A
“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 startups 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 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.
文章大意：本文是一篇记叙文，讲述了亚马逊网站创始人的故事。在作者30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，但他最终决定把自己的想法付诸实践。
1．What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore？ __A__
A．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.
B．The support of his wife.
C．Millions of exciting titles.
D．His dream of being an inventor.
解析：细节理解题。根据文章第二段中“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，是互联网使用的迅猛增加让作者想到这个主意的。故选A项。
2．We can know from the passage that __A__.
A．the author might not regret if he failed the idea
B．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author
C．the author wanted someone else to try the idea
D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed
解析：推理判断题。根据画线句子前的“...I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，老板想说服他留下来，他有些动摇，但经过思考之后，还是决定辞职创建网站。他不害怕尝试和失败，但会因为想法没有付诸实践而烦恼。故选A项。
3．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence？ __D__
A．He would be very excited if he tried it out.
B．He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.
C．The decision not to try the online bookstore would terrify him.
D．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.
解析：句意理解题。根据第三段的“...I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，他认为自己将不会为尝试和失败感到后悔，如果不尝试才会令他有遗憾。故选D项。
4．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？ __B__
A．Cleverness and Kindness B．We Are What We Choose
C．The Starting of Amazon D．Following My Passion
解析：标题归纳题。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，作者把自己的热情投入到自己想做的事情中，并且获得了成功，因此可以说是我们的选择成就了我们。故选B项。
