Computer programmer David Jones earns ￡35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a cheque card. Instead he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm releases two new games for the home computer market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Despite his salary, earned by inventing new programs, with payments and profit-sharing, he cannot drive a car, or buy a house, or obtain credit cards.
He lives with his parents in Liverpool. His company has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose ￡35,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother ￡20 a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.
1. Why is David different from other young people of his age?
A. Because he earns an extremely high salary.
B. Because he is not unemployed.
C. Because he does not go out much.
D. Because he lives at home with his parents.
2. David’s great problem is ________________.
A. how to learn to drive.
B. what to invent
C. how to spend his salary
D. where to find a bank that will treat him as an adult
3. He was employed by the company because ___________________.
A. he had worked in a computer shop
B. he had written some computer programs
C. he had worked very hard.
D. he had learned to use computers at school.
4. He left school because _____________________.
A. he did not enjoy school.
B. he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him
C. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing.
D. he wanted to earn a lot of money.
5. Why does David think he might retire early?
A. Because he has to be young to write computer programs.
B. Because he wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.
C. Because he thinks computer games might not always sell so well.
D. Because he thinks his firm might go bankrupt.
1．[答案]A
[译文]为什么David和他的同龄年轻人不一样呢？
[解析]从文章第一段可以看出来。
2．[答案]C
[译文] David的最大问题是什么？
[解析]从第三段第一句But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money.
可以看出来他最大的问题是怎样花他的钱，所以正确答案是C。
3．[答案]B
[译文]他为什么被公司所雇佣？
[解析]从文章每一段都可以看出来他之所以被公司雇佣，尤其是第五段他自己说I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs所以正确答案选择B。
4．[答案]B
[译文]他为什么离开学校？
[解析]从倒数第二段可以看出来。
5．[答案]C
[译文]为什么David认为他会很早退休？
[解析]从最后一段可以看出来You never know when the market might disappear.因此正确答案选择C。
