Question

Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside. They often talked of opening their own store one day.

When Mary was in hospital with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious. Richard, who worked for a business company, expected to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her job.

They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry(產業). “We knew it had to be a specialty(專業) store because we couldn’t afford enough money,” says Mary. One idea came to her: She’d read somewhere that about 20 percent of books sold were mysteries, and many buyers spent more $300 a year on books. She and Richard were themselves mystery readers.

On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home. With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop. To pay the $100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from friends and from a bank.

The store only broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract(吸引) buyers. The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and provided dinners for book clubs that met in the store. She also invited some writers to discuss their stories.

Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $420,000 a year. After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales workers, Richard and Mary together earn about $34,000.

“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income(收入)” says Richard. “This has always been about a pleasant life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.”

1.When Mary was in hospital, the couple realized that ____.

A. they had to put their plan into practice

B. health was more important than money

C. heart trouble was a serious illness

D. they both needed to stop working

2.After Mary got well from her illness they began _____.

A. to study how to open a bookstore

B. to buy and read more mystery books

C. to do market research on book business

D. to work harder to save money for the bookstore

3.How did their bookstore do in the first year?

A. They had to borrow money to keep it going.

B. They made just enough to pay all the costs.

C. They succeeded in making a lot of money.

D. They failed though they worked hard.

4.According to Richard, the main purpose of opening the bookstore is _____.

A. to pay for their children’s education

B. to get to know more writers

C. to set up more bookstores

D. to do what they like to do

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

試題分析： 瑪麗和她的丈夫像許多書籍愛好者一樣，李察戈德曼，很少路過書店而不進去看看。他們經常談論自己將來有一天開一家書店。瑪麗生病住院了，他們開始談論到擁有自己的書店并且研究這個產業。等她出院之后，他們開設了自己的書店。

1.1】細節理解題。問題：當瑪麗生病住院的時候，這對夫婦認識到了什么？聯系原文：They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry(產業). 句意：他們開始談論到擁有自己的書店并且研究這個產業。明確他們將計劃列入到日程中。故選A

2.2】細節理解題。問題：在瑪麗恢復了健康之后，他們開始做了什么？分析：短文明確講述了她在出院之后，開始走入市場對這個行業進行了調查，與討論。明確答案為第三項。故選 C

3.The store only broke even in its first year, with only $120,000 in sales. But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract(吸引) buyers. 句意：店里在第一年就有所突破，銷售額只有120000美元。但是，瑪麗總是想出新的方法來吸引買家。明確書店的費用能支付所有花費。因此選擇第二項。故選B

4.李察戈德曼，他們開設書店的主要目的是什么？聯系原文：This has always been about a pleasant life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money.句意: 這一直是自己一個快樂的生活，而不是為了掙錢。明確只是做了他們想做的事情。故選D

考點：故事類短文閱讀。