．he intended to let sunshine in |
| D．his wife didn’t like it at all |
| A．Sympathetic | B．Angry |
| C．Understanding | D．Happy |
| A．Tragedy cannot separate loving couple |
| B．A day without sunshine is like night |
| C．True love is based on understanding |
| D．Nothing is impossible for a willing heart |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
I know it is wrong to envy your children. But when I see my son, Tonio and his younger brother Sam going down a slide together, one’s arm around the other, I know I have missed something wonderful.
Not only did I never have a brother, but also I had no friendships like theirs. My sister was old enough to help take care of me, so she was more a mother than a playmate, and I was more a pest than a friend. A brother would have been wonderful, but it was not in the family planning.
Now I finally live with brothers, my sons, Tonio and Sam. I am watching them build the kind of relationship that I once dreamed about. They go to bed together. When one comes into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.
Sam manages the world with more ease than his elder brother, whose frustrations often bring him to tears. With a sincere “Smile, Tonio,” Sam is the one who comforts him. Tonio, on the other hand, has stopped playing with boys at his age who don’t like playing with Sam. They are always backing each other up.
I don’t know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.
That’s why I was so worried the day Tonio started kindergarten. I felt that I would lose something too. As we headed for school that morning, both boys seemed relaxed, as if neither had any idea that the day was going to be different, that starting then, Tonio would be leaving behind his brother, his best friend, his right arm.
Tonio’s first day was chaotic, with hundreds of children outside looking for their teachers. Before any of us could say goodbye, Tonio disappeared with his new classmates. He turned to wave and then was gone. It was so sudden. Sam even didn’ t see him go. Although parents had been asked to ease the craziness of the first day by statying out of the school, I lifted Sam up and took him to Tonio’s classroom, looking for a glimpse of Tonio. Sam spotted him first.
My wife and I didn’t head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat ice-cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.
He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?”
“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question. “Not forever, just until three o’clock.”
I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn’t stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn’t long before his brothers climbed into the crib(婴儿床) to play with him. I am surrounded by brothers.
【小题1】What makes the author envy his sons?
| A．He has no friends like Sam and Tonio. |
| B．He has only one brother in his family. |
| C．He doesn’t enjoy brotherhood as they do. |
| D．He doesn’t have a good relation with his sister. |
| A．a bad person | B．an annoying person |
| C．a good companion | D．a lovely brother |
| A．Tonio often encouraged Sam when Sam burst into tears. |
| B．The two brothers went to the same kindergarten. |
| C．Neither of the brothers played with other children. |
| D．They supported each other in different ways. |
| A．Tonio might not spend so much time with Sam |
| B．Tonio might not do well with his study |
| C．he was afraid he would lose Tonio forever. |
| D．he wanted Tonio to have what he didn’t have |
| A．Tonio had a nice day playing with his new classmates |
| B．Sam was very sad because Tonio was gone forever |
| C．Sam was allowed to have ice-cream with fingers as usual |
| D．the father felt happy when he sensed Sam’s love to Tonio |
| A．The author experienced brotherly affection by raising his sons. |
| B．The author often plays with his sons whenever he has time. |
| C．Parents want their children to stay at home and play together. |
| D．The youngest son is always surrounded by his elder brothers. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：单选题
Thousands of teenagers will be able to transfer to a new wave of “studio schools” at the age of 14 to improve their chances of finding a job in UK. A dozen new-style schools are designed to act as a bridge to the workplace and cut the number of NEETs--young people not in education, employment or training.
Under plans, schools will operate longer days and work outside standard academic terms.
Each pupil will be expected to spend between four hours and two days a week on work placements with businesses linked to the school and teenagers will be assigned a personal coach to act as an academic “line manager”.
The reforms are put forward due to the fears that too many teenagers are now finishing full-time education lacking the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. According to a recent report, more than two-thirds of employers believe school and college leavers lack important “employability skills” such as customer awareness, while 55 per cent say they are unable to manage their time or daily tasks. And the number of NEETs has hit a record high, with almost one-in-five young people being left without a job or training place.
The Department for Education will announce the establishment of 12 studio schools -- meeting the need of around 3,600 teenagers -- in areas such as Liverpool, Stevenage, Stoke-on-Trent and Fulham, west London. Each one, opening in 2012, will be linked to a series of local employers. Under plans, pupils will be able to transfer out of ordinary schools to attend them between the age of 14 and 19.
The Government said all subjects would be taught “through projects, often designed with employers” -- with disciplines such as science being linked directly to local engineering firms or hospitals. Schools will operate a longer day to give pupils a better understanding of the demands of the workplace. Along with their studies, pupils will carry out work placements for four hours a week, rising to two days a week of paid work for those aged 16 to 19. They will also get the chance to take professional qualifications linked directly to the needs of local employers.
【小题1】According to the passage, the NEETs are referred to those who ________.
| A．often miss classes from school |
| B．refuse to take any kind of part-time jobs after school |
| C．depend on their parents to find jobs after they graduate |
| D．have no jobs without accepting education and work training |
| A．interesting and lovely cartoons to make study easier |
| B．chances to get future jobs with expert job training |
| C．possibilities to make friends without going outside |
| D．lessons helping them to be admitted to universities |
| A．The determination to solve the problem of lacking workers. |
| B．The doubt about whether full-time education is perfect. |
| C．The worry about educated people lacking working skills. |
| D．The increasing number of teens who drop out early. |
| A．They can find suitable jobs earlier with good qualification. |
| B．They will be admitted to top companies with received training. |
| C．They needn’t go to university thanks to received training here. |
| D．They may have more free time to find part-time jobs after school. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every, rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.
【小题1】Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child peel potatoes?
| A．Cruel. | B．Serious. | C．Strict. | D．Cold. |
| A．the skill to throw and catch things |
| B．the speed of one’s hand movement |
| C．the strength and skill to hang and sway |
| D．the bodily skill to rotate round a bar |
| A．Mom believe every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it. |
| B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up. |
| C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher. |
| D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity. |
| A．they felt sorry for what they had done before |
| B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt |
| C．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars |
| D．they were astonished to find the author’s progress |
| A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep |
| B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own |
| C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph |
| D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth |
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