(零部件) could be bought at one­fourth of the price.Soon he was buying components to reduce the cost.A good business decision，but it meant his room was starting to look like a mechanic's shop.

　　"I was quite excited about the possibilities for personal computers and how they could change society.I had this idea to sell the products directly to the user over the phone，" he said.College plans and his parents' expectations bothered him a lot.But Michael Dell was determined.He drove off to the University of Texas at Austin in August 1983 in a car he'd bought with earnings from selling newspapers.He was surprised that his mother wasn't suspicious about the three computers in the back seat.By November，news reached his parents that he wasn't attending classes.On a surprise visit to Austin，they caught their son on spot.Michael Dell told his father that he wanted to compete with IBM.

　　Although Michael agreed to focus on his studies，the business chances and the timing couldn't have been better.The public was becoming more interested in computers，but no one was producing them.In early May，a week before his final exams，Michael started Dell Computer Corporation with $1,000.He took his exams，and then dropped out of college at the end of his freshman year.It was time to try out his direct­to­customer business model.

　　"Three years later"，Dell said，"we had already achieved annual sales of about $150 million.I was 22 years old then."

　　语篇解读　本文是一篇人物传记。讲述了 MD是怎样创建戴尔公司的。

　　1．What does the underlined word "dominate" in Paragraph 1 mean?

　　A．Protect. B．Develop.

　　C．Support. D．Lead.

　　解析：　词义猜测题。结合文章内容及常识可知，戴尔公司起着带头作用。

　　答案：　D

　　2．Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 2?

　　A．Dell discovered a good chance to make money.

　　B．Dell could buy a computer at onefourth of the price.

　　C．IBM made little money from personal computers.

　　D．Dell rebuilt computers in a mechanic's shop.

　　解析：　细节理解题。根据第二段的叙述，尤其是"A good business decision"可知，戴尔发现了赚钱的机会。

　　答案：　A

　　3．When Dell's parents learned about his absence from classes，they________.

　　A．tried to help with his business

B．were too suspicious to accept it