2022年自考《综合英语（一）》练习试题5.7

Passage 2

America has long been considered the land of opportunity by those from other countries.Americans,too,believe that the United States provides almost limitless opportunity for those who want to open businesses on their own.

Today,Americans are still fond of trying their hand at becoming small business people,even though only one out of two survives the first two years.Many of these people start their businesses for the wrong reasons:to get away from the paper work of their present jobs or to exchange the responsibility of their present jobs for freer life styles.But more,not less,paper work and responsibility come with ownership of a small business.John Shuttleworth,owner of the recently successful news magazine Mother Earth,reports having had to work sixty hours straight in order to bring out the first issue.

John Shuttleworth waited years after thinking about the idea for Mother Earth before he attempted to put out the first issue.During that time,he collected as much information as he could about his plan.He borrowed books about business from the library;he talked to people already established in the field;and he began planning in detail the amount of money and the kinds and numbers of supplies he would need.When he finally opened with a capital of$1,500,he set up his office in the kitchen of his home and his printing press in the garage.Due to his devotion to business,his skill and talent,Mother Earth now has a circulation of 300,000.

Not all small businesses succeed as well as Mother Earth does.Fifty percent of the 450,000 that start in the United States every year fail.Still,ninety-five percent businesses in the States can be described as small.Combined,these businesses account for forty percent of America’s gross(总的)national product.