Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside. They often talked of opening their own store one day.

When Mary was hospitalized with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious. Richard, who worked for a business company, was eager to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her demanding job.

They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry. “We knew it had to be a specialty（专业） store because we couldn’t match the big chains dollar for dollar,” says Mary. One figure caught her attention: She’d read somewhere that roughly 20 percent of books sold were mysteries (推理小说), and many buyers spent more $300 a year on books. She and Richard were themselves mystery readers.

On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home. With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop. To cover the $100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from relatives and from a bank.

The store merely broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract customers. The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and served dinners for book clubs that met in the store. She also invited dozens of writers to discuss their stories.

Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $420,000 a year. After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales clerks, Richard and Mary together earn about $34,000.

“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income,” says Richard. “This has always been about an enjoyable life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.”

1．When Mary was in hospital, the couple realized that ____.

   A. they had to put their plan into practice    B. health was more important than wealth

   C. heart trouble was a serious illness         D. they both needed to stop working

2．After Mary got well from her illness they began _____.

    A. to study industrial management          

B. to buy and read more mystery books

    C. to do market research on book business 

   D. to work harder to save money for the bookstore

3．According to Richard, the main purpose of running the bookstore is _____.

 A. to pay for their children’s education      B. to get to know more writers

 C. to set up more bookstores              D. to do what they like to do

What do you see from a handful of seeds? Some see green plants, some see blooming flowers, or just seeds. But one group of Shanghai students saw an opportunity to make money.

Eight students from No 2 Secondary School Attached to East China Normal University started a virtual（虚拟的）company selling different seeds and seed products. They successfully sold 28 pictures pasted with different seeds at a campus auction（拍卖）a week ago. The company, which has recruited around 20 student staff members, has earned over 2000 yuan in the past three months.

“We donated part of the money to a poor school in the countryside of Anhui Province. It's great to realize our ideal of ‘spreading love and culture with seeds’ after many tests and lots of hard work，” said Senior 2 Shi Chen, CEO of the company.

Just like any other company, Shi's didn't develop smoothly. Shi and her young colleagues（同事）used to sell fresh flowers and old books, and later found seeds might be something that their company could engage in. They bought seeds of various plants and flowers at low prices from a local farm and sold them in schools or on streets. The creative students also made accessories and pictures with different seeds.

With little business knowledge, the students had to learn new skills as the leaders of different departments, such as public relations （PR）, sales and marketing. They persuaded a joint Sino-French company near their school to give them training in business management.

“They helped us overcome our shyness. We also learned quite a lot of business theory. I found communication skills and teamwork are very important for my job” said Senior 1 Qian Yifei.

The 16-year-old was elected as PR manager thanks to her talent for speaking. She is also in charge of after sales service, dealing with complaints and providing suggestions.

As the head of the company, CEO Shi has a lot more to think about. First of all, she has to learn how to make her colleagues work efficiently（高效地） as the company only opens at weekends due to all their studies.

“It makes the company more formal，” she said.

The purpose of opening the company is to          .

       A．earn money for their education fees.

       B．spread love and culture with seeds.

       C．see whether they can open a company.

       D．collect money to open a Hope School.

According to Qian Yifei, what matters most in dealing with public relations?

     A．Communication skills and teamwork 。

     B．Creative and critical thinking.

       C．Educational back ground.

     D．Business theories.

What does the word "it" (in the last paragraph)  refer to?

     A．Selling seeds.

      B．CEO.

     C．Every colleague's knowledge.

     D．To make her colleagues work efficiently.

We can learn from the passage that____.

    A．the company is owned by 20 students.

    B．the company is over-night successful.

    C．the company sells fresh flowers and old books

D．the company gets much help from other company selling seeds.

What do you see from a handful of seeds? Some see green plants, some see blooming flowers, or just seeds. But one group of Shanghai students saw an opportunity to make money.
Eight students from No 2 Secondary School Attached to East China Normal University started a virtual（虚拟的）company selling different seeds and seed products. They successfully sold 28 pictures pasted with different seeds at a campus auction（拍卖）a week ago. The company, which has recruited around 20 student staff members, has earned over 2000 yuan in the past three months.
“We donated part of the money to a poor school in the countryside of Anhui Province. It's great to realize our ideal of ‘spreading love and culture with seeds’ after many tests and lots of hard work，” said Senior 2 Shi Chen, CEO of the company.
Just like any other company, Shi's didn't develop smoothly. Shi and her young colleagues（同事）used to sell fresh flowers and old books, and later found seeds might be something that their company could engage in. They bought seeds of various plants and flowers at low prices from a local farm and sold them in schools or on streets. The creative students also made accessories and pictures with different seeds.
With little business knowledge, the students had to learn new skills as the leaders of different departments, such as public relations （PR）, sales and marketing. They persuaded a joint Sino-French company near their school to give them training in business management.
“They helped us overcome our shyness. We also learned quite a lot of business theory. I found communication skills and teamwork are very important for my job” said Senior 1 Qian Yifei.
The 16-year-old was elected as PR manager thanks to her talent for speaking. She is also in charge of after sales service, dealing with complaints and providing suggestions.
As the head of the company, CEO Shi has a lot more to think about. First of all, she has to learn how to make her colleagues work efficiently（高效地） as the company only opens at weekends due to all their studies.
“It makes the company more formal，” she said.
【小题1】The purpose of opening the company is to         .

What do you see from a handful of seeds? Some see green plants, some see blooming flowers, or just seeds. But one group of Shanghai students saw an opportunity to make money.

Eight students from No 2 Secondary School Attached to East China Normal University started a virtual（虚拟的）company selling different seeds and seed products. They successfully sold 28 pictures pasted with different seeds at a campus auction（拍卖）a week ago. The company, which has recruited around 20 student staff members, has earned over 2000 yuan in the past three months.

“We donated part of the money to a poor school in the countryside of Anhui Province. It's great to realize our ideal of ‘spreading love and culture with seeds’ after many tests and lots of hard work，” said Senior 2 Shi Chen, CEO of the company.

Just like any other company, Shi's didn't develop smoothly. Shi and her young colleagues（同事）used to sell fresh flowers and old books, and later found seeds might be something that their company could engage in. They bought seeds of various plants and flowers at low prices from a local farm and sold them in schools or on streets. The creative students also made accessories and pictures with different seeds.

With little business knowledge, the students had to learn new skills as the leaders of different departments, such as public relations （PR）, sales and marketing. They persuaded a joint Sino-French company near their school to give them training in business management.

“They helped us overcome our shyness. We also learned quite a lot of business theory. I found communication skills and teamwork are very important for my job” said Senior 1 Qian Yifei.

The 16-year-old was elected as PR manager thanks to her talent for speaking. She is also in charge of after sales service, dealing with complaints and providing suggestions.

As the head of the company, CEO Shi has a lot more to think about. First of all, she has to learn how to make her colleagues work efficiently（高效地） as the company only opens at weekends due to all their studies.

“It makes the company more formal，” she said.

1.The purpose of opening the company is to         .

2.According to Qian Yifei, what matters most in dealing with public relations?

3.What does the word "it" (in the last paragraph)  refer to?

4.We can learn from the passage that____.

What do you see from a handful of seeds? Some see green plants, some see blooming flowers, or just seeds. But one group of Shanghai students saw an opportunity to make money.
Eight students from No 2 Secondary School Attached to East China Normal University started a virtual（虚拟的）company selling different seeds and seed products. They successfully sold 28 pictures pasted with different seeds at a campus auction（拍卖）a week ago. The company, which has recruited around 20 student staff members, has earned over 2000 yuan in the past three months.
“We donated part of the money to a poor school in the countryside of Anhui Province. It's great to realize our ideal of ‘spreading love and culture with seeds’ after many tests and lots of hard work，” said Senior 2 Shi Chen, CEO of the company.
Just like any other company, Shi's didn't develop smoothly. Shi and her young colleagues（同事）used to sell fresh flowers and old books, and later found seeds might be something that their company could engage in. They bought seeds of various plants and flowers at low prices from a local farm and sold them in schools or on streets. The creative students also made accessories and pictures with different seeds.
With little business knowledge, the students had to learn new skills as the leaders of different departments, such as public relations （PR）, sales and marketing. They persuaded a joint Sino-French company near their school to give them training in business management.
“They helped us overcome our shyness. We also learned quite a lot of business theory. I found communication skills and teamwork are very important for my job” said Senior 1 Qian Yifei.
The 16-year-old was elected as PR manager thanks to her talent for speaking. She is also in charge of after sales service, dealing with complaints and providing suggestions.
As the head of the company, CEO Shi has a lot more to think about. First of all, she has to learn how to make her colleagues work efficiently（高效地） as the company only opens at weekends due to all their studies.
“It makes the company more formal，” she said.

1. 1.

   The purpose of opening the company is to         .

   1. A.
      earn money for their education fees.
   2. B.
      spread love and culture with seeds.
   3. C.
      see whether they can open a company.
   4. D.
      collect money to open a Hope School.
2. 2.

   According to Qian Yifei, what matters most in dealing with public relations?

   1. A.
      Communication skills and teamwork 。
   2. B.
      Creative and critical thinking.
   3. C.
      Educational back ground.
   4. D.
      Business theories.
3. 3.

   What does the word "it" (in the last paragraph)  refer to?

   1. A.
      Selling seeds.
   2. B.
      CEO.
   3. C.
      Every colleague's knowledge.
   4. D.
      To make her colleagues work efficiently.
4. 4.

   We can learn from the passage that____.

   1. A.
      the company is owned by 20 students.
   2. B.
      the company is over-night successful.
   3. C.
      the company sells fresh flowers and old books
   4. D.
      the company gets much help from other company selling seeds.