閱讀理解

What I saw was a great opportunity to provide computing technology in a more efficient way. I started the business with a simple question: how can we make the process of buying a computer better? The answer was: sell the computer directly to the end customers.

Sometimes it’s better not to ask or to listen when people tell you something can’t be done. I didn’t ask for permission. I just went ahead and did it.

On January 2， 1990， I went back to Austin before I had to attend classes， and I did all the things one needed to do to set up a business. I registered the company with the State of Texas as “PC’s Limited”. I placed ads in the classified section in our local newspaper.

Through my previous contracts with customers and the small ads I placed in the paper， I was already getting a lot of business. I was selling upgraded personal computers， and add-on computer components between $50，000 to $80，000 to people in Austin area. Not long after starting the classes I was able to move from the room that I shared with a roommate to an apartment with high ceilings and two bedrooms. I didn’t， however， tell my parents for a few months that I moved.

In early May， about a week before I took my final exam to complete my freshman year， I set up the company as “Dell Computer Corporation”， doing business as “PC’s Limited”. I hired a few people to take orders over telephone and a few more to fulfill them.

Not going to college is not an acceptable option in my hometown. Persuading my parents to allow me to leave school would have been impossible. So I just went ahead and did it， whatever the results. I finished my freshman year， and left. After a while， my parents forgave me. And a little bit after that， I forgave them， too.

People ask me now， “Were you scared?” Sure. But it turned out， the time for founding PC’s Limited couldn’t have been better.

1. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2?

A. He was not easily influenced by others.

B. He felt sure of success.

C. He thought others were helpless.

D. He used to do things all by himself.

2. What was the author when he started the business?

A. A salesman.B. A farmer.

C. A worker.D. A student.

3. Which is the correct order of the events the author experienced?

a. He left college.

b. He hired some workers.

c. He registered a company.

d. He moved into an apartment.

A. a， c， b， d.B. a， d， b， c.

C. c， b， d， a.D. b， c， d， a.

4. How did the author feel in talking about his PC’s Limited?

A. Satisfied.B. Pressed.

C. Excited.D. Worried.

完形填空

If you asked high school girls to name their favorite sports， most would probably say basketball or volleyball. I happened to be one of the few girls who would 1 : surfing（沖浪）. But isn’t that a boy thing? Some people may 2 . Most certainly not.

I started surfing about five years ago and 3 in love with the sport on the very first day. Riding that first 4 was the best feeling I had ever experienced.

When I try to 5 surfing with other things， I find it very difficult because， in my 6 ， there’s nothing like it. It involves body， 7 ， and soul. There’s sand between my toes and cool， salt water all 8 us. The feeling I get when I’m surfing across that 9 ， becoming one with the 10 ， is like I’m weightless.

The one thing I can 11 from surfing and not any other sport is endless challenge. You can never be the “best surfer” because the ocean 12 an uncountable variety of waves that nobody can ever master. The variations of surfing styles are wonderful. Some surfers are 13 and flowing; others are very aggressive and sharp. All of these things attract me to surfing and make it 14 from any other sport.

I’ve 15 to tell every girl I know to do something that people don’t think girls can do. It’s part of being human to advance to new 16 ， so shouldn’t it be expected that girls should step up and start 17 the limits of things boys and men used to dominate?

There’re women 18 side by side with the President of our country， so why not be side by side with the boys 19 the football team or out in the water surfing? Give girls a chance to 20 ， and they will.

1. A. tellB. answerC. giveD. realize

2. A. wonderB. understandC. replyD. believe

3. A. stayedB. cameC. droppedD. fell

4. A. waveB. stormC. sailD. boat

5. A. bringB. connectC. compareD. tie

6. A. workB. studyC. holidayD. life

7. A. mindB. effortC. healthD. time

8. A. alongB. aboveC. aroundD. by

9. A. beachB. waterC. boardD. lake

10. A. skyB. worldC. earthD. ocean

11. A. takeB. getC. makeD. keep

12. A. catchesB. includesC. offersD. collects

13. A. freeB. greatC. hardD. soft

14. A. easyB. usualC. farD. different

15. A. chosenB. triedC. learnedD. promised

16. A. levelsB. pointsC. stepsD. parts

17. A. reachingB. acceptingC. pushingD. setting

18. A. sittingB. walkingC. fightingD. working

19. A. ofB. fromC. onD. with

20. A. thinkB. succeedC. performD. feel