Burn rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate was $ 75,000 a month. Four months after my company was set up, I had only a quarter of the starting capital left in the bank.
Looking for guidance, I went to talk to my friend, Arthur Walworth about my new venture. “Times of great change always bring out the risk-takers,” he said. “And they leave winners and losers. My grandfather invested a lot of money in a project of Thomas Edison’s that ended up in failure. ”
I was lost in thought at the notion (an idea or belief about something) of a Thomas Edison project ending in failure. Damn. It could happen to anybody! I must continue.
At that time CD-ROM sales had bombed, so investors were fleeing from the field. I didn’t turn away from mine entirely, but instead linked it to the Internet.
My plan was to offer consumers descriptions of home-design products by using a special software and let them modify the designs. Then we can enable them to get online professional and constructional help to have their houses built, decorated and furnished according to their own choice.
To realize my plan I needed investors, so I continued to meet regularly with venture capitalists. One said I had a great idea. But I needed to test it. Get the money somewhere. To get this money from a venture capitalist is going to cost my wife and my children! He turned down my request.
Wife? Children? I hardly remembered them.
I was working nonstop --- struggling to turn the key in the lock, to find the right way ahead. The pressure was terrible. It was just at this time that my parents and sisters stepped up. Two hundred thousand dollars. A lot of money to them, invested in this crazy son and brother without a moment’s hesitation. Dad and Mom had driven out from Chicago and seen the passion in my little office and the trouble at home.
With their help my company survived and has been prospering ever since.
1.When the author’s company started operation, he had _______ .
A. $ 450,000 B. $ 400,000 C.$ 350,000 D. $ 300,000
2.Arthur implies that to start a business in times of change, people have to _______ .
A. rely on famous people all be time
B. invest as much money as possible
C. face the risks of possible failure
D. think about nothing but success
3.The author’s company was engaged in _______
A. furniture design and production
B. online home-design service
C. traditional home designing
D. home decoration business
4.Faced with a very unfavorable market situation, the author decided _______.
A. to improve his service B. to start a new business
C. to withdraw his money D. to reduce his investment
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger(房客) earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Won’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free — but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.
1.If you earn ￡5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
A. ￡800 B. ￡500 C. ￡4500 D.5000
2.Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
A. On Letpark. B. On Roomspare.
C. On Grashpadder. D. On Roommateeasy.
3.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
A. sign an agreement with the government
B. pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment
C. sell the roof to some energy companies
D. keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years
4.For whom the text most probably written?
A. Lodgers. B. Advertisers.
C. House owners. D. Online companies
At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down. Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract(紧缩) several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by tendons(腱)；as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons(爪) close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.
1.Bats hang upside down because________.
A. they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws
B. they can’t start to fly from the ground directly
C. they have no hind legs to support their body
D. they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day
2.The third paragraph tells us that bats’ hanging upside down_______.
A. is to save their energy for night movement
B. is a way to fight against flying animals
C. is a great way to hide from danger
D. is a skill to compete for the flying places
3.Why can bats hang upside down easily?
A. Because their upper body is light.
B. Because they have strong muscles.
C. Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly.
D. Because their tendons are linked to their upper body.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. The living habits of bats.
B. How and why bats hang upside down.
C. The importance of bats’ hanging upside down.
D. How bats use their energy at night.
What time is it？Most people are pretty accurate in their answer. And if you don’t know for sure, it’s very likely that you can find out. There may be a watch on your wrist; there may be a clock on the wall, desk, or computer screen; or maybe you’re riding in a car that has a clock in the dashboard .
Even if you don’t have a timepiece of some sort nearby, your body keeps its own beat. Humans have an internal clock that regulates (调节) the beating of our heart, the peace of our breathing, the discharge (排出) of chemicals within our bloodstream, and many other bodily functions.
Time is something from which we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still going by, ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the main issue in using your time well is, “who’s in charge？” We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it our ally.
By taking control of how you spend your time, you'll increase your chances of becoming a more
successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote to your
studies, the more time you'll have to spend on your outside interests.
The aim of time management is not to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a timetable that
governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to make informed choices as to how we use
our time. Rather than letting the day go by, largely without our awareness, what we are going to discuss
next can make us better able to control time for our own purposes.
1.The underlined word “ally” in Para.3 most likely means somebody or something that is ________.
A. your slave and serves you
B. your supporter an helps you
C. under your control and obeys you
D. under your influence and follows you
2.The author intends to tell us that time ________.
A. could be regulated by a timepiece such as a clock or a watch
B. could be managed by the internal clock by human bodies
C. should be well managed for our own interest
D. should be saved for outside interests
3.In the next part, the author would most probably discuss with you ________.
A. how to keep up with the times B. how to make up for lost time
C. how to have a good time D. how to make good use of time
I’ve often puzzled over something that happened to me one winter when I was eight. Over the years I had been wondering if my 31 was nothing more than a kid’s imagination.
There was a 32 near our house. In winter it was the greatest 33 place in the world. One 34 all I wanted to do was go skating. I had been waiting for weeks 35 the water was frozen solid. Mom had one rule: “Never ice-skate alone.” But I couldn’t 36 any longer that afternoon. So I 37 my skates under my coat and ran to the pond. Several people were skating near the shore, and some kids were playing hockey. I was not really 38 .
The hockey game had attracted 39 audience, so I skated in the other direction until their cheering 40 . But another noise came soon. The ice was cracking beneath me. Freezing water 41 my body, and I sank like a rock. My feet 42 the bottom. Just when I thought I wouldn’t last another 43 , I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Don’t worry,” someone said. I swung my 44 around. I couldn’t see anybody. But I heard the voice again，“Push your feet into the bottom and you’ll shoot straight up to the surface.” I did as I was told and 45 . I crawled to the shore and lay down, 46 . The next thing I knew was people were 47 around me, covering me with coats.
When I awoke, I was home in my own bed. Mom sat next to me, 48 my hand. “I saw nobody there. It must be an angel that came to my 49 .” I said. Mom smiled, “I just thank God you’re safe.”
For a long time I thought I would 50 a more realistic explanation if I just thought hard, but I never did.
1.A. attention B. behavior C. explanation D. reason
2.A. river B. pond C. lake D. dam
3.A. skating B. fishing C. swimming D. skiing
4.A. afternoon B. morning C. evening D. night
5.A. after B. until C. as D. if
6.A. go B. run C. sit D. wait
7.A. found B. threw C. took D. hid
8.A. lonely B. single C. alone D. afraid
9.A. noisy B. happy C. small D. young
10.A. changed B. disappeared C. increased D. stopped
11.A. filled B. controlled C. covered D. loaded
12.A. hit B. dragged C. set D. tapped
13.A. day B. hour C. minute D. second
14.A. head B. hand C. arm D. leg
15.A. left B. succeeded C. tried D. survived
16.A. worried B. surprised C. excited D. exhausted
17.A. lying B. standing C. laughing D. crawling
18.A. raising B. shaking C. holding D. washing
19.A. place B. mind C. defense D. rescue
20.A. take up B. make up with C. bring up D. come up with
-- How could you be so rude as to walk in here in the middle of my class?
--- _________.
A. Nothing much B. Nothing serious
C. Never again D. Never mind
