“How many copies do you want printed, Mr. Greeley?”
“Five thousand!” The answer was snapped back without hesitation.
“But, sir,” the press foreman protested, “we have subscriptions for only five hundred newspapers.”
“We’ll sell them or give them away.”
The presses started rolling, sending a thundering noise out over the sleeping streets of New York City.?The New York Tribune?was born.
The newspaper’s founder, owner, and editor, Horace Greeley, anxiously snatched the first copy as it came sliding off the press. This was his dream of many years that he held in his hand. It was as precious as a child. Its birth was the result of years of poverty, hard work, and disappointments.
Hard luck and misfortune had followed Horace all his life. He was born of poor parents on February 3, 1811, on a small farm in New Hampshire. During his early childhood, the Greeley family rarely had enough to eat. They moved from one farm to another because they could not pay their debts. Young Horace’s only boyhood fun was reading—when he could snatch a few moments during a long working day.
The printed word always fascinated Horace. When he was only ten years old, he applied for a job as an apprentice in a printing shop. But he didn’t get the job because he was too young.
Four years later, Horace walked eleven miles to East Poultney in Vermont to answer an ad. A paper called?the Northern Spectator?had a job for a boy. The editor asked him why he wanted to boa printer, Horace spoke up boldly: “Because, sir, I want to learn all I can about newspapers.”
The editor looked at the oddly dressed boy. Finally he said, “You’ve got the job, son.”
For the first six months, room and board would be the only pay for his work. After that, he would get room and board and forty dollars a year.
Horace hurried home to shout the good news to his family. When he got there, he learned that his family was about to move again—
- A.because of the kind of work it was
- B.because of the high salary offered
- C.because of the location of the office
- D.became he couldn’t find any other job
正确答案及解析
正确答案
解析
句意:Horace很高兴的接受第一份工作的原因是这正是他想要的工作。文章第九段最后一句,当Horace被问及为什么想做这份工作时,他回答“I want to learn all I can about newspapers”,说明这份工作正是他想要的,故选A。文章第十一段说明这份工作开始仅提供食宿,排除B。第十二段中提到Horace的家要搬到Pennsylvania,而这份工作是在Vermont(第九段第一句),有600英里之远,排除C。D项在文中没有提到。