It wasn’t that long ago that entrepreneurs were considered to be maver

It wasn’t that long ago that entrepreneurs were considered to be mavericks, rebels, or even social deviants. They stood out because Corporate America was built on a foundation of loyalty and conformity. Big was better and economies of scale provided formidable barriers to entry. The last two decades, however, have placed a number of entrepreneurs in the limelight who have marched to the tune of a different drummer.

Today’s entrepreneurs have been heralded for having the same qualities exhibited by this country’s first colonists. The colonists had contempt for the way things were done, and they weren’t afraid to break away from the establishment. The entrepreneurs who are heralded by the media created their own firms so they could be free to pursue new opportunities and try new approaches. They showed that bigger isn’t always better and that the legacy systems and bureaucratic practices of most established firms can be like anvils that keep them from keeping pace with changes in the marketplace. Each day, entrepreneurs create agile new ventures that change the way the game is played.

America is known as the “Land of the free and the home of the brave.” This country encourages individuality and self-determination. It also encourages people to “go for it.”

Entrepreneurship has become an integral part of this country’s culture and economic system because it reflects the courage to break away from the pack and the desire to be the master of one’s own destiny. Three statistics capture the entrepreneurial spirit in this country. First, 6.8 million households (7.2 percent of the country’s total) include someone who is trying to start a business. Second, between 700,000 and 1 million new businesses are created each year. Third, at least 90 percent of the richest people in the United States generated their wealth through entrepreneurial endeavors.

1- Which of the following statements best describes the main idea of the passage?

(A) Becoming an entrepreneur is very hard, considering that 6.8 million households are trying to start a business every year and, at most, 1 million succeed.
(B) Entrepreneurs were once considered to be trivial sideshows in an America dominated by corporations, but now entrepreneurs are recognized to be vital to the nation’s economy.
(C) American entrepreneurs are chasing quick riches instead of contributing to the American economy through loyalty to the corporations that built this country.
(D) Entrepreneurs have demonstrated that in business smaller is now better.
(E) Big businesses can no longer keep pace with changes in the market, and entrepreneurs will dominate American business in the future.



2- The author of the passage most likely includes the statistic concerning the richest people in the United States in order to

(A) prove that everyone who starts a business is bound to succeed
(B) contrast the conservative nature of today’s entrepreneurs with the mavericks and rebels of past decades
(C) show that entrepreneurs are “playing the game” better than big corporate America
(D) highlight the challenges and difficulties that entrepreneurs face in an ever changing marketplace
(E) point out the absurdity of the statistic that 90 percent of America’s richest people are entrepreneurs



3- According to the passage, how are today’s entrepreneurs viewed compared to the entrepreneurs of the past?

(A) Today’s entrepreneurs are heralded for the things that got entrepreneurs of the past criticized.
(B) Today’s entrepreneurs are treated with much greater skepticism than entrepreneurs of the past.
(C) Entrepreneurs of the past were “in the limelight” because they “walked to the beat of a different drummer.”
(D) It is much easier for today’s entrepreneurs to get financing for their new projects.
(E) Today’s entrepreneurs are praised as “mavericks, rebels, and even social deviants.”



4- Which of the following is NOT one of the phrases used by the author to praise entrepreneurship?

(A) “the courage to break away from the pack”
(B) “built on a foundation of loyalty and conformity”
(C) “create agile new ventures that change the way the game is played”
(D) “integral part of this country’s culture and economic system”
(E) “desire to be the master of one’s own destiny”