一、阅读理解。
Elon Musk was born in South Africa, in 1971. A crazy fan of computers, by the age of twelve, Musk had written the code(代码) for his own video game, which he sold for a profit.
He attended Queen’s University in Canada, and transferred(转到) to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned two bachelor’s degrees, economics and physics. He was admitted to Stanford University in California, intending to earn a PhD in energy physics.
First Company—Zip2 Corporation
In 1995, at the age of 24, Musk dropped out of Stanford University after just two days of classes to start his first company Zip2 Corporation. It was an online city guide that provided content for the new online versions of The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune newspapers. In 1999, Musk got $ 22 million from the sale of Zip2.
Online Banking
In 1999, Elon Musk started X．com with $ 10 million dollars from the sale of Zip2. X. com was an online bank, and he was credited with inventing a method of securely transferring money using a receiver’s email address.
PayPal
In 2000, X. com bought a company called Confinity, which had started an Internet moneytransfer process called PayPal. Elon Musk dropped the online banking focus to concentrate on becoming a global payment transfer provider. In 2002, eBay bought PayPal for $ 1.5 billion.
Space Exploration Technologies
In 2002, Elon Musk started SpaceX. He is a longstanding member of the Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that supports the exploration of Mars, and Musk is interested in building a greenhouse on Mars. SpaceX has been developing rocket technologies to enable Musk’s project.
Tesla Motors
In 2004, Elon Musk cofounded Tesla Motors, of which he is the only product architect. Tesla Motors builds electric vehicles. The company has built an electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster.
SolarCity
In 2006, Elon Musk cofounded SolarCity, a photovoltaic(光电的) products and services company with his cousin Lyndon Rive.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇记叙文，主要介绍了埃隆·马斯克的人生经历和伟大成就。
1．What was Elon Musk gifted in when he was young?
A．Economics. B．Physics.
C．Energy. D．Coding.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第一段的第二句可知，Musk是一位疯狂的电脑迷，十二岁时他就为自己的视频游戏写代码并获利了；据此可知，他小时候就有写代码的天赋，故D项正确。
2．Which of the following provides international payment transfer service?
A．X.com. B．Confinity.
C．PayPal. D．eBay.
C 解析：细节理解题。根据PayPal部分，尤其是该部分的第二句可知，PayPal提供国际转账支付服务，故C项正确。
3．What has SpaceX been doing to help achieve Musk’s project?
A．Sponsoring the Mars Society.
B．Developing rocket technologies.
C．Building a greenhouse on Mars.
D．Supporting the exploration of Mars.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据Space Exploration Technologies部分的“SpaceX has been developing rocket technologies to enable Musk’s project.”可知，SpaceX一直在研究开发火箭技术，帮助Musk实现他的项目(目标)，故B项正确。
4．What is Tesla Motors noted for?
A．Its electric vehicles.
B．Its photovoltaic products.
C．Its service as a city tourist guide.
D．Its business with other companies.
A 解析：细节理解题。根据Tesla Motors部分，尤其是该部分的第二句可知，Tesla Motors是生产电动汽车的公司，故A项正确。
