Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.

I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision not to try at all.

After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A. His dream of being an inventor.

B. The support of his wife.

C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.

D. Millions of exciting titles.

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.

B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.

C. He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.

D. The decision not to try the online bookstore would terrify him.

3.We can know from the passage that _______.

A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Cleverness and Kindness B. The Starting of Amazon

C. Following My Passion D. We Are What We Choose

練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：2016屆廣東東莞松山湖莞美學(xué)校高三上學(xué)期19周周測英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

I am an English dictionary. I can still remember the day my ex-owner bought me. He had stood in front of the shelf for around half an hour before finally picking me. Originally, he chose my neighbor. But because she had some ink on the cover, he put her down and chose me instead.

I may sound arrogant (傲慢的) . But please forgive me. I am so proud of my vocabulary. With 100,000 entries and 300,000 examples, I think no scholar can be more knowledgeable than me. My only weakness is that I can’t speak. But that is not my fault. I was not designed to speak in the first place. My ex-owner was supposed to read the phonetic symbols (音標(biāo)) clearly printed beside each word, which were also my selling point. I should have been respected but have ended up lying next to a piece of used toilet paper inside the rubbish bin.

It is all because of the electronic dictionary. He is the bad guy because he takes advantage of my one weakness. And I just don’t understand why he can be so slim. He also has about 100,000entries but 450,000 examples! But I know this was not the reason why my ex-owner was attracted, for he was not a very diligent (勤奮的) student and seldom read the examples listed. The main reason was that the bad guy had so many games in him. My ex-owner always pretended to be working hard while actually he was playing games.

My ex-owner put me on his bookshelf because of my awesome English name “Advanced English Dictionary”. He wanted people to think that he was an advanced learner. I wanted to tell him that it would be better if he hid the comic books standing next to me. But, you know, I can’t speak. I stood there for years. I was so bored. So I talked to the comic book next to me. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have talked to him because I was educated and he was not. But who else could I choose? He told me that my ex-owner had read him once only and then put him there. I was upset because he had never read me from page one to page 1,000. Was I not a better book than the comic book? I wanted to challenge his honesty but before I did so, he was thrown away.

I give up. My pages are absorbing waste water. There is no way people will use me again. Suddenly, I want to talk to the comic book. Would he talk to me if we met?

1.Why does the dictionary think that the electronic dictionary is the “bad guy”?

A. I t contains more words and examples.

B. It can actually pronounce the words.

C. It has a smaller size.

D. It has many games.

2.The dictionary thinks that its ex-owner put it on the bookshelf because he ______.

A. thought that it could match the comic books

B. wanted his friends to study English

C. just wanted to show off

D. had to use it sometimes

3.What was the dictionary’s attitude toward the comic book standing next to it?

A. It wanted to make friends with him.

B. It respected him.

C. It envied him.

D. It hated him.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A. A Dictionary Is Replaced with an Electronic One

B. Students Seldom Use Dictionaries

C. A Dictionary and a Comic Book

D. The Experience of a Dictionary

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016屆福建漳浦第一中學(xué)高三上學(xué)期第一次調(diào)研英語試卷（解析版） 題型：七選五

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有兩項為多余選項。

How to Improve Eyesight Naturally

Eyes are important for everybody. You must take care and try everything in your hand to keep them in good condition. Here are some of the tips to improve your eyesight naturally.

1. Strain is known to be a factor in many health conditions and eyestrain（眼疲勞） is no exception. Try meditation, yoga or other methods of stress relief to improve your vision and overall health.

Sit upright in a comfortable chair. 2. Cup your hands so that there is no pressure on your eyes. Let your fingers rest across your forehead. There should be no light entering your eyes. Palming（手掌按摩）should be done for a period of 5 to 10 minutes to start. Palming should be relaxing. It may help to do palming in a darkened room.

3. It will unpleasantly affect your eyesight, which affects the eyes by producing a larger amount of insulin (胰島素) in the blood. Therefore you shouldn’t be having much fruit juice or something that contains a lot of sugar.

The only exercise most eyes get is that daily rubbing we give them when we're tired or suffering from eyestrain. But eye exercises are actually good for your eyes and can improve your vision. 4. Blink as fast as you can for a few seconds then close your eyes tightly, open and repeat. Do this exercise 3 to 4 times daily.

You probably hear that statement all the time but eating the right foods are necessary to good health. 5. Foods that are high in fiber, vitamin C, D and beta carotene as well as other vitamins and minerals can help improve your vision. Here are a few foods that can be beneficial to good vision: carrots, eggs, blueberries, spinach, kale, grapes, and fresh garlic.

A. Reduce eyestrain.

B. Keep your eyes moist（濕的）.

C. Sugar is your eye’s worst enemy.

D. Give your eyes a workout with the following exercise.

E. You may not be aware that your diet affects your vision but it does.

F. Close eyes and cover them with the palms of your hands.

G. Be sure to get plenty of sleep so your eyes don’t strain to stay open during the day.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年黑龍江佳木斯二中高二上學(xué)期期末英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Going to outer space is a little like going camping. You have to carry with you all the food and equipment you need for your trip, so your food can’t be too heavy or hard to prepare. Plus, there are no refrigerators to keep food cold and fresh. Food with all the water dried out is lightweight and doesn’t spoil(變壞). So, many space foods are dried on Earth and stored in special packets.

On Earth, gravity is the force that keeps your feet on the ground and your sandwich on your plate. But there’s no gravity in space. To keep food from floating(漂浮) away, astronauts on the Space Shuttle attach the packets to a special tray(托盤). The tray can be fixed to a wall or to the astronaut’s lap. To prepare their food, astronauts use liquid forms of salt and pepper. The liquid sticks to the food better. Regular salt and pepper would float away, maybe up an astronaut’s nose.

Liquids float right out of cups and glasses, though. So astronauts drink everything from a small bag with a straw(吸管) that can be closed. Astronauts say that most space foods taste pretty good. Some, such as apples and pudding, are the same as the foods you eat on Earth.

Astronauts eat tortillas instead of bread because they make fewer crumbs(碎屑). Floating crumbs could get stuck in equipment or an astronaut’s eye.

Your body uses food in space the same way it does on Earth. Your body must deal with waste in space too. During takeoff and landing, astronauts can’t leave their seats to go to the bathroom. They wear diapers(尿布) under their spacesuits instead. The Space Shuttle has a bathroom the size of a small closet. The toilet has bars that keep astronauts from floating away. A strong flow of air is used instead of water to flush waste down the toilet.

1.Why do astronauts use liquid forms of salt and pepper to prepare food?

A. Liquid doesn’t spoil.

B. Liquid is convenient to use in space.

C.Liquid is lightweight.

D. Astronauts are in great need of water.

2.What do astronauts think of space foods?

A. Most of them taste pleasant.

B. They are mostly fruits.

C.Most of them are rather cold.

D. They contain too little meat.

3.We can infer from the passage that astronauts ___________.

A. drink from cups and glasses

B. always wear diapers in space

C. can move freely during landing

D. must pay attention to crumbs in space

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Astronaut’s hard life in space.

B. How astronauts go to the bathroom.

C. The various foods astronauts eat in space.

D. How astronauts eat and deal with waste in space.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016屆陜西西北農(nóng)林科技大學(xué)高三上學(xué)期期中英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effective coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them.

Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat（整潔的）and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentleman. And they can focus their attention on academics rather than style.

Purchasing school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation(猶豫) and consideration. No matter what the school’s policy is, there are only specific essential(基本的) pieces to the wardrobe（服裝） that are necessary, so it won’t break the bank. A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day.

Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmates are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore when students are limited in their choices, so there shouldn’t be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lack of individuality(個性) with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles.

Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students.

1.What would be the best title for the text?

A. The advantages of school uniforms.

B. The history of school uniforms.

C. How to dress properly.

D. How to deal with pressure in school.

2.Teachers think that wearing school uniforms ________________.

A. is just a tradition that students should follow

B. makes students feel less pressure in study

C. helps students put more effort into their studies

D. makes students lose their independence and identity

3.The underlined part “it won’t break the bank” in Paragraph 3 probably means “___________”.

A. a school uniform doesn’t cost a lot of money

B. a school uniform should be worn every day

C. parents will have to go to the bank many times

D. parents who work in a bank can afford the uniform

4.We can infer from the text that school uniforms _________.

A. are not popular with fashion designers

B. were not accepted by parents in the past

C. will be designed by students themselves

D. will be more fashionable in the future

5.The author’s attitude towards students’ wearing school uniforms is ___________.

A. negative B. supportive C. doubtful D. Unclear

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年湖北省四校高一下學(xué)期期末聯(lián)考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：完形填空

完形填空

Imagine spending 1,182 hours working hard and receiving no encouraging words. This was the situation I found myself in as I _________a new swim team with a Russian coach. As a long-time swimmer, I was used to receiving plentiful praises and _________speeches from my coaches. _________ , after practicing for a few weeks, I noticed I did not hear any _________ like “you’re almost there”, “congratulations”, or “you’re doing great” that _________ me through the hard practice. I received scoffs(嘲笑) when I was expecting _________ and praises. To me, Vladimir seemed like a _________man.

As I was trying to understand him through his heavy accent, I realized that Vladimir had been trained and _________by the culture in Russia and that led to his different coaching style and unusually high _________ . He spent over 1,182 hours _________, receiving no praises and was simply expected to _________ . This method of coaching that seemed so foreign to me was from what he _________ , leaving home at the age of twelve, and eventually winning an Olympic medal.

I began to appreciate his _________to give out praises. He had a much different idea on how best to coach and motivate swimmers. He did not feel the _________ to say compliments(稱贊), since he believed one should be _________ without these praises.

It was the fact that he was so different from my previous coaches that made him _________ ．He forced me to really think about why I was swimming. I learned to swim not for 57but to find the motivation. It became clear to me that the _________of experiencing different coaching styles is that each one can bring out the best in me if I learn from these _________ . Various training styles may be _________ to me at the start but can help me grow in many ways.

1.A．founded B．joined C．interviewed D．trained

2.A．typical B．practical C．polite D．positive

3.A．Therefore B．Otherwise C．However D．Moreover

4.A．words B．voices C．jokes D．news

5.A．followed B．helped C．forced D．checked

6.A．promises B．smiles C．behaviors D．surprises

7.A．funny B．poor C．cold D．familiar

8.A．a(chǎn)warded B．judged C．influenced D．frightened

9.A．qualities B．limits C．temperatures D．expectations

10.A．swimming B．dreaming C．seeking D．thinking

11.A．inspire B．fail C．chat D．perform

12.A．went through B．gave up C．carried out D．turned down

13.A．gift B．removal C．refusal D．a(chǎn)rgument

14.A．possibility B．need C．duty D．right

15.A．a(chǎn)dvised B．ignored C．a(chǎn)ccepted D．encouraged

16.A．valuable B．modest C．humorous D．ordinary

17.A．fame B．prize C．praise D．power

18.A．pleasure B．risk C．chance D．benefit

19.A．differences B．measures C．mistakes D．stories

20.A．similar B．uncomfortable C．important D．impossible

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年河南安陽市高二下期末英語試卷（解析版） 題型：短文改錯

短文改錯

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處，每處錯誤僅涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

增加：把缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。

修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1.每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞；

2.只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。

Recently I read an article in a magazine. It was about the mother who was worried about her son just because of he always kept his hair long. The mother thought that was not right，and the son felt there was nothing unusually about it. Different generations have different opinion on the same thing. That is what is meaning by “the generation gap”．We can see them in our daily life. Most of our parents like listening to old songs when young people prefer pop songs. Every time my father finds me listening to rock music，he always shouted, “ Shut it off. It’s awful ! ” How can we deal with the generation gap?

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015-2016學(xué)年廣東惠來一中、揭東一中高一下期末英語卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

The children are full of ______. They have been playing all day long without resting.

A. force B. power C. energy D. Strength

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2016年高考英語一輪復(fù)習(xí)新人教版選修6第3-5單元檢測英語試卷（解析版） 題型：語法填空

語法填空。

I seldom thought I had a passion. I would sit before the TV all day, thinking 1. nothing but the next shadow. It was not long ago that I first learned how important having a passion is to life.

One day I went with Mum to drop my sister off at the gym. Then, 2. Mum stopped at a red light, someone on the roadside caught my eyes. It was a man 3. (dress) in rags, homeless. That didn’t interest me, for I 4. (see) many like him before.

But he man wasn’t sitting down with a sad 5. (express). He had a radio in his hand and was dancing 6. (merry) to the music. The radio seemed to be the most precious thing 7. he had.

“Mum, why does that man have a radio even though he’s homeless?” I asked.

“He bought 8.,” she replied.

“But if he’s homeless, why doesn’t he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn’t need.”

“Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren’t 9. only important things. We need happiness, too.”

“I see.” The man must care too much about music, so he bought a radio instead of food and clothes. I realized that happiness is the key to life. 10. it, there’s nothing to look forward to. A passion gives a person the happiness they need to keep going!

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案