Saving money is easy when you don’t have anything to spend it on, but what happens when things come suddenly that demand some of your hard-earned money? These are called expenses (开销).
Chances are, most of your basic living expenses — food, shelter, clothing, medical care — are covered by your family. But perhaps you and your family have agreed that you’ll pay for certain other expenses out of your own money, such as cell phone bills, after-school snacks, jewelry, or club fees (费用).
Expenses that happen regularly, like every week or month, are called “fixed” expenses. The good news is that because you know when these expenses are coming, you can plan for them. But life is full of surprises, and sometimes these surprises turn into expenses, too. You might have an emergency like fixing a flat tire on your bike, or something unusual like the class trip to Six Flags. These are called “unexpected” expenses and if you are smart with your money, you’ll plan for these as well.
Here’s a secret when it comes to saving money: if you think of it as a regular expense, it’ll be easier to put a certain amount aside. Tell yourself that the $20.00 you are trying to save up every month is something you must do, and there’s no getting around it.
What kinds of fixed expenses do you have? Can you think of any unexpected expenses that have come up for you in the past? Can you think of any you might have now or in the near future?
| A．Money spent on medicine. | B．Money spent on clothing. |
| C．Money spent on sports. | D．Money spent on meals. |
| A．Changing a new tire. | B．House rent. |
| C．Buying snacks. | D．Paying for cell phone bill. |
| A．Trying your best to prevent emergencies. |
| B．Earning as much as you can after class. |
| C．Cutting most of your expenses. |
| D．Putting some money aside as a regular expense. |
| A．you can’t let out this secret |
| B．there is no other choice |
| C．you have other solutions to it |
| D．there’s no point in arguing about it |
It is often said that you cannot “teach an old dog new tricks”, but three New Zealand dogs have decided to prove otherwise by learning a skill --- driving a car!
What's even more impressive is that the three who have become skilled in just eight weeks are not special dogs that belong to some rich owners, but abandoned ones at New Zealand's SPCA.
To get their training started, 10-month old Porter, 18-month-old Monty and one-year-old Ginny were selected from a pool of seven potential candidates and moved to Animal Q, a talent agency that teaches animals tricks for movies and television shows.
The driving classes began with teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques like turning the steering wheels（方向盘）and applying the brakes. After that the dogs practiced everything they had learnt behind the wheels of a motorized（装上发动机的）car. Then finally, it was time for the big test--- driving a real car!
Human cars are not really built for four-legged animals, so the car they drove was adjusted so that the dogs could sit comfortably and easily reach the steering wheel with their paws.
Though they all seemed to do very well, the real test came on Monday night when Monty, the best driver of the three, showed his great driving skill on live television.
Why would the SPCA go through so much trouble to highlight the skills of homeless dogs? The reason is to show that adopting a dog from a shelter does not mean owners are getting a pet that is worse than one purchased from a keeper. The CEO of the SPCA is hoping that this unusual event will be enough to convince the residents of New Zealand to consider them, when searching for a pet.
We surely hope so, meanwhile we are almost certain that these three pioneers have at least landed their names in the Guinness World Records, creating a category that probably does not even exist today! Who do the three dogs belong to?
| A．Some rich owners. | B．Animal Q. | C．A shelter. | D．A zoo. |
The car the dogs drove was adjusted ______.
| A．because is was too big for the dogs to drive |
| B．because it had no steering wheels and brakes |
| C．to ensure the dogs could sit comfortably and drive easily |
| D．to motorize the car and turn it to be a real one |
Which is the right order of the following events?
a. Teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques.
b. Selecting three dogs and moving them to Animal Q.
c. The dogs practiced everything they had learnt in a motorized car.
d. Choosing the best driver to show his great driving skill on live television.
e. Driving a real car.
| A．a-b-c- d-e | B．b-a-c-e-d | C． b- d- a-c-e | D．a- e- c-b-d |
Why does the SPCA decide to teach the three dogs to learn to drive a car?
| A．To prove old dogs can learn new tricks. |
| B．To teach them performing tricks for movies and television shows. |
| C．To provide amusing performances for homeless children |
| D．To encourage people to adopt the abandoned dogs. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．A new Guinness category for driving dogs will probably be created. |
| B．Abandoned dogs are much cleverer than house-kept ones. |
| C．All the dogs at New Zealand’s SPCA will soon be adopted. |
| D．New Zealand has the most homeless dogs among all countries |
I received a call today asking if I would be willing to bring food to a family in need. The mother was having a major operation and would be lying down for several weeks. Of course, I responded with an immediate “Yes！”. As I planned the meal in my head, I reflected on how many times over the years I had been asked to prepare food. I have done so countless times with a very open heart.
But the truly amazing thing is that I have received double over the course of my life. When my mother passed away, our house was filled with fresh dinners for weeks. A woman from the church of our community stopped by each evening with some food. The gift of food was her small way of trying to ease our pain.
Later in my life, when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with twins, women of the church again stepped in to help. They arranged babysitting for my twoyearold daughter, and brought lovely dinners to our house. Even when I was put in the hospital, my husband would bring cooked meals to my hospital room. How we relied on these dinners to feed my tired husband and young daughter.
Food is all about comfort. It feeds our bodies, but it can also feed our souls. When you hear people talking about their favourite holidays, it usually includes their feelings connected with sharing food. I know that I will have many more opportunities in my lifetime to prepare food for others. It is truly a gift I want to prepare and deliver to someone in need.The author has given lots of food to others because________．
| A．she is poor at cooking |
| B．she is a church member |
| C．she is friendly to others |
| D．she has received others' food |
We can learn from the first paragraph that the author________．
| A．had to stay in bed for several weeks |
| B．knew the family in need very well |
| C．was glad to be able to lend a hand |
| D．was tired of preparing food |
Which of the following is TRUE about the author?
| A．Her mother died when she was in hospital. |
| B．She didn't get enough food during her pregnancy. |
| C．She received food as well as comfort in her hard times. |
| D．She thinks offering food is the best way to show love. |
What do we know about the author's family?
| A．Her family is too poor to buy enough food. |
| B．Her family lives not far from a church. |
| C．Her husband is not good at cooking. |
| D．She has a babysitter taking care of her twins. |
According to the passage, which of the following conclusions can we get?
| A．A good beginning makes a good ending. |
| B．One good turn deserves another. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. |
| D．Every man has his faults. |
Look, this is the first plane in the world to be created using the new technology of “3D printing”. The airplane was built using only a computer—but it can fly at a speed of 100mph and has a two-meter wingspan.
It was produced using a special nylon laser printer that builds up something layer-by-layer. The parts were made separately and attached using a “snap fit” technique so the aircraft could be put together without tools in minutes.
No fasteners at all were used in the manufacture of the plane. Unmanned and electrically powered, the plane can travel in near silence and is also equipped with a small autopilot system. The special production process used is known as “laser sintering(激光烧结)”and allows the designers to create shapes and structures that would normally include costly manufacturing techniques. This technology allows a highly-tailored aircraft to be developed from your own design to first flight in days, while using traditional materials and techniques would take months. And because no tooling is required for manufacture, major changes to the shape and scale of the aircraft can be made with no extra cost.
Professor Jim Scanlon, who led the team, said, “The process allows the design team to revisit historical techniques and ideas that would have been too expensive using traditional manufacturing.” He added, “This form of structure is very firm and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured traditionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be connected or fastened at great expense.”
The new printed plane is known as the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft—or SULSA for short—and is part of a wider project using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. The University of Southampton has been at the leading position of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development since the early 1990s.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Revolutionary Breakthrough of 3D Printer
Scientists Create Aircraft with High Speed
C. New Designed Airplane with New Techniques.
D. The World’s first 3-D printed Airplane, SULSAHow could the plane work while flying?
| A．It should be controlled by an autopilot system. |
| B．It should be controlled by “laser sintering”. |
| C．A pilot controls it using a remote control. |
| D．A pilot with high techniques controlled it. |
This kind of plane has the following advantages EXCEPT ______.
| A．it produces little noise while flying |
| B．it is manufactured in quite a short time |
| C．it only requires simple and cheap tools |
| D．it needn’t extra cost if changes are made |
Professor Jim Scanlon believes they can _____ with their techniques.
| A．produce firmer and lighter real planes easily |
| B．connect and fasten tailor parts for real planes |
| C．copy earlier planes to study their techniques |
| D．find differences by studying the traditional ones |
It has taken 90 years since she was born in a poor house in County Limerick for a woman considered America’s oldest illegal immigrant to get her Irish passport.It will be a few more months before Josephine Stout will finally be declared a US citizen, entitling(赋于…权力) her to a pension and other benefits.
Despite having lived in America for most of her life since she arrived in 1923, the great-grandmother was declared an undocumented alien(华侨)in 1999, when she tried to claim state aid to help raise her seven grandchildren, who were left orphaned when her daughter was killed by a robber over$20.
Even though she has never considered herself Irish, noting “I don’t even have an accent,” she didn’t officially exist as an American when officials in Chicago insisted that she prove her citizenship in order to qualify for benefits. But she had no birth certificate or passport when she arrived on an immigrant ship from Ireland from Ireland with her parents, who had 12 other children.
She never gave the matter much thought until 1999, when she was in her late 70s and needed assistance to raise her grandchildren. For 12 years, Mrs. Stout managed to support the family by doing various jobs. But her life was hard and marked by tragedy. Her husband died in 1996, and her son Thomas died in a car accident with his girlfriend in 1985. Her only surviving child, Rosemary, died of cancer in 2009.
A Catholic charity referred her case to Chicago Irish Immigrant Support(CIIS), which alerted the Irish Consulate(领事馆). Through them, they tracked down her birth certificate, the website irishcentral.com reported. The document, in turn, allowed her to receive her Irish passport, and eventually her American green card in September 2011, which was dated back to November 1, 1923.What will happen to a person if he has no green card in the US?
| A．he cannot get any chance to get education |
| B．he can’t have a pension and other benefits |
| C．his citizenship will be taken away |
| D．he has to take illegal part-time job |
Josephine couldn’t be a legal immigrant because ______.
| A．she was named an undocumented alien |
| B．she arrived in American in a secret way |
| C．She couldn’t find her proper certificates |
| D．She has too many brothers and sisters |
We can imply from the 4th paragraph that ______.
| A．Josephine lived a lonely life for many years |
| B．Thomas was always driving carelessly |
| C．Josephine was a strong-willed woman |
| D．Mrs. Stout, Josephine’s friend, helped her a lot. |
Please arrange the following events in the correct order according to the text.
a. Josephine’s birth certificate was found.
b. Josephine received her green card.
c. The Catholic charity contacted CIIS.
d. The birth certificate was shown on a website.
e. Josephine was offered her Irish passport.
| A．a-b-c-d-e | B．c-d-e-a-b | C．a-d-c-b-e | D．c-a-d-e-b |
A tall figure appeared from the dark door of the tent. It was a smoking young man about twenty three or four. He had an almost black face, though smooth. His moustache was black with curled points. There was an unusual force in his face, and in his daring rolling eyes. cef
Rebecca still stood hesitating like a swimmer about to make his dive, hardly knowing whether to return or move forward.
"Hi, my beauty, what can I do for you?" said he, approaching. Realizing that she was quite at a loss, the man spoke in a gentle voice, "Never mind. I am Mr. Thackeray. Have you come to see me or my mother?"
This scene differed greatly from what Rebecca had expected. She had dreamed of an aged and dignified(威严的) face. She told herself to be calm and answered "I came to see your mother, sir."
"I am afraid you cannot see her-she is ill in bed," replied the representative of the house; for this was Mr. Alee Thackeray, the only son of the noble family. "What is the business you wish to see her about?"
"It isn't business-it is-I can hardly say what!"
"Pleasure?"
"Oh no. Why, sir, if I tell you, it will seem..."
Rebecca's sense of a certain ridicule(奚落，讥笑) was now so obvious and strong that, despite her general discomfort at being here, her rosy lips curved(弯曲) towards a smile, much to the attraction of the young man.
"It is so foolish", she murmured. "I fear I can't tell you!"
"Never mind; I like foolish things. Try again, my dear," said he kindly.
"Mother told me to come," Rebecca continued; "and, indeed, I was in the mind to do so myself. But I did not expect it would turn out like this. I came…sir, I came to tell you that we are of the same family as you."
"Ho Ho! Poor relations?"
"Yes."
"Rossetti?"
"No. Thackeray."
"Ay, ay; I mean Thackeray."
"Our names are worn away to Durbeyfield; but we have several proofs that we are Thackeray. The local scholars hold the view that we are, and...and we have an old seal and a silver spoon marked with the same castle as yours. So mother said we ought to make ourselves known to you, as we've lost our horse by a bad accident. We can hardly make a living."
"It’s very kind of your mother, I'm sure." Alec looked at Rebecca as he spoke, in a way that made her uneasy. "And so, my pretty girl, you've come on a friendly visit to us, as relations?"
"I suppose I have," looking less confident and uncomfortable again.
"Well, there's no harm in it. I mean it doesn’t hurt to come and make yourself known to me. Where do you live? What are you?" …While meeting with Alec, Rebecca feels _______during the whole course.
| A．nervous and uneasy |
| B．excited and hopeful |
| C．amazed and comfortable |
| D．pleased but embarrassed. |
Which of the following is suitable to describe Rebecca’s impression of Alec?
| A．unfriendly and ta lkative |
| B．forceful and daring |
| C．gentle and reliable |
| D．older than expected |
What is Rebecca’s real purpose of making this visit?
| A．To see Alec himself. |
| B．To see Alec's mother. |
| C．To confirm that they are of the same family. |
| D．To make known their relationship and seek help. |
From the passage, we can conclude that Alec appears quite friendly to Rebecca largely because __________.
| A．Rebecca is his distant relation |
| B．Rebecca looks polite to him |
| C．Rebecca is a pretty girl |
| D．Rebecca looks ridiculous |