Question

＂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 persuaded me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I believed I would always be haunted(萦绕)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.

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. The desire to follow his passion.

B. The strong support of his wife.

C. The increasing usage of the Internet.

D. A bookstore with millions of exciting titles.

2.What was the author's situation before starting Amazon?

A. He was a garage inventor.

B. He was in search of a good job.

C. He was more than thirty years old.

D. He was satisfied with his working condition.

3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined phrase in Para. 3?

A. Try to do it.    B. Guess it.

C. Take a picture.    D. Do quickly.

4.What can we know about the author from the passage?

A. He got approval(批准，赞成) from his boss.

B. He wanted someone else to try the idea.

C. He might not regret if he failed the idea.

D. He might go back to his boss if he failed.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness    B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion    D. We Are What We Choose

Answer

1. C

2. D

3. A

4. C

5. D

【解析】

本文是一篇人物传记，主要讲述了亚马逊网上书城缔造者杰夫贝索斯当初不顾老板的劝说，毅然辞去令人满意的工作，选择去创业，努力去实践自己创立网上书店的想法，他用自己的行动告诉我们选择塑造人生。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“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，互联网使用量的迅猛发展让作者萌生了创立网上书店的想法，故C项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“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.”可知，创业之前作者和一群聪明的人一起工作，并有一位出色的老板，由此可知作者对他的工作条件很满意，故D项正确。

3.句意理解题。根据画线部分后的“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，作者不会为努力和失败而后悔，也就是说作者决定放手一搏，故A项正确。

4.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I believed I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.”可知，如果失败了，作者也不会后悔，但如果不去尝试，他一定会备受煎熬，故C项正确。

5.主旨大意题。根据文章内容，特别是最后一段中的“For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.”可知，本文主要讲述了亚马逊网上书城缔造者杰夫贝索斯当初不顾老板的劝说，毅然放弃不错的工作，选择去创业，实践自己创立网上书店的想法，用自己的行动告诉我们选择塑造人生，故D项正确。