① Most of us in the entrepreneurial community are blessed—or cursed-with higher-than-average ambition. Ambitious people strongly desire accomplishments and are willing to take more risks and spend more effort to get them.

② Overall, this is a positive quality, especially for people trying to build their own businesses. Apparently, if you’re more naturally driven to set goals, you are more likely to succeed.

③ Actually, this isn’t always the case. In fact, in some cases, extreme ambition may end up doing more harm than good.

④ One major side effect of excessive ambition is the tendency to focus too determinedly on one particular vision or end goal. This is problematic because it hinders your ability to adapt to new circumstances, which is vital if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. If a new competitor emerges to threaten your business, you may need to change direction, even if that means straying from your original vision. If you have too much ambition, you’ll find this hard, if not impossible.

⑤ Few people are successful when they try to build their first brand. Unfortunately, for the most ambitious entrepreneurs, a failure is seen as disastrous, and impossible to recover from.

⑥ It’s a clear departure from the intended plan toward the intended goal. For people with limited ambition, however, failure is viewed as something closer to reality. Remember, failure is inevitable, and every failure you survive is a learning experience.

⑦ Ambitious people tend to be more materialistically successful than their non-ambitious counterparts. However, they’re only slightly happier than their less-ambitious counterparts, and tend to live significantly shorter lives. This implies that even though ambitious people are more likely to achieve conventional “success,” such success means nothing for their health and happiness—and if you don’t have health and happiness, what else could possibly matter?

⑧ Clearly, some amount of ambition is good for your motivation. Without any ambition, you wouldn’t start your own business, set or achieve goals and get far in life. But an excess of ambition can also be dangerous, putting you at risk of burnout, stubbornness and even a shorter life.

1.1. What does the author think of most entrepreneurs?

A They are more willing to risk their own lives.

B They are more ambitious than ordinary people.

C They achieve greater nonconventional success.

D They have more positive qualities than most of us.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。由题干中的 most entrepreneurs定位到首段第一句。定位句指出，大部分创业群体的人都会有幸拥有亦或是受苦于一种高于常人的野心。由此可知，创业者比普通人拥有更多的野心。故选B。

2.2. What does the author imply by saying “this isn’t always the case” (Line 1, Para. 3)?

A Ambitious people may not have a greater chance of success.

B Ambitious people may not have more positive qualities.

C Entrepreneurs’ ambition does as much good as harm.

D Entrepreneurs are more naturally driven to success.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。由题干定位到第三段第一句。由于定位句位于第三段段首,需要结合第二段的内容方可得到答案。第二段末句指出,如果你有更自然的动力去设定目标，那么你就更有可能成功。紧接着在第二段首句提到,事实并非一贯如此。这是针对第二段提出的观点进行反驳。故选A。

3.3. What does the author say is of extreme importance for one to become a successful entrepreneur?

A Holding on to one’s original vision.

B Being able to adapt to new situations.

C Focusing determinedly on one particular goal.

D Avoiding radical change in one’s career direction.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。由题干中的 extreme importance for oneto become a successful entrepreneur定位到第四段第二句。定位句指出,这是有问题的，因为这会限制你适应新环境的能力，而这一点对于想成为一名成功企业家的你来说又至关重要由此可知,如果想成为成功的企业家,能够适应新环境是很重要的。故选B。

4.4. How do the most ambitious entrepreneurs regard failure in their endeavor?

A It will awaken them to reality.

B It is a lesson they have to learn.

C It means the end of their career.

D It will result in a slow recovery.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。出题干中的the most ambitious entrepreneurs regard failure in their endeavor定位到第五段末句。定位句指出,不幸的是,对于最有野心的企业家而言,失败被视为是灾难性的，无法从中恢复。由此可知，无法从失败中恢复就意味着职业生涯走向终点。故选C。

5.5.What does the author advise us to do concerning ambition?

A Distinguish between conventional success and our life goal.

B Follow the example of the most ambitious entrepreneurs.

C Avoid taking unnecessary risks when starting a business.

D Prioritize health and happiness over material success.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。由题文同序原则和选项内容定位到第七段末句。定位句指出，这意味着即便具备野心的人更有可能取得传统意义上的“成功”,但这种成功却无益于他们的健康和幸福假如你失去了健康和幸福,其他的事情又有何重要呢?作者通过反问的方式,暗示了健康和幸福要比“成功”更重要。故选D。