“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.” –– Jeff Bezos.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately (最后), I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.
【小题1】What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
| A．His dream of being an inventor. |
| B．The support of his wife. |
| C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. |
| D．Millions of exciting titles. |
| A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him. |
| B．He would be very excited if he tried it out. |
| C．He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try. |
| D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him. |
| A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author |
| B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea |
| C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea |
| D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed |
| A．Cleverness and Kindness | B．The Starting of Amazon |
| C．Following My Passion | D．We Are What We Choose |
【小题1】C
【小题2】A
【小题3】C
【小题4】D
解析试题分析：文章讲述的是亚马逊网站创始人的故事。才智是与生俱来的，而善良是后天可以选择的。天赋易得，选择难做。在贝佐斯16岁的时候，他惊叹于互联网的迅速发展，于是萌发了建立网上书店的想法。在得到妻子的支持以后，他辞去了待遇很好的工作，虽然老板曾试图留住他，但贝佐斯最终决定把自己的想法付诸实践。
【小题1】根据第二段“I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me.”可知，互联网的迅速发展让作者感到吃惊，也让作者萌生了创建一个网络书店的想法，故选C。
【小题2】根据第三段段意和“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.”可知，老板想说服作者留下来，作者有些动摇，但经过思考之后，作者决定辞职建网站，作者不害怕尝试和失败，但会因为想法没有付诸实践而愧疚。故选A。
【小题3】根据第三段“I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，作者认为自己将不会为尝试和失败感到后悔。故选C。
【小题4】根据最后一段“After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.”可知，作者把自己的热情付诸了实践，并且获得了成功。是我们的选择才成就了我们每一个人。故选D。
考点：人物类短文阅读
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小学生10分钟应用题系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy – five, he gave $ 60,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s ground.
As a result of his kindness, he became famous. Many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening,” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.
【小题1】Johnson became a rich man through _______.
| A．doing business | B．making whisky | C．cheating | D．buying and selling land |
| A．had many children in the school | B．was a strange old man |
| C．was very fond of children | D．was very kind |
| A．what kind of whisky he had |
| B．how to live longer |
| C．how to become wealthy |
| D．in which part of the neck to have an injection |
| A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening |
| B．he needn’t an injection in the neck |
| C．a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well |
| D．there was something wrong with his neck |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
It was the first snow of the winter---an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up to now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, Ontario, had been through best snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.
I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear the ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots.
In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of the winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that it was more a statement of hope than of confidence.
I handed her my boots and stuck out my feet. Like most children, I expected the adult to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.
I announced, “They are on the wrong feet.”
She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.
“They are my brother’s boots, you know, I hate them.”
Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying little girl. She struggled with me. She asked “now, where are your mittens(手套)?”
I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.”
【小题1】The little girl was more satisfied with her __________.
| A．trousers | B．jackets | C．boots | D．hat |
| A．the girl got them from her brother |
| B．the girl put something in them |
| C．they were on the wrong feet |
| D．they did not fit the girl well |
| A．Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes. |
| B．Because it was the most exciting day of the winter. |
| C．Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf. |
| D．Because the little girl played a trick on her. |
| A．was losing confidence in the little girl |
| B．was gradually losing patience with the little girl |
| C．became disappointed with the little girl |
| D．got curious about the little girl |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A 16-year-old boy finds himself on a boat in the Pacific Ocean after escaping a shipwreck(海难). Even worse, he is left with a huge tiger for company. But he manages to survive after 227 days of fighting against all the hardships of the sea.
Pi, the lead character in Oscar-winning Ang Lee’s new movie Life of Pi, went through an inspiring journey of growth and self-discovery. So did 19-year-old Suraj Sharma, the Indian actor who plays him.
But it was a lucky chance that opened up the opportunity for the new star. Sharma was a regular student who lived with his mathematician parents in Delhi, India. As the director traveled to Mumbai to find his Pi, the teenager went along with his younger brother, who had acted in a couple of movies, to audition(试镜). But little did Sharma know that he would end up winning the role from 3, 000 hopefuls.
Lee said he saw Pi in Sharma: “Not only does he have a compelling and wise look. He has this rare talent.” The director said that in the final round, Sharma gave one of the “most compelling readings we had. In the end, he was in tears.” Understandably, Sharma didn’t want to let Lee down. “He (Lee) had given me this opportunity. I had to give it my best,” Sharma told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Sharma swam for four or five hours a day until he was completely comfortable with the water. He also worked on his body because he had to first gain weight and then quickly lose weight as the story developed. He even had rats run all over him to prepare for his role. Lee was impressed by the teenager, especially his endurance and patience in staying in a water tank for many hours each day. Sharma was only 16 when Lee signed him. After three years of shooting, Sharma said he had matured with Pi’s journey.
【小题1】What is the function of the first paragraph?
| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To appeal to readers to watch a movie. |
| C．To attract readers to continue reading. |
| D．To suggest the theme of this passage. |
| A．Sharma wanted to become a mathematician |
| B．Sharma had acted in a couple of movies |
| C．Sharma was sure to win in the audition |
| D．Many teenagers wanted to act the role Pi |
| A．To make somebody disappointed. |
| B．To seat somebody down. |
| C．To reject somebody’s requirement. |
| D．To take down somebody’s information. |
| A．Confident and passionate. |
| B．Talented and diligent. |
| C．Strong and courageous. |
| D．Endurable and easily-excited. |
| A．the thrilling escape from a shipwreck |
| B．how an Oscar-winning movie attracts audience |
| C．a young actor became matured when acting in a movie |
| D．the difficulty in winning a role in a movie |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Noah Webster, born on October 16, 1758 , is known for The American Dictionary of the English Language. He has been called the " Father of American Scholarship and Education. " His " Blue-Backed Speller" books were used to teach spelling and reading to five generations of American children. But how much .do you know about him beyond that?
At the age of 16, Noah Webster began attending ,Yale College. Unfortunately, he spent his four years at Yale during the American Revolutionary War, and, because of food shortages, many of his college classes were held in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Later, he served in the army.
Having graduated from Yale in 1778, Webster wanted to continue his education in order to earn his law degree. He had to teach school in order to pay for his education. He set up many small schools that didn't survive, but he was a good teacher because instead of forcing his students to learn, like most teachers did, he rewarded them. He earned his law degree in 1781, but did not practice law until 1789. Once he started he found the law was not to his liking.
Webster did not have much money. In 1793 , Alexander Hamilton lent him $ 1500 to move to New York City to edit a newspaper. In December, he founded New York ' s first daily newspaper, American Minerva, and edited it for four years. For decades, he published . textbooks, political essays, a report on some diseases, and newspaper articles for his party, He wrote so much that a modern list of his published works required 655 pages .Noah Webster died on May 28, 1843 and was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.
【小题1】What's the main idea of Paragraph l?
| A． Webster's famous dictionarie . |
| B．Webster's daily routines. |
| C． Webster's main achievements. |
| D．Webster's college education. |
| A．Tough. | B．Smooth. | C．Normal. | D．Tiring. |
| A．A teacher. | B．A lawyer. | C．A headmaster. | D．A scholar. |
| A．Because he set up many small schools. |
| B．Because he graduated from Yale College, |
| C．Because he forced his students to learn. |
| D．Because he often rewarded his students. |
| A．Webster was a most productive author. |
| B．Webster led a miserable life in New York City. |
| C．Webster's books added up to 655 pages. |
| D．Webster didn't write any polifical works. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel.And he surely deserves additional praise：the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism.
I say clever because antislavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War.H.B.Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is only the most famous example.These early stories dealt directly with slavery.With minor exceptions，Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely.He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story.
Again and again，in the postwar years，Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race.Consider the most controversial，at least today，of Twain's novels，Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn，Twain's most widely read tale.Once upon a time，people hated the book because it struck them as rude.Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel “trash and suitable only for the slums(贫民窟)．”More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim，the escaped slave，and many occurences of the word nigger.(The term Nigger Jim，for which the novel is often severely criticized，never appears in it.)
But the attacks were and are silly—and miss the point.The novel is strongly antislavery.Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic.As J．Chadwick has pointed out，the character of Jim was a first in American fiction—a recognition that the slave had two personalities，“the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual：Jim，the father and the man.”
There is much more.Twain's mystery novel Pudd'nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day.Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior(低等的)to whites，especially in intelligence，Twain's tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth.A slave gave birth to her master's baby and，for fear that the child should be sold South，switched him for the master's baby by his wife.The slave's lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slaveholding class.The master's wife's baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave.
The point was difficult to miss：nurture(养育)，not nature，was the key to social status.The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice—manner of speech，for example—were，to Twain，indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims.
Twain's racial tone was not perfect.One is left uneasy，for example，by the lengthy passage in his autobiography(自传)about how much he loved what were called“nigger shows”in his youth—mostly with white men performing in blackface—and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them.Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality.His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not.
Was Twain a racist？Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln.If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the“wisdom”of the considered moral judgments of the present，we will find nothing but error.Lincoln，who believed the black man the inferior of the white，fought and won a war to free him.And Twain，raised in a slave state，briefly a soldier，and inventor of Jim，may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century.
【小题1】How do Twain's novels on slavery differ from Stowe's?
| A．Twain was more willng to deal with racism. |
| B．Twain's attack on racism was much less open. |
| C．Twain's themes seemed to agree with plots. |
| D．Twain was openly concerned with racism. |
| A．target readers at the bottom |
| B．antislavery attitude |
| C．rather impolite language |
| D．frequent use of “nigger” |
| A．Jim's search for his family was described in detail. |
| B．The slave's voice was first heard in American novels. |
| C．Jim grew up into a man and a father in the white culture. |
| D．Twain suspected that the slaves were less intelligent. |
| A．slaves were forced to give up their babies to their masters |
| B．slaves' babies could pick up slaveholders' way of speaking |
| C．blacks' social position was shaped by how they were brought up |
| D．blacks were born with certain features of prejudice |
| A．The attacks. | B．Slavery and prejudice. |
| C．White men. | D．The shows. |
| A．Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism. |
| B．Twain was an admirable figure comparable to Abraham Lincoln. |
| C．Twain's works had been banned on unreasonable grounds. |
| D．Twain's works should be read from a historical point of view. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
(2013·高考湖北卷，B)Mothers and daughters go through so much－yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother，Sheila Solomon Klass，both gifted professional writers，prove to be ideal cowriters as they examine their decades of motherhood，daughterhood，and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠)．
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s：both have fulltime careers；both have published books，articles，and stories；each has three children；they both love to read.They also love to travel－in fact，they often take trips together.But in truth，the harder they look at their lives，the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条)，Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls.Starting with her college education，she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished.Perri，on the other hand，grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s.For Sheila，wasting time or money is a crime，and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury，but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice，Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains，the love and bitterness，the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together.Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork.Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households，even though she knows it drives her mother crazy.Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working，admit longhidden sorrows，and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together，Perri and Sheila tell their motherdaughter story with honesty，humor，enthusiasm，and admiration for each other.A written account in two voices，Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep，strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
【小题1】Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
| A．They both have gone through difficult times. |
| B．They have strong emotional ties with each other. |
| C．They have the same joys and pains，and love and bitterness. |
| D．They both have experiences as daughter，mother and writer. |
| A．something rare but not pleasant |
| B．something that cannot be imagined |
| C．something expensive but not necessary |
| D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys |
| A．The content of the book. |
| B．The purpose of the book. |
| C．The influence of the book. |
| D．The writing style of the book. |
| A．In a musical form. |
| B．Through field research. |
| C．With unique writing skills. |
| D．From different points of view. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
(2013·高考重庆卷，D)Not all bodies of water are so evidently alive as the Atlantic Ocean，an Sshaped body of water covering 33 million square miles.The Atlantic has，in a sense，replaced the Mediterranean as the inland sea of Western civilization.Unlike real inland seas，which seem strangely still，the Atlantic is rich in oceanic liveliness.It is perhaps not surprising that its vitality has been much written about by ancient poets.
“Storm at Sea”，a short poem written around 700，is generally regarded as one of mankind’s earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic.
When the wind is from the west
All the waves that cannot rest
To the east must thunder on
Where the bright tree of the sun
Is rooted in the ocean’s breast.
As the poem suggests，the Atlantic is never dead and dull.It is an ocean that moves，impressively and endlessly.It makes all kinds of noise—it is forever thundering，boiling，crashing，and whistling.
It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath－perhaps not so noticeably out in midocean，but where it meets land，its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach.It mimics(模仿)nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature.It is filled with symbiotic existences，too：unimaginable quantities of creatures，little and large alike，mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony，giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat，a kind of subocean vitality.And it has a psychology.It has personalities：sometimes peaceful and pleasant，on rare occasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.
【小题1】Unlike real inland seas，the Atlantic Ocean is________.
| A．always energetic |
| B．lacking in liveliness |
| C．shaped like a square |
| D．favored by ancient poets |
| A．To describe the movement of the waves. |
| B．To show the strength of the storm. |
| C．To represent the power of the ocean. |
| D．To prove the vastness of the sea. |
| A．Living together. |
| B．Growing fast. |
| C．Moving harmoniously. |
| D．Breathing peacefully. |
| A．a beautiful and poetic place |
| B．a flesh and blood person |
| C．a wonderful world |
| D．a lovely animal |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--＄7,000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially,” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in others, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than ＄3 million--they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They liked comparison shopping and would routinely go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything.” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden. “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy, a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents, should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors -- that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.
【小题1】According to the text, the Fusses_________.
| A．were employed by a truck company |
| B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria |
| D．lost their home |
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression. |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house. |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors. |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs |
| A．They decided to open a store. ks5u |
| B．They wanted to save money. |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things. |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids. |
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
| A．The community of Alto was poor. |
| B．The summer camp was attractive to the parents. |
| C．Sandy Van Weelden got a legacy from the Hatches |
| D．The Hatches would like the neighbors to follow their example. |
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