阅读理解
Blake Mycoskie set up five businesses, but later he sold them all at a profit. Feeling a bit burned out from work, Mycoskie decided to give it a break for a while and headed down to Argentina for some rest. But rest isn't really part of a businessman's make-up. It's in their nature to keep having good business ideas.
On a visit to a
village outside Buenos Aires, he was shocked to see that many children didn't
have any shoes or, if they did, the shoes were badly worn. Since
shoes—particularly the local farmers' canvas(帆布的)shoes—can be bought cheaply in Argentina, Mycoskie's first
instinct(本能) was to set up a charity to donate shoes to
the children. But after giving it some thought, he realized that this was not a
model that would work. One pair of shoes per child would not make that much
difference, because they wear out(磨损). And if he asked
people to donate repeatedly —to provide new shoes for the same child every six
months—the donors' sympathy(同情)for the cause might also
wear out pretty quickly.
Instead he came
up with the idea of "TOMS:
one-for-one shoes". He would take the canvas shoe to America, manufacture
it and sell it as a high end fashion item at around $ 50 a pair. For each pair
he sold he would donate one pair to shoeless village children. That way he
could guarantee a continual supply.
Several years on,
the business is very successful, supplying shoes not only to children in
Argentina but also other parts of the world. But can the one-for-one model be
repeated with other products? Mycoskie is doubtful. TOMS is a for-profit
business, but does not yet make a profit. He says one-for-one is not an offer
that you can just add to your existing business model; you have to build it
from the beginning.
Some would also
argue that the charity aspect is just a marketing tool, but in the end does
that matter? TOMS is making a real difference to poor children all over the
world and Mycoskie is enjoying being a businessman more than ever.
(1)
Why did Blake Mycoskie go to Argentina?
A . To go for relaxation.
B . To seek business cooperation.
C . To look for new business ideas.
D . To learn to make canvas shoes.
(2)
Why didn't Blake Mycoskie set up a charity?
A . He wasn't interested in running a charity.
B . He had no real experience of running a charity.
C . A charity would make no difference to the children.
D . A charity could not donate shoes to the children continually.
(3)
Why did Blake Mycoskie set up TOMS?
A . To help poor children.
B . To support a charity.
C . To win national fame.
D . To expand his business.
(4)
What do we know about TOMS?
A . It has made a profit.
B . It only supplies shoes to children in Argentina.
C . It gives Mycoskie a sense of achievement.
D . It can be a model for other kinds of products.
答案: A
D
A
C