Question

    When I opened my closet door this morning, I saw a sign that says, “Good morning, beautiful business.” It’s a reminder to me of just how beautiful business can be when we put all our creativity, energy, and care into producing one product or service in exchange for another. Economic exchange can be one of the most meaningful and beautiful interactions among human beings.

Over the past years since I started the White Dog Café, my business has not only provided me with a way of making a living and a way of serving others but also been my teacher. In reading Small Is Beautiful I realized that so much of what my business has taught me can be found in the great lessons of E.F. Schumacher: it is of great benefit to keep your business focusing on the needs of workers rather than only on what they produce; you’d better use a management style that balances freedom and order; you should build sustainable local economies and respect the land and nature. The effects of industrialization that worried Schumacher decades ago have gotten even worse: namely, wealth inequality and the growing degradation (退化) of our environment.

Today much of what I care about ---nature, animals, communities, family farms, family businesses, native cultures, the character of our towns and cities, even  our children’s future---is being threatened by corporate globalization. To protect all that I care deeply about, I need to step out of my own company, out of the White Dog Café. I started my journey with the simple idea that a sustainable global economy must be compromised of sustainable local economies. Rather than a global economy controlled by large international corporations, our movement advocates a global economy with a network of local economies made up of small independent businesses that create community wealth while working in harmony with natural system.

I opened the White Dog Café in 1983 on the first floor of my house in a neighborhood of Philadelphia. It is the house I have lived in since I was a child. Today much of the food I serve at the White Dog Café comes from the same land where my ancestors once farmed. When I opened the café years ago, it was a simple coffee and cake take-away shop serving students who lived nearby. Over the years we have expanded our menu and grown to occupy five buildings. We now employ more 100 people, can seat more than two hundred customers, and earn over $5 million a year! I owe our success to making decisions not for the purpose of maximizing profits but instead maximizing the relationships with our customers and staff, with our community, with our suppliers and with our natural environment.

Now I still live above the shop. I still have the old-fashioned way of doing business---the way it was in the old days with the family farm, the family inn, and the corner store. Living and working in the same community has given me a stronger sense of place and a different business outlook. When I make a business decision, it comes naturally for my decision to be made in the common interest of all involved because every day I see the people affected by my decision---my neighbours, my customers, and my employees as well as the natural world. There is a short distance between the business decision-maker and those affected by the decision. I believe that when we are surrounded by those affected by our decisions, we are more likely to make a decision from the heart as opposed to the head.

Business schools teach “grow or die”. But I make a conscious decision to continue to be a small business because I know that when we grow in physical size, we give up something very important ---authentic relationships with the people around us and those we do business with. I have come to realize that we can measure our success by measuring how much we improve our knowledge, deepen our relationships, achieve happiness, and have more fun.

1.What do we know about the sign on the author’s closet door?

A.It has been her family motto for years.

B.It serves as an inspiration to her.

C.It comes from one of her favourite book.

D.It helps her forget difficulties in business.

2.What is one drawback of corporate globalization according to the author?

A.The high cost. B.Small profits.

C.Poor management. D.Damage to the environment.

3.What did the author do when facing the threat of corporate globalization?

A.She worked together with other independent businesses.

B.She fought against the global economy in her community.

C.She expanded her own business at home and abroad.

D.She learned from large international corporations.

4.What is the secret behind the success of the White Dog Café?

A.It always has regular customers.

B.It has been run as a family business.

C.It gets along well with the people involved.

D.It makes big profits by developing fast.

5.Why does the author choose to live and work in the same community?

A.She wants to stay close to her family.

B.She can learn about others’ opinions easily.

C.Food in her café can be served immediately.

D.Neighbors can be her customers or employees.

6.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph imply?

A.We usually learn how to do business in business school.

B.Business schools focus on the basic principles of business.

C.We tend to measure success in business by constant growth.

D.Business schools teach when to expand or leave the business.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.C

5.B

6.C

【解析】

这是一篇夹叙夹议文。文章的作者开了一间咖啡店，开店的过程教会了作者许多。在企业全球化的大背景下，作者依然选择做小生意，因为作者认为衡量成功的标准是我们知识的增加，关系的加深，获得的幸福和享受的快乐。

1.细节理解题。由第一段“It’s a reminder to me of just how beautiful business can be when we put all our creativity, energy, and care into producing one product or service in exchange for another.”可知它提醒我，当我们将所有的创造力和关心都投入到生产一种产品或服务以换取另一种时，有多美好。由此可以看出，这个标志对作者来说是一种鼓励。故选B项。

2.细节理解题。由第三段“Today much of what I care about ---nature, animals, communities, family farms, family businesses, native cultures, the character of our towns and cities, even our children’s future---is being threatened by corporate globalization.”可知，现在我担心的是：自然、动物、社区、家庭农场、家族生意、本族文化、我们城镇和城市的特征，甚至是孩子的未来，这些正受到企业全球化的威胁。因此企业全球化的一个缺点是损坏环境，故选D项。

3.细节理解题。由第三段“Rather than a global economy controlled by large international corporations, our movement advocates a global economy with a network of local economies made up of small independent businesses that create community wealth while working in harmony with natural system.”可知，比起全球经济被大型跨国公司控制，我们的行动提倡一个具有地方经济网络的全球经济，由很多小型独立企业构成，在创造社区财富的同时与自然和谐相处。所以面对企业全球化的威胁，她选择跟独立企业合作。故选A项。

4.细节理解题。由倒数第二段段“When I make a business decision, it comes naturally for my decision to be made in the common interest of all involved because every day I see the people affected by my decision---my neighbours, my customers, and my employees as well as the natural world. ”可知，在我做决定的时候，我的决定自然地是为了所有有关人员的共同利益，因为每一天我见到的人都影响我的决定；包括邻居、客户、雇员和自然世界。所以White Dog Café成功的秘密是它跟所有相关的人和睦相处。故先C项。

5.推理判断题。根据第四段“I owe our success to making decisions not for the purpose of maximizing profits but instead maximizing the relationships with our customers and staff, with our community, with our suppliers and with our natural environment.”可知，我的成功归功于做决定时不为利益最大化，而是最大化与客户和员工、社区、供应商和自然环境的关系。关系最大化，意味着更多的了解对方，而在相同的社区居住和工作能做到这一点，由此判断出作者选择在相同的社区居住和工作，是因为她很容易了解别人的想法。故选B项。

6.词句猜测题。根据最后一段“But I make a conscious decision to continue to be a small business”可知，但我有意识地决定继续做小生意。我的决定与前面是转折关系，所以前面应该是生意应该越做越大，即商业学校教会我们要么增长要么灭亡。因此，下划线的句子意思为：在商业领域我们倾向于用不停的增长衡量成功。故选C项。