Question

B

IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades. He used it to start up a business—IKEA. IKEA's name comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up ('E' and 'A').

IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order book in 1947. The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line．Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became a pure furniture company in 1951.

In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling a table to make it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales boosted. The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having meanings of self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion．

Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.

1.The author states in Paragraph 4 that flat packaging___________.

A. needs large space to store furniture

B. is a business concept inspired by Kamprad

C. helps reduce transportation costs

D. makes the company self-sufficient

2.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and succeeded.

B. IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer.

C. The advantages of IKEA’s furniture.

D. Ingvar Kamprad was a natural businessman.

3.What can you learn about IKEA form the passage?

A. The starter kept IKEA a company operated by a few people

B. The furniture was made by manufacturers in Kamprad’s home

C. The starter made a big fortune when he was a child

D. The goods sold in IKEA are limited and not welcomed

4.The passage is written mainly in terms of ___________.

A. examples that illustrate a problem

B. order of events

C. analysis of a process

D. comparison and contrast

Answer 1