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. When the author's company started operation, he had _ . A) $ 450,000 B) $ 400,000 C) $ 350,000 D) $ 300,000
B
(Question)
How to apply for a free mailbox ? First you have to connect to the Internet and go to the homepage of the ICP providing free mailboxes. Then you will find an icon , an agreement about the rules for using the free mailbox will appear. If you want to go, click the icon "I agree". Then you have to fill in a form about your basic personal data, and the name and PIN of the mailbox. The PIN is the key to the mailbox. After finishing these, you will get a mailbox like this:your name @ mail server (for example:tvguide@mail.cctv.com.cn. "tvguide" is the name of the mailbox, and "mail.cctv.com.cn" is the name of the mail server.). The mailbox is separated into two parts by a separator "@", which is read as "at". The former part is the name of the mailbox. The latter is the domain name of the mail server. All mails to you will be received by the server and put into your mailbox. You can read these mails on any computer on the Internet in the world, if you have the name and PIN of the mailbox. The writer mainly wants to tell us how to _ in this passage. A) send a letter by e-mail B) read the e-mail on computers in the world C) get a free mailbox D) find out one's e-mail address
(Answer)
C
Ques: Imagine a picnic dinner held at a location only made known hours before the meal, where guests are invited to decorate tables and chairs, bring their favorite dishes and wear white to reflect the simplicity of the event. This was the scene at a PopUp dinner held on June 13 in Brooklyn, New York's Prospect Park. PopUp dinners are popping up nationwide -- not just in Brooklyn. Garrett Sathre and his wife and business partner, Nicole Benjamin-Sathre are the team behind Hand Made Events and the creators and hosts of PopUp dinners. Sathre, a former restaurateur and head chef with Bubba's Diner and Kitchen 39, both located in the Bay Area, came up with the concept of the flash dinner after he was inspired by the annual Diner en Blanc held in Paris. In 2011, Hand Made Events used the power of social media to get the word out and soon, enough interest was attracted. In October 2011, it held its first flash dinner, calling the evening Le Diner a San Francisco at Golden Gate Park's outdoor Music Pavilion. He described it as a picnic dinner for 3,500 people."I thought we would have anywhere between 300-500 people to attend. Two articles ran a week later about my crazy idea and we got 15,000 emails within three days,"Sathre said. After the success of the San Francisco dinner, Sathre decided to expand his"crazy idea"and hold dinners across the country in major markets such as Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sathre says their Brooklyn PopUp on June 13 sold 5,000 tickets in just four days with 5,000 on the waiting list raising over $160,000 in ticket sales. Those are some big numbers. Hand Made Events partners with the Prospect Park Alliance and gives all of their proceeds to the non-profit group. In total, the Brooklyn PopUp dinner raised over $60,000 for the Prospect Park Alliance. Hand Made Events sees the same interest in their smaller city locations."We have seen a 30 percent increase in our smaller markets -- Minneapolis, San Diego, Charleston, and Miami every year,"Sathre said. Hand Made Events has eight... Which words can best describe the event held in Brooklyn? A) Popular and simple. B) Creative but undesirable. C) Random and crazy. D) Inspiring but unsuccessful.
Ans: A
Question: In Washington D.C., 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a very special address. It is the address of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. Originally the White House was gray and was called the presidential Palace. It was built from 1792 to 1800. At this time, the city of Washington itself was being built. It was to be the nation's new capital city. George Washington, the first president, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, chose the place for the new city. L'Enfant then planned the city. The president's home was an important part of the plan. A contest was held to pick a design for the president's home. An architect named James Hoban won. He designed a large three-story house of gray stone. President Washington never lived in the Presidential Palace. The first president to live there was John Adams, the second president of the United States, and his wife Mrs.Adams did not really like her new house. In her letters, she often complained about the cold. Fifty fireplaces were not enough to keep the house warm. In 1812 the United States and Britain went to war. In 1814 the British invaded Washington. They burned many buildings, including the Presidential Palace. After the war James Hoban, the original architect, partially rebuilt the president's home. To cover the marks of the fire, the building was painted white. Before long it became known as the White House. The White House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States. Every year more than 1.5 million visitors go through the five rooms that are open to the public. The White House was built in Washington _ . A) because a French engineer was invited to design it B) because President George Washington liked to live in it C) because the British invaders lived in it in1812-1814 D) because it was to be the nation's capital city
Answer:
D