Interview with Allan Gray
(1)I was working for a multinational company in the early 1980s, and my brother asked me if I was interested in going into partnership with him to set up a language school. I'd always wanted to work for myself, and I was a bit fed up with working for someone else, so I said yes.
Primarily, I wanted the freedom to make my own decisions, I wanted room to be creative, and also I wanted to be able to get the credit and keep the profits if we were successful. I was also happy to carry the can and take the blame if things went wrong. These things are not possible if you work as an employee in a large organization.
(2) I had to borrow money to help start the business, but we were lucky because we also had some outside capital to put into the business. These days it can be really hard to persuade banks to lend money to people who want to start a company, so we were fortunate. It was fairly easy to set up the business, because we had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do. The problem was, all our preconceptions ( 预想 ) about what it would be like to run a business were wrong.
We made lots of mistakes, and we almost went bankrupt (破产的 ) at the beginning. At one point, we only had two students in the school.
(3) Far too long! We lost money for the first four years and, as I was saying, we nearly went out of business. It took quite a long time to start making profit. The best thing we did, though, was that we hired some really good people to work for us. In fact, some of those people are still working for us,24 years later. Now we're doing well, but it was very risky at first.
(4) One is financial constraint ( 约束) , It can be very tough. Think all small businesses have cash flow problems -- it often takes a long time to get paid by your customers. The second big problem is marketing. It takes a lot of funds to market your business, and you have to get your name known and build a reputation. But the biggest challenge is managing the people. All businesses are about people, and you have to learn how to deal with all kinds of people – and I think we've been extremely good at getting the best of our staff.
23. Paragraph 1 __________
24. Paragraph 2 __________
25. Paragraph 3 __________
26. Paragraph 4 __________
A. Strategies in expanding a small business
B. Right people to run a business
C. Time-consuming experience of being successful
D. Challenges of running a business
E. Difficulties in starting the business
F. Reasons for working for oneself
27. If you made a bad decision as a boss, you had __________.
28. The difficult thing to start a business is to persuade banks __________.
29. If you hire the right people, you'll probably be able __________.
30. Besides financial and marketing challenges, you must know how __________.
A. to lose your house
B. to manage your employees
C. to keep independent
D. to lend you money
E. to take the responsibility for it
F. to make profit
2014年真题
The Storyteller
(1) Steven Spielberg has always had one goal: to tell as many great stories to as many people as will listen. And that's what he has always been about. The son of a computer scientist and a pianist,Spielberg spent his early childhood in New Jersey and, later, Arizona. From the very beginning, his fertile imagination filled his young mind with images that would later inspire his filmmaking.
(2) Even decades later, Spielberg says he has clear memories of his earliest years, which are the origins of some of his biggest hits. He believes that E.T. is the result of the difficult years leading up to his parent's 1966 divorce, "It is really about a young boy who was in search of some stability in his life." "He was scared of just about everything," recalls his mother, Leah Adler. "When trees brushed against the house, he would head into my bed. And that's just the kind of scary stuff he would put in films like Poltergeist."
(3) Spielberg was 11 when he first got his hands on his dad's movie camera and began shooting short flicks about flying saucers and World War II battles. Spielberg's talent for scary storytelling enabled him to make friends. On Boy Scout camping trips, when night fell,Spielberg became the center of attention. "Steven would start telling his ghost stories," says Richard Y. Hoffman Jr., leader of Troop 294, "and everyone would suddenly get quiet so that they could all hear it."
(4) Spielberg moved to California with his father and went to high school there, but his grades were so bad that he barely graduated. Both UCLA and USC film schools rejected him, so he entered California State University at Long Beach because it was close to Hollywood.
Spielberg was determined to make movies, and he managed to get an unpaid, non-credit internship ( 实习 ) in Hollywood. Soon he was given a contract, and he dropped out of college. He never looked back.
(5) Now, many years later, Spielberg is still telling stories with as much passion as the kid in the tent. Ask him where he gets his ideas, Spielberg shrugs. "The process for me is mostly intuitive (凭直觉的) ," he says. "There are films that I feel I need to make, for a variety of reasons, for personal reasons, for reasons that I want to have fun, that the subject matter is cool, that I think my kids will like it. And sometimes I just think that it will make a lot of money, like the sequel (续集) to Jurassic Park."
23. Paragraph 1 __________
24. Paragraph 2__________
25. Paragraph 3 __________
26. Paragraph 4 __________
A. Inspirations for his movies
B. The trouble of making movies
C. A funny man
D. Getting into the movie business
E. Telling stories to make friends
F. An aim of life
27. Some of Spielberg's most successful movies came from __________.
28. When Spielberg was a boy, he used to be scared of __________.
29. Spielberg is very good at__________.
30. Spielberg says he makes movies for __________.
A. almost everything
B. telling scary stories
C. a number of reasons
D. making children laugh
E. his childhood memories
F. a lot of money
2013年真题
Traffic Jams -- No End in Sight
(1) Traffic congestion (拥堵) affects people throughout the world. Traffic jams cause smog in dozens of cities across both the developed and developing world. In the U. S., commuters (通勤人员) spend an average of a full working week each year sitting in traffic jams, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. While alternative ways of getting around are available, most people still choose their cars because they are looking for convenience, comfort and privacy.
(2) The most promising technique for reducing city traffic is called congestion pricing, whereby cities charge a toll to enter certain parts of town at certain times of day. In theory, if the toll is high enough, some drivers will cancel their trips or go by bus or train. And in practice it seems to work: Singapore, London and Stockholm have reduced traffic and pollution in city centres thanks to congestion pricing.
(3)Another way to reduce rush-hour traffic is for employers to implement flextime, which lets employees travel to and from work at off-peak traffic times to avoid the rush hour. Those who have to travel during busy times can do their part by sharing cars. Employers can also allow more staff to telecommute (work from home) so as to keep more cars off the road altogether.
(4)Some urban planners still believe that the best way to ease traffic congestion is to build more roads, especially roads that can take drivers around or over crowded city streets. But such techniques do not really keep cars off the road; they only accommodate more of them.
(5)Other, more forward-thinking, planners know that more and more drivers and cars are taking to the roads every day, and they are unwilling to encourage more private automobiles when public transport is so much better both for people and the environment. For this reason, the American government has decided to spend some $7 billion on helping to increase capacity on public-transport systemsand upgrade them with moreefficient technologies.But environmentalists complain that such funding is tiny compared with the $50 billion being spent on roads and bridges.
23. Paragraph 1 __________
24. Paragraph 2__________
25. Paragraph 3 __________
26. Paragraph 4 __________
A. Paying to get in
B. Changing work practice
C. Not doing enough
D. A solution which is no solution
E. Closing city centres to traffic
F. A global problem
27. Most American drivers think it convenient to __________.
28. If charged high enough, some drivers may enter certain parts of town __________.
29. Building more roads is not an effective way to __________.
30. The U. S. government has planned to __________ updating public-transport systems.
A. reduce traffic jams
B. drive around
C. go by bus
D. spend more money
E. travel regularly
F. encourage more private cars
答案与解析
2015年真题
23．F。题干：第一段的主要内容是__________。第一段没有明显的主题句，主要论述了自己为什么想要为自己而工作，诸如做决定的自由、创新的空间、获得赞扬以及获得利润等，所以F(为自己而工作的原因)是正确答案。
24．E。题干：第二段的主要内容是__________。第二段没有明显的主题句，主要讨论了开始做生意面临的资金问题以及所犯的错误，故E(生意起步时遇到的困难)是正确答案，其中start a business是关键词。
25．C。题干：第三段的主要内容是__________。第三段的主题句为首句，即要花费很长的时间，后面的句子提到他们花了很长时间之后才开始盈利，故C(成功所需的耗费时间的经历)是正确答案。
26．D。题干：第四段的主要内容是__________。第四段没有明显的主题句，从one，the secondbig problem以及the biggest challenge等词可知本段主要描述了做生意过程中遇到的一些问题和挑战，故D(做生意面临的挑战)是正确答案。
27．E。题干：如果作为老板你做了错误的决定，那么你将不得不__________。按照出题顺序与段落顺序一致的原则，利用make a bad decision可以定位到第一段的倒数第二句“I was also happy to carry the can and take the blame ifthings went wrong”，意为“如果事情出错了，我也乐意承担责任和过失”，所以答案为E(自己负责)，其中carry the can为固定短语，意为“代人受过，负责任”，take the blame意为“负责任，担不是”，与选项中的take responsibility for(承担责任)为近义词。
28．D。题干：生意起步的困难就是说服银行__________。利用题干关键词start a business与persuade bank可以定位到第二段第二句，可知对那些想要开公司的人而言，说服银行借钱给他们是很困难的，所以该题答案为D(借给你钱)。
29．F。题干：如果你雇佣到了适合的人，那么你就能__________。利用题干关键词right people可以定位到第三段，可知他们花了很长时问才开始盈利，这其中最棒的事情就是他们雇佣到了合适的人，所以答案为F(盈利)。
30．B。题干：除了财务和营销的挑战，你必须懂得如何__________。利用题干关键词financial和marketing可以定位到最后一段，其中提到了三个问题，财务问题、营销问题以及管理员工的问题，结合语境可知B(管理员工)是正确答案。
2014年真题
23．F。题干：第一段的段落大意为__________。第一段的主题句为首旬，即Steven Spielberg有一个目标，那就是给很多愿意倾听的人讲很多好的故事，所以选项F(人生的目标)为正确答案。
24．A。题干：第二段的段落大意为__________。第二段的主题句为第一句：Even decades later,Spielberg says he has clear memories of his earliest years，which are the origins of some of his biggest hits．即Spielberg认为他对儿时有着清晰的记忆，而这些就是他一些成功作品的来源，所以选项A(电影的灵感)为正确答案。
25．E。题干：第三段的段落大意为__________。第三段无明显的主题旬，该段主要讲Spielberg很擅长讲恐怖的故事，让他交到了很多朋友，所以选项E(讲故事来交朋友)为正确答案。
26．D。题干：第四段的段落大意为__________。第四段无明显的主题句，该段主要讲述Spielberg被电影学校所拒，然后到离好莱坞比较近的大学上学，并努力获得好莱坞实习的机会，获得电影合同后就退学了，所以选项D(进入电影行业)为正确答案。
27．E。题干：Spielberg非常成功的电影都来自于__________。利用题干关键词和第24题的分析，可知Spielberg认为他对儿时有着清晰的记忆，而这些就是他一些成功作品的来源，所以选项E(他儿时的记忆)为正确答案。
28．A。题干：Spielberg是个孩子的时候，他害怕__________。利用题干关键词be scared of可以定位到第二段“He was scared ofjust about everything”，意为“他害怕几乎所有的一切”，所以选项A(几乎所有的一切)为正确答案。
29．B。题干：Spielber9很擅长__________。利用题干关键词is good at和题目顺序与题干顺序一致的原则，可以定位第三段“Spielberg’s talent for scary storytelling enabled him to make friends”，意为“Spielberg讲恐怖故事的天赋让他交到了朋友”，所以选项B(讲恐怖故事)为正确答案。
30．C。题干：Spielberg说他制作电影是因为__________。利用题干关键词make movie可以定位到第五段“There are films that I feel I need to make，for a variety ofreasons，for personal reasons，for reasons that l want to have fun…”，意为“我觉得我需要制作电影，因为各种各样的原因，比如因为个人的原因，因为我想找到乐趣的原因”，所以选项C(很多原因)为正确答案。
2013年真题
23．F。第一段首句是主题旬，交通拥挤影响到了全世界的人，故F(全球问题)是正确答案。
24．A。第二段首旬是主题句，最有希望减少城市拥挤的技术被称为拥堵收费，即车辆在一天的特定时段进入城里的特定区域是要收费的。故A(付费进入)是正确答案。
25．B。第三段首句是主题句，另一种缓解交通高峰期的方法是雇主实行弹性工作时间，这可以让员工在非高峰期往返工作，以避开上下班的高峰期，因而B(改变上下班惯例)是正确答案。
26．D。第四段没有主题句，通过本段可知很多人认为缓解交通压力的办法是多修路，但作者认为这种办法并不能真正解决问题。故D(一个不能解决问题的解决方案)是正确答案。
27．B。句意：大部分美国人认为很方便。利用关键词convenient可以定位，根据第一段最后一句“most people still choose their cars because they are looking for convenience，comfort and privacy”可知，很多人选择开车是为了舒适、方便和隐私。因而答案为B。
28．C。题干：如果收费足够高，许多司机可能进入城镇的特定区域。利用题干关键词charge可以定位，根据第二段“In theory，ifthe toll is high enough，some drivers、will cancel their trips or go by bus ortrain．”可知，“理论上，如果收费足够高，有些司机将会取消行程或者乘坐公交或火车”，所以C(坐公交)为正确答案。
29．A。题干：建设更多的路不是有效的方法。利用题干关键词building roads等可以定位，根据第四段可知，有些城市规划者认为缓解交通拥挤的办法是建更多的路，但是并不能真的让车远离道路，而只会容纳更多的车。因而修路并不是缓解拥堵的好办法，所以A(缓解交通拥挤)为正确答案。
30．D。题干：美国政府计划通过__________来升级公共交通系统。利用题干关键词govemment和public—transport system等可以定位，根据第五段倒数第二句可知，美国政府决定花费70亿美元来提高公用交通系统的通行量，并使用更有效的技术对其进行升级，所以D(花费更多钱)为正确答案。
