单选题
Interview with Allan Gray
1)I was working for a multinational company in the early 1980s, and my brother asked me if I was interested in going into partnership with him to set up a language school. I'd always wanted to work for myself, and I was a bit fed up with working for someone else, so I said yes. Primarily, I wanted the freedom to make my own decisions, I wanted room to be creative, and also I wanted to be able to get the credit and keep the profits if we were successful. I was also happy to carry the can and take the blame if things went wrong. These thing are not possible if you work as an employee in a large organization.
2)I had to borrow money to help start the business, but we were lucky because we also had some outside capital to put into the business. These days it can be really hard to persuade banks to lend money to people who want to start a company, so we were fortunate. It was fairly easy to set up the business, because we had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do. The problem was, all our preconceptions(预想)about what it would be like to run a business were wrong. We made lots of mistakes, and we almost went bankrupt(破产的)at the beginning. At one point, we only had two students in the school.
3)Far too long! We lost money for the first four years and, as I was saying, we nearly went out of business. It took quite a long time to start making profit. The best thing we did, though, was that we hired some really good people to work for us. In fact, some of those people are still working for us, 24 years later. Now we're doing well, but it was very risky at first.
4)One is financial constraint(约束). It can be very tough. Think all small businesses have cashflow problems—it often takes a long time to get paid by your customers. The second big problem is marketing. It takes a lot of funds to market your business, and you have to get your name known and build a reputation. But the biggest challenge is managing the people. All businesses are about people, and you have to learn how to deal with all kinds of people—and I think we've been extremely good at getting the best of our staff.
单选题
A.Strategies in expanding a small business
B.Right people to run a business
C.Time-consuming experience of being successful
D.Challenges of running a business
E.Difficulties in starting the business
F.Reasons for working for oneself
Paragraph 1_____
【正确答案】
F
【答案解析】由第一段I'd always wanted to work for myself, and I was a bit fed up with working for someone else, so I said yes.一句可知,这段讲的就是为啥为自己工作,故选择F。
单选题
Paragraph 2_____
【正确答案】
E
【答案解析】由第二段的第一句I had to borrow money to help start the business, but we were lucky because we also had some outside capital to put into the business.可知,这一段主要讲的就是创业初期遇到的问题困难,比如经费,运营遇到的问题,面临破产等等。
单选题
Paragraph 3_____
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】由第三段Far too long! We lost money for the first four years and, as I was saying, we nearly went out of business. It took quite a long time to start making profit.可知,回收成本和获得利润的时间过长,故选择C 为成功而消耗时间的经历。
单选题
Paragraph 4_____
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】第四段主要所讲的,就是在创业和运营阶段所经历的种种困难,挑战,故选择D。
单选题
A.to lose your house
B.to manage your employees
C.to keep independent
D.to lend you money
E.to take the responsibility for it
F.to make profit
If you made a bad decision as a boss, you had_____.
【正确答案】
E
【答案解析】由第一段倒数第二句I was also happy to carry the can and take the blame if things went wrong.可知,做老板最重要的是承担责任,背黑锅,故选择E。
单选题
The difficult thing to start a business is to persuade banks_____.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】由第二段These days it can be really hard to persuade banks to lend money to people who want to start a company, so we were fortunate.一句可知资本最主要,因此,说服银行借你钱很重要,故选择D。
单选题
If you hire the right people, you'll probably be able_____.
【正确答案】
F
【答案解析】由第三段The best thing we did, though, was that we hired some really good people to work for us.可知,如果雇对了人,你就可能会获利,故选择F。
单选题
Besides financial and marketing challenges, you must know how_____.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】由第四段All businesses are about people, and you have to learn how to deal withall kinds of people—and I think we've been extremely good at getting the best of our staff.可知,除了资本流动和市场浮动,管理好员工也很重要,故选择B。