发布时间 : 星期五 文章大学英语IV第4次作业更新完毕开始阅读8813a9543b3567ec102d8a64
white-collar workers became consultants and worked from home. Suddenly the home enterprise was legitimate. Running a company from your spare bedroom no longer meant you spent your day holding Mary Kay and Tupperware parties.
The Internet increased the allure of the home-based start-up. Most shoestring e-biz companies begin in the home, whether the company trades in products or services. For a small Net-based business, there is little reason to rent offices. Besides, statistics from the Small Business Administration (SBA) strongly suggest your odds for success are greater if you launch from home.
The SBA has found that 52 to 55 percent of all businesses are no longer active after five years. For those companies launched and grown in the home, the failure rate is 45 to 48 percent after five years. Placing your business in your home gives you a slightly better than even chance for survival. The improved odds most likely have to do with the lower overhead of a home-based business.
With a soft economy and a growing number of laid-off workers who will naturally consider a business start-up when they discover their job prospects are dim, this is not the best time to launch a new enterprise. But a home business start-up boom is likely in process right now. It’s not because of opportunity; it’s because of desire. [共5题]
(1) From para.1, we may know that out-of-home business launch did NOT involve______. (A) renting an office place (B) offering more personal freedom (C) managing staff
(D) investing large sum of money into the business 你选择的答案：未选择 [错误] 正确答案：B
(2) According to the passage, when will people consider a business launch? (A) when there are fewer choices in the job market and no opportunity in the stock market.
(B) when they think their job futureless.
(C) when there are more and more laid-off workers as well as a soft economy. (D) All of the above. 你选择的答案：未选择 [错误] 正确答案：D
(3) According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true? (A) Blue-collar workers had been laid off in earlier down cycles.
(B) Blue-collar workers had been laid off for the first time in the last down cycle. (C) White-collar workers had been laid off for the first time in the last down cycle. (D) White-collar workers hadn’t been laid off yet in earlier down cycles.
你选择的答案：未选择 [错误] 正确答案：B
(4) Now a home-based business has many advantages Except ______. (A) more chance of success (B) better chance for survival (C) no need of renting office (D) no money put into management 你选择的答案：未选择 [错误] 正确答案：D
(5) What does the passage mainly talk about? (A) Everyone should start his own business. (B) Home-based business will become popular. (C) Home-based business means success.
(D) Home-based business will replace out-of-home business. 你选择的答案：未选择 [错误] 正确答案：B 参考答案：
[第六单元]; 第5小题：B 主旨题。通读全文，可以得知文章主要讲的是在家创业的兴起及其优势，随着网络的发展其一定会流行起来。
43.
In 2002, Ismail convinced Wyman to launch a new business – called PubSub – based on an idea that Wyman says he had been mulling for two decades: a Web search engine that would flag future references to certain search criteria, such as earthquake notifications or Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The key selling point was immediacy: While Google Alerts and other systems ran periodic checks for new related content, Wyman’s program notified users the instant a reference appeared. In theory, PubSub would make money by running searches on behalf of companies, or by licensing its technology for private use.
Wyman, now 53, and Ismail, 41, kicked in a combined 250,000(Ismail’s200,000 represented his entire net worth). The friendly entrepreneurs seemed off to a good start. Their technology worked, and, thanks to Ismail’s contacts, the company soon raised
lotfasterthanPub ubcod≥≠rateit.
Then came the conflict. Wyman says Ismail wasn’t willing to dilute his ownership stake to raise more capital, while Ismail says that Wyman was too prickly and impetuous for investors to work with. Things really got messy when a well-funded company called KnowNow, which sells information-tracking services, inquired about a potential merger. Ismail thought the company’s weak cash position would lead to a lowball offer; Wyman, on the other hand, thought the two companies would be a good
another
3. million. a s,however,weresluggish,andthepairfoundtheywereburn gthroughcasha
fit.
At last, all money is down the drain and Pub ub can’t even afford to file for bankruptcy. No one has filed suit – yet. Meanwhile, Ismail, who resigned from Pub ub’s board last March, says he is in the process of starting up three Internet companies, and that recruiters are knocking down his door. Wyman says he is looking for work but would like to keep Pub ub alive. “This is one of the most painful experiences I’ve gone through in my life,” he says. “ econd only to my divorce.” [共5题]
(1) In theory, PubSub would make money if______
(A) companies and individuals run searches for PubSub . (B) PubSub runs searches for individuals.
(C) PubSub runs searches for companies and licenses its technology for personal use.
(D) PubSub runs searches for companies or licenses its technology for personal use. 你选择的答案： 前次作业时已经做对 [正确] 正确答案：D
(2) The total amount of money invested into PubSub should be about_____. (A) 4.5million (B) 4million (C) 3.7million (D) 2.5million
你选择的答案： 前次作业时已经做对 [正确] 正确答案：B
(3) Which of the following may cause the conflict between Ismail and Wyman? (A) Ismail was so eager to raise more money. (B) Investors prefer working with Wyman to Ismail. (C) KnowNow inquired about a potential merger. (D) Wyman worked for KnowNow.
你选择的答案： 前次作业时已经做对 [正确] 正确答案：C
(4) According to the ending of the story, _____ (A) it’s not unhappy. (B) PubSub is bankrupt.
(C) all the money invested has gone. (D) No one wants to file suit.
你选择的答案： 前次作业时已经做对 [正确] 正确答案：C
(5) Which is true about Wyman?
(A) Wyman found a good job
(B) Wyman still wanted to keep PubSub alive.
(C) Divorce is less painful than the failure in business. (D) Wyman was running 3 Internet companies. 你选择的答案： 前次作业时已经做对 [正确] 正确答案：B 参考答案：
[第六单元]; 第5小题：B 细节题。根据文章最后一段：伊斯梅尔正在创办三家网络公司。威曼正在找工作，但是他想让PubSub起死回生。他说“这是我一生中最痛苦的一次经历,仅次于离婚给我带来的痛苦”。
44.
Mary Engelbreit was a talented but struggling artist in her mid-twenties when she flew to New York from her native Saint Louis, hoping to find work illustrating children's books — her life’s goal. o she was disappointed when all the book publishers she visited turned her down. One even suggested her drawings might be better suited to greeting cards.
Then she decided to give it a try, which transformed her life forever. After that, Engelbreit sent a sample of her drawings to two greeting-card companies. One bought three of her original drawings, and she did occasional work for the other, sketching a lot of whales, dragons, castles and mythical animals. Then in 1980 the birth of her son added a new element to her work. “ uddenly everyday life seemed more interesting to me,” she says. Children, pets, even “good old Mom” started showing up on her cards.
Once you know Engelbreit’s distinctive style, you can recognize her cards from 20 paces away — bright, funny, and with an eye to the past. Her cards usually have elaborate border designs comprised of repeated images: hearts, flowers, peaches, and teapots, for example. “I think the world could use more cuteness,” she explains. “As the world gets more complicated, it’s nice to have old-fashioned stuff around to help people cope with the demands of modern life. It’s like comfort food. This is comfort art.”
While eight months pregnant, in 1983, Engelbreit decided to start her own company. Within two years, her company was producing nearly 100 different cards and selling a million of them a year. In 1986 she licensed the copyrights to the cards to Sunrise Publications, who now manages their production and distribution, allowing her to focus on other projects. Among these is her home-decorating magazine which is sent to 550,000 people.
Today Mary Engelbreit sells an amazing 14 million greeting cards a year. Her popular designs appear on more than 2,000 products, including books, calendars, and kitchen items. She runs a retail company with shops in nine cities (16 more are planned), and her products are carried by 25,000 retailers. Annual retail sales are in the 100millionran≥.