.
As a parent you have the responsibility to help your children understand money. But first you will need to understand your own attitude towards money, and make sure to practise what you teach.
Ask yourself what things that cost money are the most important to you. Also ask yourself what financial goals do you have for yourself and your family this year, in five years, and so on?
Take a minute to write down a list. Below are some ideas to get you started. There’s no right or wrong here. This exercise is just to help you grasp what money means to you so that you can help your children understand your values.
◆ Home
◆ Household expenses
◆ Education
◆ Recreation, entertainment
◆ Savings
◆ Charitable contributions
You can start discussing money when your children are as young as three years old. The best time to teach a child anything is when he or she shows an interest. So he prepared to start talking about money when your child starts asking you to buy candy or toys.
Begin by showing how money is exchanged for items or services. Show your children how money works by allowing them to buy something, such as a toy or a book.
Be open and honest, and explain to your children why they can or cannot have certain items. If you must say no to a child’s request to spend money, you might say, “You have enough toy trucks now.” Or, if the request is for multiple items, “You have a choice to make, between this toy and that one.”
You can start explaining the bigger picture once your children understand the basic function of money. Show an older child how money is used to provide for the whole family.
45. Why should parents understand their own money attitudes first?
A. To help their children earn money. B. To set an exampel to their children.
C. To help them set financial goals. D. To help them tell right from wrong.
46. Which of the following is NOT one of the major categories of things that cost money listed in the article?
A. Travel and investments. B. Household expenses.
C. Education and entertainment. D. Savings and charitable contributions.
47. Which of the following is NOT a way to teach the children about money?
A. Showing how money is exchanged.
B. Allowing children to buy whatever they like.
C. Explaining the limits involved in using money.
D. Having an open discussion about money.
48. According to the passage, when should parents start teaching a child about money?
A. When the child can understand its basic function.
B. When the child can understand how money is used to provide for the whole family.
C. When the child knows how to support a family.
D. As young as three, or when they start showing an interest.
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up（咬破）one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked（吠）or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. | B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. | D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie __________.
| A．would eat anything when hungry | B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek | D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she __________.
| A．smiled | B．barked | C．rushed to them | D．tried to be funny |
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
| A．Shy | B．Polite | C．Brave | D．Caring |
The story I am going to tell you happened about three years ago when I started to learn how to drive. At first, I was very frightened, and I thought I could never learn how to drive a car. Driving a car frightened me because in my home country women never drive, but in the United States every woman has to know how to drive. My husband paid an instructor to teach me how to drive. After that, my husband practiced with me for a long time. My husband always told me that I had to learn. It was important to me and my family.
However, I couldn’t get my license right away. I failed my driving test two times. After practicing for a long time, I decided to go for my third driving test. I had failed my first test because I was very nervous. Everybody encouraged me to continue practicing. Three weeks later, I decided to try it again, but I failed again. After that, I was very embarrassed（困窘的）, and I said I couldn’t get it, so I stopped practicing for a while.
Not knowing how to drive was bad because I couldn’t do anything. I had two kids, my husband works, and I have to take care of everything. Driving was so necessary that I decided to try it again. And finally, that time, I passed the test. Now I have my license. I know how to drive, and it has changed my life in some important ways. Now I’m driving to the college, learning English and hoping I will get a good job in the future.Why did the author think that she could never learn how to drive a car?
| A．Because she was not an American woman. |
| B．Because she was afraid of a car or a bus. |
| C．Because in her own country women never drive. |
| D．Because her husband didn’t know how to teach her. |
The underlined word “instructor” in the first paragraph probably means __________.
| A．someone who teaches a special skill |
| B．someone who teaches a sport skill |
| C．someone who teaches in an American college |
| D．the information telling you how to drive a car |
How many persons in the author’s family are mentioned except the author herself?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
The passage mainly shows us that the author failed for quite a few times but she never gave up and __________.
| A．she succeeded in driving her car to send her two children |
| B．she succeeded in driving to the college to get a good job |
| C．she succeeded in driving to the college and learned English |
| D．she succeeded in passing driving test and got her license in the end |
The best title of this passage should be “__________”.
| A．My Driving License | B．My Husband and I |
| C．Passing the Test | D．Never Give Up |
It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a wai
ter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, 
“Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.
| A．in the morning | B．at noon | C．in the afternoon | D．in the evening |
The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.
| A．his appearance | B．his family | C．the way he talked and behaved | D．his wife |
The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.
| A．to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine |
| B．to collect some stories and poems from a writer |
| C．to look for good writers for his magazine |
| D．to visit his old friend Azalea Adair |
Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.
| A．was worn by a military officer |
B．was a new gray coat |
| C．was an old yellow raincoat | D．had only one button left |
From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.
| A．wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there |
| B．knew the place and was concerned about the narrator |
| C．would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there |
| D．must have lived in the neighbourhood before |
In the 1880s, people drank John Pemberton’s tonic to cure headaches. It wasn’t a very popular drink, and he sold only about a dozen drinks a day. That’s why Pemberton was willing to sell the rights to his medicinal drink. The buyer, Asa Griggs Candler, paid just $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola. Today, Coca-Cola (or Coke) is worth billions of dollars. It controls 50 percent of the world market in soft drinks.
How did Coca-Cola become so popular? One answer is that Asa Candler was a very clever businessman. He was one of the first people to use mass marketing. How did he do this? First, he made his product unique. When he bought the rights to Coca-Cola, it came in ordinary bottles. It looked like every other drink on the market. To make Coca-Cola look different, Candler modernized the bottles. He also made an eye-catching logo for his products. When other companies tried to imitate Coca-Cola’s name, Candler took them to court.
In addition to the unique bottle and logo, Candler spent a lot of time and money advertising his product. He used advertising to make a powerful image of Coca-Cola in the minds of his customers. He gave away free bottles of Coke. He put the name of his drink on pencils, trays, Japanese fans, matches, and many other things. Then he gave the things to people for free. He advertised Coca-Cola in the newspaper and painted the words “Drink Coca-Cola” on the sides of buildings and barns. By 1902, Coca-Cola was the best known product in the United States.
Candler was also able to make memorable advertisements. They often had catchy slogans such as “The Pause That Refreshes.” He also used famous athletes to advertise his product. They helped people to think of Coca-Cola as a delicious drink for everyone.
Today, businesses all over the world use mass marketing, but the makers of Coke were the first. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola from _______.
| A．the inventor of a medicinal drink | B．a well-known businessman |
| C．a doctor | D．a carpenter |
The underlined sentence in paragraph 2 implies that __________.
| A．he invited people from other companies to attend a court ball |
| B．he shared Coca-Cola’s name with other companies after they went back from the court |
| C．he played basketball with people from other companies on the basketball court |
| D．he took legal action to those who wanted to copy Coca-Cola’s name |
Candler used slogans to advertise his product. Slogans are _______.
| A．popular music | B．free products | C．memorable phrases | D．simple things |
By using mass marketing, Asa tried many ways EXCEPT _______.
| A．making Coca-Cola look different |
| B．paying $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola |
| C．advertising Coca-Cola a powerful image in the minds of the customers |
| D．using famous athletes to advertise his product |
The passage is mainly to _______.
| A．explain that it is easy to use mass marketing |
| B．advice people to spend a lot of money and time on mass marketing |
| C．tell how Asa changes Coca-Cola into a worldwide business by using mass marketing |
| D．describe different ways of using mass marketing |
Americans use many expressions with the word “dog”. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. How
ever, dogs without owners to care for lead a different kind of life. The expression “to lead a dog’s life” describes a person who has an unhappy existence.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Doghouse provide shelter but they can be cold and lonely in the winter. Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.The passage tells us something about________.
| A．dogs and their life | B．the expressions that describe dogs |
| C．the meaning of expressions with the word “dog” | D．the structures of dog expressions |
By saying _______, we compare people to dogs in bad ways.
| A．“meaner than a junkyard dog” | B．“to work like a dog” |
| C．“teach an old dog new tricks” | D．“as sick as a dog” |
By saying ________, we mean every person enjoys a successful period in life.
| A．“he lives in a dog-eat-dog world” | B．“he leads a dog’s life” |
| C．“he is in the doghouse” | D．“every dog has its day” |
If we advise the others to leave things alone and not create more problems, we say_______.
| A．“become sick as a dog” | B．“rain cats and dogs” |
| C．“let sleeping dogs lie” | D．“stay in the doghouse” |
It has been really hot these days, as _______.
| A．it rains cats and dogs | B．we are having the dog days of summer |
| C．we’re leading a dog’s life | D．we’re in the dog’s house |