1．What does “LILO” mean?

A．It requires a large amount of money to launch a company.

B．It can enjoy many governments’ favorable policies.

C．The cost to launch a company is low but the profit can be high.

D．It doesn’t need any space or money to establish a company.

20．A.warned　 　　　　　 　B．informed　　　　　　　 C．persuaded　 　　　　　　 　D．reminded

2

It’s time to stop complaining about the economy.Here’s why.At no other time in the recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company，possibly a very profitable company.Let’s call these start­ups LILOs，short for “a little in，a lot out”．These are Web­based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground yet can turn into great moneymakers.In addition，launching such a company now will make your company stronger later-you’ll learn to survive in hard times until the economy improves.

That’s what John Tayman is doing.He’s an author who lives in San Francisco，where I met him；he wrote reviews for a business magazine I edited.Tayman knew little about technology and even less about business，but he dreamed of a website that would summarize car reviews from other sources and rank every model of new cars.

Tayman said he intended to build the site on the side while continuing to write for a living.He worked on his new company only at night and on weekends.Oh，yes，he had only about $ 10,000. “Good luck with that！” I thought.Ideas are much easier to hatch than they are to execute.

he learned about the virtues of lightweight programming languages like Ruby on Rails， where you can find software developers.He picked up the special terms he needed to describe his project so he could put it out for a bid，and he found his first programmer-in Ukraine-who agreed to start building the digital scaffolding (脚手架) for the site.Within months，Tayman had 20 employees working for him in five different countries.“In fact，I hadn’t even met the guy who built most of the site until the launch party，” he says.

went live in January.Tayman figures he works about 10 hours a week on it and hasn’t spent a cent on marketing or advertising.Growth is modest but steady-nearly 10,000 people visit each week，he says，all of whom get there by the word of mouth and via a software “bot” that lets users of Twitter，the popular micromessaging service，request reviews.

The cost to Tayman？“Almost $ 9,800，all in，” he said.As for revenue，he just sold his first display ad，for，well，the low three figures.“But it’s a start，and we’ve already reached ‘ramen profitability’．” He spends about $ 75 a month on server fees and other expenses.

The term “ramen profitable” was coined by Paul Graham，a Silicon Valley start­up investor.It means that your start­up is self­sustaining and can create enough profit to keep you alive on instant noodles while your business gains strength.

19．A.prized　 　　　　　　 　B．given　　　　　　　　　　 C．kept　 　　　　　　　　　　 　D．expected

18．A.still　 　　　　　　　　 　B．also　　　　　　　　　　　 C．even　 　　　　　　　　　 　D．not

17．A.my　 　　　　　　　　 　B．someone’s　　　　　 C．the teacher’s　 　　　 　D．your

16．A.may　 　　　　　　　 　B．must　　　　　　　　　　 C．will　 　　　　　　　　　　 　D．can

15．A.used　 　　　　　　　 　B．built　　　　　　　　　　 C．worn　 　　　　　　　　　 　D．damaged

14．A.pencils　 　　　　　 　B．mistakes　　　　　　　　 C．marks　 　　　　　　　　 　D．containers

13．A.help　 　　　　　　　 　B．show　　　　　　　　　　 C．reward　 　　　　　　　　 　D．promise

12．A.lifting　 　　　　　　 　B．picking　　　　　　　　 C．holding　 　　　　　　　 　D．pushing