8．Start Small and Grow Big
Jack Ma，Founder and Chairman of e-commerce（电子商务） giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd．，is one of those self-made billionaires in the technology field．His rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet Empire．
Jack Ma，whose Chinese name is Ma Yun，was born in a normal family in 1964．Like most Chinese parents back then，Ma's father beat him growing up．He was poor at math but loved English．Starting at age 12，he awoke at 5a．m．to walk or bicycle to Hangzhou's main hotels so he could practice his English with foreign tourists．He did this for nine years and acted as a free tour guide to many，befriended several and later visited one family in Australia．Those experiences opened his eyes．
After twice failing the national college entrance exams，Ma entered what he called"Hangzhou's worst college．"Graduating in 1988，Ma married his college sweetheart and taught English at a local college for five years，earning 15a month．During that time，he also applied for jobs at a local KFC，a hotel and the city police，and failed to land．
Determined to enter business，Ma set up a translation company，but he still had to peddle goods on the street to get by．During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995，Ma first experienced the Internet．He believed in the Internet's business potential when few other people did．In 1999，with the help of more than a dozen friends who pooled their resources-just 60，000-he started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment．At that time，e-commerce was unheard of in China．"I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers，"he once said，according to The Guardian．His unusual ideas earned him the nickname"Crazy Jack Ma"．
Since its foundation，Alibaba has grown from 15employees to more than 30，000．The company floated on the New York Stock Market in September 2014for 25billion-the largest public offering in history．The company now makes more profit than rivals Amazon．com and e-Bay combined．Alibaba has directly and indirectly created 40million jobs for China．Ma hopes to keep expanding Alibaba outside of China （the company is already big in Russia and Brazil） and is aiming for 2billion consumers and 10million small businesses to use the company abroad．
Ma's lifestyle is very simple and modest．Ma enjoys meditation（冥想） in the mountains，playing poker with friends and writing his own kung fu novels．Forest Gump is Jack Ma's hero．
"Forest Gump never gives up and believes in what he is doing，"said Ma．He also quoted the phrase"Life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get．"
56．What made him into e-commerce industry？B
A．His English learning experience．
B．His foresight and ambitions．
C．His simple and modest lifestyle．
D．His friends and 60，000funds．
57．The underlined sentence in Para.4 means thatD．
A．Ma had no confidence in his business future
B．Ma was a blind man riding on a blind tiger
C．Ma had not enough money at that time
D．Ma knew little about e-commerce
58．What's the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage？B
A．Funny and competitive．
B．Determined and creative．
C．Friendly and kind．
D．Stubborn and crazy．
59．The passage is mainly aboutC．
A．the development of Alibaba Group
B．Jack Ma's personal life
C．the journey of Jack Ma's success
D．Jack Ma's work experience．
分析 本文讲述了阿里巴巴的创始者马云的成长，从小时候的学习不好考上"杭州最差大学"到毕业后从事各种工作有了经验，到最终他接触到互联网，并且认识到了互联网所存在的潜力并开展电子商务，因此获得非凡的成功以及如今取得的巨大成就．
解答 56．B 推理判断题．由文章第四段，马云相信在没有人接触到电子商务的时候认识到其存在的巨大商机He believed in the Internet's business potential when few other people did．是马云有远见以及有雄心．故选B．
57．D 推理判断题．由划线语句所在原句，At that time，e-commerce was unheard of in China．"I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers，"he once said，according to The Guardian．可知，当时电子商务还没在中国流行，因此没人了解，马云说自己是骑在盲虎背上的盲人，说明他自己也不了解电子商务．故选D
58．B 推理判断题．通读全文后发现马云是个有决心并且有创造力的人，而在文中没有体现出他的善良，顽固，幽默，友善，有竞争力．尽管他被称为"crazy Ma Yun"，然而疯狂并不能形容他．故选B
59．C 主旨大意题．考察学生对文章的理解，全文主要讲述马云的经历以及成功的经过，故选C
点评 考点：考察记叙文阅读，主要考察学生对短文的理解，以及根据短文内容对题目所出问题的判断，需要学生认真读所给文章，并且到原文寻找答案所在内容．
