单选题 Entrepreneurs are everybody's darlings these days. They may be small, but they are innovative. And innovation, we are assured, is the main engine of economic growth.
For policymakers everywhere, the task is to get the little critters to nest and breed. Give them the conditions they like--plenty of venture capital, tax breaks and a risk-taking culture—and the sun will shine on all of us, just like in California.
Along comes Amar Bhide to tell us most of this is plain wrong. Entrepreneurs, he asserts, are not risk-takers at all. Nor do most of them innovate, or depend on venture capital.
His findings are striking enough. Start with his assertion that entrepreneurs are not innovators or risk-takers. The vast majority of new businesses, he points out, start small and stay that way. These are the hairdressing salons, corner shops and landscape gardeners. Those are mature, predictable industries. For just that reason, they are the least profitable.
The success stories come in areas of high uncertainty, where markets are changing fast because of technology, regulation or fashion. A very large proportion, unsurprisingly, are in computing.
But Mr. Bhide insists they are rarely innovative. The people who start high-growth businesses take a humdrum idea, usually from someone else, then change it constantly to fit the market. The starting point is much less important than what happens next. Nor are they risk-takers. These are typically young people, with no money, expertise or status. They have nothing to lose. Risk arrives later on, when they have made their pile and must decide whether to invest in long-term growth or sell out.
This is one reason why so few promising start-ups become a Dell or Microsoft. Taking planned, calculated risks is the job of big, established companies, Mr. Bhide argues. True entrepreneurs rarely have the temperament for it.
What they have, instead, is a high tolerance for ambiguity--defined as knowledge that you know you do not have. Few of Mr. Bhide's interviewees began with any kind of business plan. That would have been a waste of time: the future was simply too uncertain. Therein lay their opportunity.
Big companies may be happy with risk, but they cannot stand ambiguity. They can invest billions in a chip plant or oil field, but only when they know the odds. When the odds are unknown, entrepreneurs have the game to themselves.

单选题 The passage mainly discusses ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】文章第一段提出，“Entrepreneurs are everybody's darlings these days，…they are innovative…”表明企业家是受大家喜欢的人物，因为他们具有创新精神，敢于冒险，但是第3段中Amar Bhide却毫不留情地指出，“Nor do most of them innovate，or depend on venture capital．”这样的开篇设计暗示作者是为了打破在大众心目中的企业家神话，故选A。选项 B，C提到的企业家的成功故事跟成功素质，都没在文中提及，而D选项的企业家跟大公司的差别有在文中讲到，但不是文章的主旨，所以不正确。

单选题 All of the following are true of hairdressing salons, corner shops and landscape gardeners EXCEPT ______.

单选题 The success of small businesses lies in ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】第5段中提到，“The success stories come in areas of high uncertainty ：where markets are changing fast because of technology，regulation or fashion．”作者指出，小企业的成功主要是因为所在行业充满了许多不确定因素，因受到技术，法规以及时尚等影响而不得不快速变化以适应。在下一段开始，“But Mr．Bhide insists they are rarely innovative”所以A不对。接着，作者又再指出，“take a humdrum idea，usually from someone else”，所以C也不对，不是原创性的想法。在第6段中第1句就说到，“Nor are they risk-takers．”因此排除D。故选B。

单选题 Which of the following is TRUE of companies like Dell or Microsoft?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】首先，Dell和Microsoft都是全球著名的大公司，所以首先可以排除C。在倒数第3段中提到，“Taking planned，calculated risks is the job of big，established companies，”接着在最后一段中又提到，“Big companies may be happy with risk”，由此可见，大公司不是不去冒险，而是会将风险控制在可以掌控的情况之下，冒险之前必先做出仔细的研究才踏出第一步，所以B不对。从最后一段中的“but only when they know the odds．When the odds are unknown，entrepreneurs have the game to themselves，”可见，大企业在投资一个项目之前一定会对所承担风险作精确的估测，不会轻易冒险。由此可得出，A是不对的，而D才是正确的。