Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?
As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.
According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are the ant, the cricket and the snail.
◆ The ant— works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
◆ The cricket— fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
◆ The snail— lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except ______.
| A．society | B．the family |
| C．the education | D．money |
People with the character of the snail would like to _______.
| A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
| B．put work before everything else. |
| C．live a luxury life at all costs |
| D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?
| A．the ants | B．the cricket |
| C．the snail | D．none of the above |
This passage mainly talks about _______.
| A．spending nature of people |
| B．the reaction between man and insects |
| C．the insects in nature |
| D．the problems with dealing with money |
China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, together with her two male crew mates Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, met the media on Friday. The three astronauts boarded the ShenzhouⅨ spacecraft on Saturday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China to fulfill China's first manned space docking mission.
"I am grateful to the motherland and the people. I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens, "said Liu Yang. She said that to be an astronaut, one has to obtain a lot of theoretical knowledge, go through very challenging space living environment training and survive examinations on operation skills with no error.
"The sense of mission and responsibility as well as the passion for aerospace undertakings is the source of courage to overcome difficulties," she said.
"When I was a pilot, I flew in the sky. Now I am an astronaut, I will fly in space. That will be a higher and farther flight, "Liu said.
She said many tasks had been arranged for this space trip. "Aside from fulfilling the tasks, I want to experience the fantastic environment in space and appreciate the beautiful Earth and our homeland from space."
She said she would keep a detailed record of her feelings and experiences and share with scientists and future astronauts when she came back.
"I will live up to your expectations and work with my teammates to fulfil this space mission," she said.
All three crew members are former pilots of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). They are all members of the Communist Party of China.
Enlisted in the army in 1997, Liu was an experienced pilot with 1,680 hours of flying experience and the deputy head of a flight unit of the PLA's Air Force before being enlisted into China's second group of prospective astronauts in May 2010. She is now an air force major.
After two years of training that has shored up her astronautic skills and adaptability to the space environment, Liu excelled in testing and was selected in March this year as a candidate to crew the ShenzhouⅨ. According to Liu Yang, we know all the following are necessary for an astronaut except _____.
| A．obtaining a lot of theoretical knowledge |
| B．surviving examinations on operation skills |
| C．experiencing space living environment training |
| D．keeping calm and confident in any case |
Which of the following is TRUE about Liu Yangfrom the passage?
| A．Liu once was head of a flight unit of the PLA's Air Force. |
| B．Liu Yang has become an air force major in 1997. |
| C．She was enlisted into China's second group of prospective astronauts in 2010. |
| D．After three years of training Liu was selected as a candidate． |
The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means“______”．
| A．build up |
| B．put up |
| C．take up |
| D．bring up |
Hallmark arrived in my hometown of Calcutta, India when I was 16. On Valentine's Day, I waited in line with many other teenagers just for a chance to get into the store. I remember wishing two things. One of them is that the good-looking boy whom I could see through the store window was picking out a gift for me. Unfortunately, Valentine's Day passed and I received nothing but a lecture from my father on how Western capitalism (资本主义) was ruining our culture.
The next Valentine's Day, I still didn't have a boyfriend, but I did receive a greeting card from a secret admirer. I can't remember what it exactly said inside the card, but it hardly mattered. I know I'm not the only one who's had the blues because of being single on Valentine's Day.
It's not just on Valentine's Day that I'm reminded of these feelings. One night, my friend and I were at the subway station in New York City waiting for the local to arrive. The station was mostly full of college students, and later an older couple walked in. Just at that moment, a street musician started playingShe's only a Woman to Me. The couple began dancing around the station and was lost in their own world. On the train. I found myself recalling the time when I was with a date at the subway station, and there he picked me up in his arms like I was a ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员).
My view of romance has changed from when I was 16 in Calcutta to now, 23, and living in Manhattan. This year, I won't focus all my romantic expectations on one particular day. I'll spend Valentine's Day with friends in New York City. But I won't try to hide somewhere or turn off my cellphone. Instead, I'll help my coupled-up friends pack for their weekend trips to Rome.The underlined word "Hallmark" in Paragraph 1 probably refers to a ______.
| A．city |
| B．street |
| C．store |
| D．man |
According to Paragraph 2, if someone has the blues, he is probably ______.
| A．lonely |
| B．angry |
| C．excited |
| D．sad |
Who made the writer recall her romantic experience at the subway station?
| A．One of her friends. |
| B．The college students. |
| C．The dancing couple. |
| D．The street musician. |
What is implied in the passage?
| A．The writer now has a boyfriend. |
| B．The writer now is afraid of Valentine's Day. |
| C．The writer will go to Rome with her coupled-up friends. |
| D．The writer's attitude towards Valentine's Day has changed. |
Teachers battle student stress
Teachers of Anna University participate in a workshop on helping students deal with stress. How do you handle an adolescent who refuses to speak, even about his project, or a student who is very attentive in class but fails to perform in examinations?
Two months the before a new group of students enter engineering colleges, lecturers and professors of Anna University are being advised on how to handle students and help them handle stress better.
In a series of workshops organized by the Centre for Empowerment of Women, Anna University, the lecturers are trained in specific ways to help students understand personal and academic stress.
"Students come here from varied backgrounds and the biggest challenge is to get them to open up and speak boldly," said HemaAchyuthan, director of Centre for Empowerment of Women.
The workshop on Friday was handled by Counsellor PrabhaArun who said that students tend to approach only those teachers who make them feel relaxed. Lecturers assume that college students are more responsible but the transition from school often takes time.
"Observing students' behaviour helps a lot, "said teachers. Y. Vidhya Lakshmi, a physics lecturer, said, "We might observe a student behaving differently but only when we talk to hostel wardens do we get a better picture of his recent activities. Also, the fact that teachers keep changing every semester does not allow students to establish longer relationships with them."
Teachers say that the 45 minutes allocated every week for counselling students is hardly adequate to understand their problems. Also, teachers are expected to shoulder more responsibilities, such as handling additional programs and submitting research papers. This leaves them with very little time to communicate with students. Teachers of Anna University attend the workshop so that they can help students _______.
| A．have the ability to speak |
| B．fight with their stress |
| C．adapt to the university life well |
| D．gain higher grades in exams |
We can know from the passage that _ _
| A．two months after the new students enter the college, teachers will be trained in workshops |
| B．the biggest difficulty for the new students entering the college is to speak freely and boldly |
| C．PrabhaArun is a physics lecturer and also a director in Anna University |
| D．lecturers think that school takes up more responsibility for the students' stress |
Students have difficulty in setting up longer relationships with teachers because _______.
| A．teachers are not always available at any time |
| B．teachers keep changing every semester |
| C．students are busy with their project all the time |
| D．students are bearing too much pressure |
The underlined' word in the last paragraph probably means "______".
| A．set aside |
| B．put down |
| C．set up |
| D．cut out |
News One
Much of Pakistan faces more storms in the coming days. Heavy rains have already caused more than two weeks of record flooding. Health officials worry about disease spreading because of a lack of clean drinking water. The United Nations wants four hundred and sixty million dollars to provide immediate help for fourteen million people affected by the flooding. About l,600 people have died because of the floods.
The Pakistani ambassador(大使) to the UN says the floods could limit his country's economic growth this year. The cotton industry has been hit especially hard. Pakistan has cancelled official Independence Day celebrations that were set for Saturday.
News Two
Russian officials are reporting progress against wildfires that have blackened parts of the country and polluted the air. Russia has requested technical assistance. President Obama called President Dmitri Medvedev on Thursday to tell him that American firefighting equipment is on the way.
A girl in Moscow wears a mask to protect herself from thick smoke caused by wildfires last week. The fires are not the only problem. President Medvedev says Russia has lost about one-fourth of its grain crops this year because of heat and dry weather. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned grain exports until the end of the year. Russia is a major wheat exporter. But crops have been hit hard by the record heat this summer. During the past week, bread prices in Russia have jumped by twenty percent.
But skies cleared over Moscow after days of heavy pollution, and there were cooling rains. The city set a new record for itself when temperatures reached thirty-nine degrees Celsius on July 30.
News Three
American scientists reported on Friday that this July was the second warmest worldwide in records dating back to 1880. The government report said the average temperature for January through July was the warmest on record. Global warming keeps the temperature growing year by year.What does News One talk about?
| A．The record floods happened in Pakistan. |
| B．The celebrations of Independence Day. |
| C．The reason of the floods. |
| D．The trouble of Pakistan caused by wildfires. |
It is implied in News One that _____
| A．Pakistan is often hit by heavy storms |
| B．the floods have caused a loss to Pakistan's economy |
| C．many countries are willing to help Pakistan |
| D．most people in Pakistan are threatened by diseases |
What does the underlined word "assistance" in News Two mean?
| A．Help. |
| B．Information. |
| C．Skill. |
| D．Guide. |
From the passage we know that the wildfires in Russia ______.
| A．were started by human activities |
| B．have been put off by cooling rains |
| C．have affected the prices of bread in the country |
| D．caused the country to import wheat from other countries |
A Bite of China, a food documentary series that hastriggered online shopping crazes for the various dishes shown in the program, has also bitten into the lives of the people it covered. One of those, Huang Guosheng, 59,is a farmer who makes and sells yellow steamed buns with his wife in Suide County, Shaanxi Province.
Following the airing of the documentary, he was approached by JiaGuolong, the owner of Xi Bei Northwest Dishes in Beijing.
Jia was hoping to convince the farmer to join his team and make his special buns for customers in his popular restaurant chain, which is characterized by cuisine from the northwestern Chinese countryside.
"I told Huang my idea. The farmer, simple andhonest as he seemed in the documentary, said he didn't really understand what I was doing, "Jia said.
"So I invited him to Beijing to visit the restaurant's outlets."
But an Internet buzz was raised soon. While some netizens said Jia made a smart move to promote his brand and help Huang lead a better life, others argued it was a clear publicity stunt and a commercial "abduction".
"I won't deny the publicity issue. Thedocumentary has been enormously popular and Huang has become more celebrated, "Jia said.
"But as a businessman, there is nothing wrong with grabbing a chance to boost my business," he said. Despite the publicity, Jia said that what really mattered was that his intentions were lOO-percent good.
"From the documentary, you can tell Huang's life is far from rich. He works hard and walks miles to the town to sell his steamed yellow buns, but his earnings are very limited," Jia said.
"I want him to have a better life. If there is a chance that could enable him to enhance his life by doing the same thing he used to do, why not take it,"Jia said.
Jia disagreed with the term" abduction" and said Huang would make a decision for himself.
"To those who mentioned the word ‘abduction’, how do you know Huang doesn't want to change his life," Jia said. The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means _________.
| A．force | B．arouse |
| C．rise | D．forbid |
JiaGuolong invited Huang Guosheng to Beijing mainly to __________.
| A．let Huang understand what Jia is doing with his restaurant |
| B．show Huang around the places of interest in Beijing |
| C．convince Huang to join him in dealing with his restaurant |
| D．help him lead a happier and richer life than ever |
From the passage, we can infer that_________.
| A．not all the netizens think highly of Jia's move |
| B．Jia denied his publicity issue of his move |
| C．Huang makes a lot of money from selling his buns |
| D．Jia agreed with the term "abduction" |
Jia's words ill the last paragraph probably mean that____，
| A．Huang will not agree to join him in his team |
| B．Huang has shown his willingness to join him |
| C．Jia believes it is likely that Huang will want to join him |
| D．Huang's life has already changed in a positive way |