Question

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

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 ultimately, 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 to not 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. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.

B. The support of his wife.

C. His dream of being an inventor.

D. Millions of exciting titles.

2.We can know from the passage that _______.

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

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

C. the author wanted someone else to try the idea

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

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

A. Cleverness and Kindness

B. The Starting of Amazon

C. We Are What We Choose

D. Following My Passion

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述的是亚马逊网站创始人的故事。才智是与生俱来的，而善良是后天可以选择的。天赋易得，选择难做。在贝佐斯16岁的时候，他惊叹于互联网的迅速发展，于是萌发了建立网上书店的想法。在得到妻子的支持以后，他辞去了待遇很好的工作，虽然老板曾试图留住他，但贝佐斯最终决定把自己的想法付诸实践。

1.A细节理解题。根据第二段“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.”可知，互联网的迅速发展让作者感到吃惊，也让作者萌生了创建一个网络书店的想法，故选A。

2.B推理判断题。根据第三段“I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，作者认为自己将不会为尝试和失败感到后悔。故选B。

3.C主旨大意题。根据最后一段“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.”可知，作者把自己的热情付诸了实践，并且获得了成功。是我们的选择人才成就了我们每一个人。故选C。

【名师点拨】

如何归纳文章中心

要注意不是所有的段落都有主题句，有时主题句暗含在句中。阅读这样的文章，就需要自己根据文章的细节来分析，概括出段落的主题，从而推导出文章的主旨。分析的方法是：先弄清该段落主要讲了哪几方面的内容，这些内容在逻辑上有什么联系，然后加以归纳形成主题。35小题C主旨大意题。根据最后一段“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.”可知，作者把自己的热情付诸了实践，并且获得了成功。是我们的选择人才成就了我们每一个人。故选C。

考点：考查人物传记类阅读