American parents usually think that their child should not have more pocket money than the children with whom he regularly connects, even if they are wealthier．But neither are children expected to compare with the richer if a large family, heavy responsibilities, or other conditions make it necessary to give a child less spending money than is customary （惯例的）in the neighborhood．
Whatever the pocket money is, its entire use is not controlled by the parents, because a child learns to use money correctly only through dealing with it himself．If a seven-year-old child gets a quarter as a week pocket money and is made to put it all in his piggy bank to save it up, he gets no idea what the real use for the money is．He gets the shiny coins and they soon disappear．
The idea of a bank account is too early for so small a child, although he can be made to understand and enjoy saving his coins—not all of them, only a part of what he receives—to buy something he especially wants．By the time he is eight he is old enough to take part in the opening of his own savings account, parents may take him to the bank, open a savings account for him and encourage him to put a certain quantity or any checks he receives as gifts into the bank and watch his bank savings grow as entry by entry（存入） is made．
He will be saving, earning, and spending suitable quantities all along in order to learn how to manage money and to keep him in a favorable position with his friend．The boy who can't join his fellows in a sweet shop once in a while, because he has to save every cent he gets or earns for some big unknown project his parents have chosen for him, is a sorry child．Choose the best exolaration for the underlined part in the second paragraph.
| A．It is a kind of bank run by children． |
| B．It is a contralre in the shape of a pig for saving coins. |
| C．It is a certain place in which pigs are raise． |
| D．It is a bank whose building looks like a pig |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Most of the rich people in America give children much pocket money． |
| B．American children usually have their bank accounts until they are eight． |
| C．American parents seldom care for their children's spending money． |
| D．American children begin to learn how to manage money when very young． |
Suppose an 8-year-old child receives 10 dollars as his birthday gift, he may probably ____．
| A．spend the money on the things he wants |
| B．compare the gift with that of his friend |
| C．have most of it saved in the bank |
| D．put all the money in his piggy bank |
Why does the writer think the boy is a sorry one if he saves every cent he gets or earns?
| A．Because he can not manage his money and is kept himself in an unfavorable position |
| B．Because he can not join the fellows in a sweet shop once in a while |
| C．Because he can not learn the use of money through spending it himself |
| D．Because he can not have any other choice but save, earn of spend money |
I work in a nursing home and my job is to take care of the elderly．
This year, a very sweet old lady that I cared for，Alice, had gone through a difficult time .She got dementia and so she had been in the hospital twice .In November I was finally able to get her back to her“home”．
Alice had thought her daughter was coming to visit her on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that that happy moment was not going to happen，she was very sad．Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to make her feel happy，I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!
On Christmas Eve，I gave her a surprise by asking if she could like to go to a candlelight service at church that night
Instead of taking her to my church，I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got her a seat where her friends could see her as they came in．Then soon some of her friends came to the church and they rushed over to greet her and sit with her．
The candlelight service was beautiful and Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there.
The truth of the story is that I am the one who got the best gift: the smile on Alice’s faceThe underlined word“dementia”in Paragraph 2 probably is_______
| A．a house | B．a letter | C．an illness | D．a plan |
Where did Alice spend her Christmas Eve according to the story?
| A．In her old house |
| B．In her old neighborhood church． |
| C．In the nursing home． |
| D．In the hospital． |
What was the best gift that the author got on Christmas Eve?
| A．The candlelight service． |
| B．Praise from Alice’s friends． |
| C．Alice’s happiness |
| D．Thanks from Alice’ s daughter． |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．A special candlelight Christmas Eve |
| B．The dream of all old lonely lady |
| C．My special job |
| D．The true love |
One day a student was walking with his teacher in the countryside．As they went along，they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path．They were a pool farmer’s，who was working in the nearby field．
The student turned to the teacher saying：“We will hide his shoes，and hide ourselves behind those trees，and wait to see what he will do”
“My young friend．”answered the teacher,“we should never make fun of the poor. Why not put a coin in each shoe，and then we will hide ourselves and watch?”The student did so and they both hid themselves behind the trees. The poor man soon finished his work，and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.
After putting on his coat，he put his foot into one of his shoes，and felt something hard．Then he bent (弯腰) down to feel what it was，and found the coin. Surprised，he looked at the coin，turned it around and looked at it again．He then looked around，but no person was seen．He put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe. His surprise was doubled on finding the other coin．
He couldn’t control his feelings and fell to his knees，looked up to the sky and expressed his thanks. Then he spoke of his wife，sick and helpless，and his children without bread．He said the help would save them from dying.
The student stood there deeply moved，and his eyes filled with tears．“Now,”said the teacher, “Are you not much happier than if you had hidden the shoes?”When the student saw the shoes，he wanted to_______
| A．steal them | B．play a joke on the owner |
| C．find their owner | D．give the owner some money |
According to the passage，the teacher is______．
| A．quiet and honest | B．kind and friendly |
| C．patient and clever | D．strict and careful |
When the farmer saw the second coin, he______
| A．was surprised and decided to find the owner |
| B．was worried and looked up at the sky |
| C．was very excited and grateful |
| D．spoke of his difficulties and asked for more help |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．True happiness comes from helping others． |
| B．All good things come to an end |
| C．Where there is a will，there is away |
| D．It is never too late to learn |
Let’s read the descriptions of the following scenes of shopping. A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That is all— milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also to buy milk. She buys it. But, she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night. Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets a bottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband's niece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert and remembers stamps to mail the bills. And don't forget soap for the bathroom.
And that is the difference between the female and male brains simply explained in a grocery store. Generally speaking，men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Doing many things at one time is often called “multi-tasking”, a very popular word these days.
Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along—men and women think differently.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from 8 to 22 years old. They found that male brains have more connections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In the female brain, they found more activities and connections between the right and left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of “reason”. The right hemisphere is known as the “creative” side.
Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrote the report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult, they might use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just one side of the brain.
As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem. There is a strong connection between the “understanding” and the “action” parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of the brain, like the part connected with reason and the part connected with sensitivity when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution.
Dr. Verma warns that the study should not lead anyone to expect some behaviors from women and others from men.By describing the scene of shopping, the writer wants to ____ .
| A．criticize women's wasted living expenses |
| B．illustrate men and women's different brains |
| C．think highly of women's considerate behavior |
| D．reveal men and women's preference of living expenses |
When asked to deal with a problem, _____ .
| A．men tend to take action straight |
| B．women tend to take action straight |
| C．women tend to use a single part of the brain |
| D．men tend to use connected parts of the brain |
Dr. Verma's warning indicates that _____ .
| A．women and men can hardly cooperate well |
| B．women and men can hardly complete multitasks |
| C．women and men can hardly learn from each other |
| D．neither women nor men can always perform the same behavior |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Reason or Sensitivity |
| B．Multi-tasking or Single-tasking |
| C．“Reason” Brain or “Creative” Brain |
| D．Costly Shopping or Economical Shopping |
Here are the comments on CRI (China Radio International) given by people from different countries on the Internet.
| People |
Comments |
| Yingtian Hu Guangzhou, China |
This is the first time that I participate in CRI. And I like it very much. I hope its website will become the most excellent one with the foreign languages. And I choose the important news which I think has a great influence on our society and our lives. In the end, I hope that more and more persons join in CRI and make it perfect! |
| SujanParajuli, Select city, Nepal |
I am both a regular listener of CRI and visitor of its wonderful Website. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to CRI for its great efforts to keep the listeners up-to-date during the year 2008. We, the listeners, are greatly grateful to CRI for its praise-worthy efforts to quench the thirst of its dear listeners. During the Year 2008, I found all of your programs quite interesting, informative and educational. Once again, thanks a lot for offering lots of information, news, entertainment and many items which have indeed broaden the horizons of our knowledge and understanding as well. |
| Ibrahim Rustamov, Tajikistan |
With CRI, I was impressed by China’s rapid development in all spheres. But I felt so sorry to get to know about the snowstorms in China and Wenchuan earthquake. CRI and CCTV play a great role in introducing China to the world! Kudos! My friends and I wish CRI all the best! |
| Mike Thatcher, London |
My family and I are all keen on Chinese Culture, especially the beautiful Chinese folk music. Various interesting programs by CRI just open a window for us foreigners, through which we can know more about China and have a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Best wishes to CRI! Best wishes to China! |
Which of the following benefits of CRI is NOT mentioned above?
| A．CRI helps to keep its listeners up-to-date. |
| B．CRI helps its listeners to better understand China. |
| C．CRI helps its listeners to practice and improve foreign languages. |
| D．CRI helps its listeners broaden their knowledge with its rich contents. |
The underlined phrase “quench the thirst” refers to _____.
| A．satisfy one’s need | B．supply drinks |
| C．take care of | D．keep in touch with |
What can be concluded from the four comments?
| A．CRI has a great influence on our society and lives. |
| B．Wonderful though CRI is, there are still many weaknesses. |
| C．CRI plays an important role in introducing the world to China. |
| D．CRI has made great efforts to make itself better and gained popularity. |
Paparazzi, or “paps”, are photographers who take pictures of famous people when they are not at the center of public attention. Paps are different from professional photographers or journalists because they never take ordinary photos.
The goal for paparazzi is to get pictures that no one else will get and then sell the pictures to the buyer who offers the most money — normally a small newspaper, magazine or website.
There is no law against paparazzi taking pictures in public places. However, there are laws that protect certain individuals. For example, child protection laws stop improper pictures of anyone under 16 from being published.
There is also no law that stops paparazzi from following celebrities and taking their pictures either. However, if paps are secretly following them and taking pictures of their faces, they could get into trouble.
Most paparazzi hang out on streets and hot spots for celebrities, waiting for the opportunity to take a picture of a star. Many stay on the streets until the early hours of the morning when celebrities are leaving nightclubs and looking a little worse for wear. However, some have other ways to make sure they get pictures. Many paps are in contact with “informers” who know the locations of celebrities at any given time. They then pass the information on to paparazzi. An informer could be anyone — from a restaurant waiter to a salesman.
Most of the time, paparazzi get a bad reputation for following celebrities. But sometimes stars or their managers will contact paps themselves and tell them exactly where and when they will go. What a love-hate relationship between paparazzi and celebrities!Which of the following things paparazzi might do would be against the law?
| A．Getting unsuitable pictures of a 10-year-old actress published. |
| B．Taking pictures of famous people in public places. |
| C．Following a famous woman singer secretly and taking her pictures. |
| D．Hanging out at the places where celebrities often appear. |
In order to earn big money a pap has to ________.
| A．get the only first-hand pictures |
| B．sell the pictures to a big newspaper |
| C．make friends with famous people |
| D．know the locations of celebrities |
The fifth paragraph mainly tells us ________.
| A．how paparazzi get the pictures |
| B．how dangerous paparazzi’s job is |
| C．how paparazzi contact informers |
| D．how much paparazzi pay for the pictures |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Paparazzi always take pictures when famous people are tired. |
| B．Stars hate paparazzi and don’t want to be followed. |
| C．Paparazzi and famous people rely on each other sometimes. |
| D．Informers might get paparazzi into trouble. |