Question

    Recalling their college days,friends Miguel Amaro,Ben Grech and Mariano Kostelec all say that their biggest problem was finding somewhere to live in the first place.

As an international student from Argentina,Mariano had to pay 12 months’ rent in advance to get his place in London.Dutchman Miguel booked some super-expensive residence in Nottingham because he didn’t know any better.Ben from the UK was looking around the streets of Nottingham knocking on doors trying to find a place.

A year after graduating from their own separate universities,the three men realized that there was a business opportunity.They came up with a plan to create an online marketplace matching students with accommodation(住处)。So in 2011 the three started work on their business and website Uniplaces.

They invested around E50,000.Later that year they won first round funding of 200,0000 euros led by the founder of UK property website Zoopla.

From there it was down to business,getting a permanent office in Lisbon,Portugal and persuading landlords(房东)to join the site and checking properties(房产)。The Uniplaces website was then officially launched in 2013,with an initial 50 properties in the Portuguese capital listed on the site.

Mariano,28,says,”We picked Lisbon as our first city as it totally made sense to stay here It is a low cost,good location with access to great talent such as good engineers,and people with excellent language skills,which is great when dealing with so many international students.”

Students using Uniplaces pay one month’s rent in advance via the website,and the sum goes through to the landlord 24 hours after they move in.I hereafter they pay directly to the landlord.Uniplaces takes a service fee of 20%-25%of the student’s first month’s rent

Since its launch,three million nights have been booked through the platform.which currently lists over 40,000 properties.The company has now employed 132 employees

Incomes grew four times in 2016 compared to the previous year.But it hasn’t been all smooth for the three entrepreneurs(创业者)。

1.What is the possible relationship among the three people?

A.Classmates.

B.Roommates.

C.Competitors.

D.Partners.

2.The website Uniplaces is intended to

A.rent rooms for the tourists

B.sell properties for the landlords

C.evaluate properties for residents

D.find accommodation for students

3.Which of the following is most likely to be talked about after the last paragraph?

A.Advantages of making full use of the Internet.

B.The development of the company in the future.

C.Obstacles in the course of running the business.

D.The trend of the online accommodation industry.

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述三个大学毕业生在2011年开始着手他们的业务和网站Uniplaces的经历。

1.推理判断题。根据第三段A year after graduating from their own separate universities,the three men realized that there was a business opportunity.They came up with a plan to create an online marketplace matching students with accommodation(住处)。So in 2011 the three started work on their business and website Uniplaces.“从各自的大学毕业一年后，这三个人意识到这里有一个商机。于是，他们三人在2011年开始了他们的业务和Uniplaces网站的工作。”由此可知，这三个人之间可能的关系是“合作伙伴”。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据倒数第三段Students using Uniplaces pay one month’s rent in advance via the website,and the sum goes through to the landlord 24 hours after they move in.I hereafter they pay directly to the landlord.Uniplaces takes a service fee of 20%-25%of the student’s first month’s rent“使用Uniplaces的学生通过网站提前支付一个月的房租，并在入住24小时后将这笔钱转给房东。我以后他们直接付款给房东。Uniplaces收取学生第一个月房租20%-25%的服务费。”由此可知，Uniplaces网站旨在为学生寻找住处。故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段Incomes grew four times in 2016 compared to the previous year.But it hasn’t been all smooth for the three entrepreneurs(创业者)。“2016年的收入同比增长了四倍。但这三位企业家也并非一帆风顺。”由此可知在最后一段之后被讨论的是“经营企业过程中的障碍。”故选C。