E
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics. Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
77.For children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves
C. save money like their parents or other adults
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
78．Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.
A. meet children’s basic need for life
B. give control over their children
C. see whether they have financial mistakes
D. help children learn how to manage money
79.If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.
A. can experience three things related to money
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice
C. will do more work around the house
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
80. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Be Generous to Pay Your Children
B. Be Wise to Avoid Financial Mistakes
C. Saving Allowances Does Good to Children
D. Allowances Help Children Learn about Money
Do you love hamburgers? Do you how they were created?
The first hamburgers in U.S. history were served in New Haven, Connecticut, at Louis’ Lunch sandwich shop in 1895. Louis Lassen, founder of Louis’ Lunch, ran a small lunch wagon selling steak sandwiches to local factory workers. Because he didn’t like to waste the excess beef from his daily lunch rush, he ground it up, grilled it, and served it between two slice of bread—and thus America’s first hamburger was created.
The small Crown Street restaurant is still owned and operated by the third and fourth generations of the Lassen family. Hamburgers are still the specialty of the house, where steak is ground fresh each day and hand molded, slow cooked, broiled vertically, and served between two slices of toast with your choice of only three “acceptable” garnishes: cheese, tomato, and onion.
Want ketchup or mustard? Forget it. You will be told “no” in no uncertain terms. This is the home of the greatest hamburger in the world, claim the owners, who are perhaps best known for allowing their customers to have a burger the Lassen way or not at all.Why did Louis Lassen start making hamburgers?
| A．Because he didn’t want to waste excess beef. |
| B．Because he wanted to earn more money. |
| C．Because he would like to make something special. |
| D．Because he was the founder of Louis’ Lunch. |
Which of the following is not available for customers to choose from at Louis Lunch?
| A．Cheese. | B．Tomato. |
| C．Mustard. | D．Onion. |
What does the underlined words “Crown Street restaurant” in the third paragraph refer to?
| A．A restaurant on the Crown Street. |
| B．A restaurant called Crown Street. |
| C．Louis’ Lunch sandwich shop. |
| D．A new chain shop of Louis’ Lunch on Crown Street. |
The best title of this article is________.
| A．The Creation of hamburgers |
| B．Louis’ Lunch |
| C．A king of fast-food----Hamburgers |
| D．Why People Love Hamburgers |
When I first arrived in Taiwan to teach English, I had already taken several courses in university on Mandarin Chinese. I had done well in those courses and enjoyed them very much. I thought I would be able to have a conversation with Chinese speakers and improve my Chinese in the process.
However, as soon as I settled in Taiwan I became afraid to speak. Seeing all of the signs written in Chinese, constantly overhearing long streams of spoken Chinese, and seeing the effortless fluency of some foreigners who had been there for a while, I began to doubt my own ability to speak Chinese. It’s proved that things were different outside of the classroom.
What really happened to me was what happens every day to Chinese language learners. I became afraid and nervous at the foreignness of the language. Something happened a few weeks later. I tried to spend a lot of time in public, and the sound of spoken Chinese was becoming more ordinary to me. Despite the fact that I had not been practicing my Chinese and I had not consulted my vocabulary flashcards. I begin to notice some words that I recognized from my courses in university. At first, I heard only one word. “dianhua”- telephone. After that, I begin hearing other words. Sometimes, I would hear a couple of words in one sentence.
More and more words began to stand out to me. I started studying Chinese characters and began to be able to read small blocks of text in the advertisements. When I really began speaking in Chinese to Chinese people I met, I began to learn Chinese fast and the smiles that I received in return were a fantastic reward for the work that I had done in learning the language. It was a great feeling to order food from a restaurant in Chinese, or to make a comment about the weather to the lady who works at the bank.What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．The author is sharing his Spoken Chinese experience. |
| B．The author is a fearful and cautious man. |
| C．The author didn’t get good grades at university. |
| D．The author couldn’t adjust to the life of Taiwan. |
According to the passage we know that_______.
| A．Chinese dishes and weather attract the author deeply. |
| B．the author thought he could talk with Chinese in mandarin before he arrived in Taiwan. |
| C．the author failed to improve his spoken Chinese. |
| D．the language in reality is just the same as that taught in classroom. |
Why does the author doubt his ability to speak Chinese at first?
| A．Everything in Taiwan is different from that in America. |
| B．People often misunderstand the author on purpose. |
| C．Other foreigners can’t communicate with him. |
| D．He has difficulty understanding the native language. |
What do you know about the author in the passage?
| A．He only enjoys talking with the local people in Chinese. |
| B．He can speak fluent Chinese when ordering meals at last. |
| C．He loves to make a comment on woman. |
| D．He has been rewarded for speaking Chinese. |
Being able to count at least ten people as friends makes us happy，but those with five or fewer are likely to be miserable，researchers say.
Their study of hundreds of men and women also found that people who feel satisfied with their lives always have lots of close friends and regularly make new ones.
While it is not clear whether our friends make us happy or we make friends because we are happy，the researchers say it is clear that we should maintain our friendships. Psychologist Richard Tunney said，“Whatever the reason is，actively working on friendships in the same way as to maintain a marriage is a prerequisite(必备条件) to happiness.”
Dr.Tunney，of Nottingham University，quizzed more than 1,700 people about their satisfaction with their lives and the state of their friendships.Those with five friends or fewer had just a 40 percent chance of being happy. .
In other words they were more likely to be unhappy than happy.Ten was the first number at which people were more likely to be happy than unhappy.The happiest people were those with dozens of friends，according to the study，which was carried out for the National Lottery(彩票)．
For women，this meant having 33 friends；for men，the number was 49. Dr.Tunney said，“People who were extremely satisfied with their lives had twice the number of friends of people who were extremely dissatisfied.” Women tended to have fewer friends than men but formed tighter relationships.
Interestingly，the study found that childhood friends are no more likely to make us happy than people we become close to later in life.Lottery winners，however，have a different opinion on life.They are always happier than others despite spending their time with a small circle of old friends.This could be because they trust people they’ve known for a long time.What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．The Secret to Happiness Is to Make New Friends |
| B．Having at Least 10 Good Friends Makes People Happy |
| C．Why Most People Like to Make Friends Regularly |
| D．Men’s and Women’s Friends Are Different |
Which of the following opinions may Richard Tunney NOT agree with?
| A．People with few friends are sure to be unhappy. |
| B．Our friends can make us happy. |
| C．Happiness may come from a good marriage life. |
| D．We may become happier if we have more friends. |
According to the passage，lottery winners ________.
| A．enjoy making new friends |
| B．make new friends easily |
| C．like staying with old friends |
| D．have no time to make friends |
We can conclude from the passage that ________.
| A．it’s enough for one person to have ten friends |
| B．unhappy people must have few friends |
| C．childhood friends make people happier than adulthood ones |
| D．friendships play a major role in people’s life |
How I Turned to Be Optimistic
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times."
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.How did the author get to know America?
| A．From her relatives. | B．From her mother. |
| C．From books and pictures. | D．From radio programs. |
Upon leaving for America, the author felt_______.
| A．confused | B．excited | C．worried | D．amazed |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?
A. She worked as a translator.
B. She attended a lot of job interviews.
C. She paid telephone bills for her family.
D She helped her family with her English.The author believes that______.
| A．her future will be free from troubles |
| B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things |
| D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
Danielle Steel, America's sweetheart, is one of the hardest working woman in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to divided into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, she worked in the public relations and advertising industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times bestselling novels, and a series of “Max and Martha” picture books for children to help them deal with the reallife problem of death, new babies and new schools. Her 1998 book about the death of her was shot to the top of the New York Times bestselling list as soon as it came out. Twentyeight of her books have been made into films. She is listed in the Guinness Books of World Records for one of her books being the Times bestseller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource and has kept in touch with them by email. While she is often compared to the heroines of her own invention. Her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable style. There is only one Danielle Steel.Children who have read “Max and Martha” picture books may know ________.
| A．how to deal with affairs at school |
| B．what to do if Max and Martha die |
| C．what to do when new babies are born into their families |
| D．how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes |
One of Danielle Steel' a achievements is that ________.
| A．some TV plays were based on her books |
| B．her picture books attracted a lot of young men |
| C．one of her books became a bestseller in 1998 |
| D．she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records |
We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel ________.
| A．lives an exciting life |
| B．values her readers a lot |
| C．writes about quiet women |
| D．is pleased with her achievements |