2. 外语
  3. •Read the following extract from an article about small business in U. S. economy and the　questions that follow. •For each Quest

•Read the following extract from an article about small business in U. S. economy and the　questions that follow. •For each Quest

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问题 •Read the following extract from an article about small business in U. S. economy and the　questions that follow.
•For each Question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose.
                                 Small Businesses in U. S. Economy
      Small business plays a major role in the American economy. More than 990//00 of the nation’s 16 million businesses are small. Their effects are felt in number of areas, including financial performance, innovation, job creation, new-business formation, and contributions to big business.
But what is a small business? There are actually many different definitions, but the most widely quoted ones are those of the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). To help entrepreneurs, the SBA has drafted definitions to fit virtually every industry. For the sake of simplicity, we will define a small business as one that is independently owned and operated and has relatively little influence over its environment.
     In sheer numbers alone, small business far outstrips big business. There is also evidence that suggests that small business outperforms big business financially. On average, for example, small manufacturers earn a higher return on owners’ equity than do large manufacturers, for which there are two main reasons. First, in many manufacturing industries, small business can respond more rapidly and at less cost than can big business to the quickening rate of change in products and services, processes and markets. Second, small business has positive impact on the nation’s economic performance in terms of gross national product, growth rates, and other indicators.
Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Play a Major Role in Innovation
    Small businesses or individuals working alone invented the personal computer, the transistor radio, the photocopying machine, the jet engine, and the instant photograph. Their ingenuity also gave us the pocket calculator, power steering, the automatic transmission, air conditioning, and even the ballpoint pen. Clearly, we are all better off for the presence of millions of small businesses. Their resourcefulness and ingenuity have spawned new industries and contributed a great many innovative ideas and technological breakthroughs.
       Small businesses create more new jobs than do larger businesses. One study suggested that small businesses may create as many as 66 percent of all new jobs in the United States each year. In another study, the U. S. Department of Commerce found that small, young, high technology businesses created new jobs at a much faster rate than did larger, older businesses. Such small businesses require employees with a high degree of scientific or engineering knowledge and thus generate additional demand for them.
New-Business Formation
      Another indicator of the importance of small business is the record number of businesses formed each year since 1960. New incorporations hit the 600,000 mark for the first time in 1983. This figure is more than four times the total in 1960. Of course, some of the new corporations are mature businesses that were born as sole proprietorships or partnerships and have only recently incorporated. Nevertheless, many more small businesses are created each year than larger ones.
      A final reason for small businesses to have such an enormous impact is their contributions to big business. General Motors, for example, buys from over 25,000 suppliers, most of whom are small businesses.
Small businesses can deliver specialized products more efficiently than can larger businesses. Indeed, big businesses buy more of their inputs from small businesses than from other big businesses. Small businesses also play a key role in distributing and selling the products of larger businesses to consumers.
     Of all the new businesses that appear each year, many succeed but many also fail. Here we discuss common reasons for small-businesses’ success. Many ingredients contribute to small business success, but some of the most common ones are hard work, drive, and dedication on the part of the entrepreneur; market demand for the product or service being offered; managerial competence, and luck.
     A key ingredient in the success of any small business is hard work, drive, and dedication on the part of the entrepreneur. An individual must have a strong desire to work independently of others and be willing to work for long hours if she or he is to succeed.  In general, successful entrepreneurs tend to be reasonable risk-takers, self-confident, hardworking, goal setters and innovators.  
The key factors to the success of small businesses are ______ .
选项 A、their enormous contributions to big business
B、a great many personal computers in the office
C、hard work, drive, dedication, managerial competence and luck
D、basic managerial competence in the high level of demand
答案C
解析
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