Are you a compulsive (强迫性的) spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.
Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.
People can be addicted to different things — for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions, i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy.
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.
Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(疗法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments”. If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.If you use charge accounts, ______.
| A．you pay in cash |
| B．you pay with credit card |
| C．you pay less than you should |
| D．you pay more than you should |
Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that ______.
| A．the things they buy are cheap |
| B．they believe they can balance their budgets |
| C．they get psychological satisfaction |
| D．they really need the things they buy |
Behavior therapy in this case aims at ______.
| A．helping businessmen to increase their business |
| B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less |
| C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy |
| D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain |
The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to ______.
| A．different things | B．their addictions |
| C．their pleasures | D．charge accounts |
From the passage we can conclude that ______________.
| A．how you spend money reflects if you are psychologically healthy |
| B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much |
| C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine |
| D．all businessmen understand well the psychology of customers |
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut,” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.“The door to his room is always shut” in the first paragraph suggests that the son ______.
| A．is always busy with his studies |
| B．doesn’t want to be disturbed |
| C．keeps himself away from his parents |
| D．begins to dislike his parents |
【改编】What makes Tina and Mark worried most is that ______________.
| A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before |
| B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly |
| C．they don’t know what they will say to their daughter |
| D．their daughter talks with them only when she is in need of help |
What’s the meaning of “the wall of silence” in the last paragraph?
| A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends. |
| B．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents. |
| C．Teenagers talk little about their own lives. |
| D．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents. |
【改编】From the passage ,we can conclude that______.
| A．Parents are not satisfied with their growing children. |
| B．Parents have appropriate ways to talk with their teenagers. |
| C．Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers. |
| D．Parents should try to understand their teenagers from their perspective |
Anna Riviere was one of the most admired of 19th-century English sopranos(女高音). She was also one of the most adventuresome.
She was born in London on January 9th, 1810. She entered the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 14. Seven years later, just after her first show, Anna married Sir Henry Bishop, who was 24 years her senior. Her reputation as a singer grew rapidly, based largely on her tours with Sir Henry and harpist Nicholas Bochsa. After a tour of Dublin, Edinburgh, and London, Anna Bishop deserted her husband and three children and ran away with Bochsa.
From then on, Madame Bishop—as she continued to be known—traveled and sang as if her life depended on it. Between 1839 and 1843 she traveled to every major town in Europe, where she sang in 260 concerts. In the course of two years in Naples, she performed in 20 operas. In 1855 she and Bochsa sailed for Sydney, Australia. He died there the following year, and Anna went on to tour South America before returning to New York, where she married a diamond merchant.
Then she began what proved her most dangerous adventure. After another American tour in 1866, she and her husband set sail across the Pacific. They were shipwrecked on a small coral reef, and for more than a month they drifted in a small boat before they finally reaching Guam. She had lost her music, her wardrobe, and her jewelry, but Madame Bishop was not to be stopped. She went on to Manila and began a concert tour that led to Hong Kong, Singapore, and India before she went back to England. After another two-year world tour she returned eventually to New York, where she gave her last public performance in 1883—at age 73.
Meanwhile the husband she left behind, Sir Henry, had become famous for writing the music to lyrics that might eventually have been meaningful to Anna Bishop—“Home, Sweet Home.”【改编】Which of the following information in the passage about Madama Bishop is true?
| A．She became famous after her first show. |
| B．After her tour in Europe, she returned to New York. |
| C．She got married more than once. |
| D．The song “Home, Sweet Home” was meaningful to her. |
Which is the right order of the event？
a. Bochsa died in Australia.
b. Madama Bishop deserted her husband and three children.
c. Madama Bishop toured South America.
d. Madama Bishop and her husband, a diamond merchant, set sail across the Pacific.
| A．abcd | B．bacd | C．bcda | D．dcba |
What is the best title for this passage ?_____.
| A．The English soprano |
| B．The soprano traveled around the world |
| C．A soprano and her husband |
| D．The adventuresome soprano |
【原创】On Aug.11 shopper Jenni Ware bought 207 dollars' worth of groceries at Trader Joe's and when she was waiting to pay,she realized that she had lost her wallet.Carolee Hazard,who was in line behind her,offered to pay the bill!Jenni later sent Carolee a check for 300 dollars,and suggested that Carolee treat herself to a massage with the cash leftover.
Carolee turned to her online Facebook group for advice on what she should do with the 93 dollar gift.The idea Carolee chose was to give it to a local food bank.
Carolee not only sent in the money that Jenni had given her to Second Harvest Food Bank,but matched that amount herself.So did a Facebook friend.And another,and another.So far,over 10,000 dollars have come in from people in many countries to feed the hungry through local food banks.
Carolee has started the "93 Dollar Club" on Facebook,where people across the globe can read the story and comment on it.There are links on that page which people may use to give money to a food bank close to them.Carolee says,"It's been amazing to see this grow and how excited people are getting.I have told the story to my friends and they say it encourages them to do good immediately."
Carolee and Jenni are no longer strangers.They've become Facebook freinds and they've made a real_world connection that will likely stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Junni remembers that she was in a "bad mood" that day in the grocery store,and Carolee's help reminded her that there are good people in the world.Jenni said,"It's just a reminder that there are these amazingly kind people out there.And it also reminds me of hwo good I want to be."Why did Carolee offer to pay for the groceries?
| A．Carolee and jenni were Facebook friends. |
| B．Carolee wanted to set up the “93 Dollar club” |
| C．Jenni was Carolee’s neighbor. |
| D．Caroleewas always ready to help others. |
How much money did Carolee send in to Second Harvest Food Bank?
| A．＄93 | B．＄186 | C．＄207 | D．＄300 |
Caroleedry set up the “93 Dollar club” to_____
| A．Help people make Facebook friends |
| B．Make her story known to people across the globe |
| C．Call on people to donate money for hungry |
| D．Make herself known to the public |
It can be inferred from jenni’s words that ____
| A．She believes there are many kind people in the world |
| B．She does not believe in humanity |
| C．She doubts whether she can become a kind person |
| D．She believes Carolee will be her life-long friend |
An Australian film company has halted the preproduction of its upcoming film Deep Water because of eerie similarities the plot has to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
MH370 disappeared from radar screens less than an hour after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board on March 8.No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since.
The action horror film, from Arclight Films, tells the story of a flight bound for China that mysteriously crashes in a remote stretch of ocean.The survivors then have to fight against hungry sharks as the plane is starting to sink.
“Out of sensitivity to the Malaysia flight situation，we’ve decided to put it on pause for now，”Arclight Films managing director Gary Hamilton told the Hollywood reporter Monday.
The news comes as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stated at a press conference that new analysis suggested the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean，and that all those on board are now dead.
The eerily similar film plot had been promoted with the tagline (宣传词)：“Survivors of a plane crash face terror beyond imagination as the plane is starting to sink and soon discover they are surrounded by the deadliest natural born killers on earth.”
It’s not the first time Alister Grierson, the film’s director, has had a preference for film subjects of reallife disasters.Two weeks before the 2011 release of his best known film Sanctum, about an underwater cave diving expedition, Australia was hit by disastrous floods.
Grierson began preproduction on Deep Water at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland weeks before the reallife incident of MH370.
The Queenslandbased filmmaker said he couldn’t deny the strange timing between his project and MH370.
Despite saying it was “mysterious” , he insists that his film is vastly different.
“In simple terms, Deep Water is about an accident that happens on an airplane which goes down in the ocean, and the survivors trying to stay alive afterwards.”
“It’s more complicated as there are villains (反面角色) and sharks, but it’s a fun adventure with thrills and scares. ”
It is unclear when the preproduction will restart, but it will be at least two years before the film makes it to cinemas.Why has the preproduction of Deep Water been stopped?
| A．Because MH370 mysteriously disappeared after takeoff on March 8. |
| B．Because the plot of the film is similar to the reallife incident of MH370. |
| C．Because Malaysian Prime Minister was very sensitive at a press conference. |
| D．Because the film won’t make it to cinemas until two years later. |
【改编】Which of the following statements about Alister Grierson is not wrong?
| A．He is a film director on the missing flight MH370. |
| B．He is keen on the film subjects of reallife disasters. |
| C．He is famous for his best film Deep Water. |
| D．He worked with Arclight Films to make Sanctum. |
The underlined word “eerie” in the first paragraph means “________”．
| A．strange | B．funny |
| C．deadly | D．sensitive |
Where will you most probably read this article?
| A．In a popular science magazine. |
| B．In Queensland Financial Daily. |
| C．In an entertainment special column. |
| D．In a disaster report of MH370. |
B
Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good. This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity. However, that is not always the case. Did you know that the same one color may mean differently in different places of the world?
In the Englishspeaking world, black is the color of mourning. People wear black clothes at the funeral. Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed (流血)．Yellow is the word for fear. If you are afraid, you are yellow. Yet none of these sayings is true outside the Englishspeaking world. In China and Korea white is the color of mourning. In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence. In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear.
Even within the Englishspeaking area it is not difficult to find color contradictions (矛盾). A red cap in the United States is a porter in a railway station. In Britain, however, a red cap is a military policeman. Both names are logical because both men wear red caps. Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a blackcoated worker.
One does not have to cross an area to find color differences. Would you rather be redblooded or a blueblooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest. The expression “blue blood” comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly said that they had “blue blood”. Actually they meant that they had no Moorish or Jewish blood. But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fairskinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels (血管) stood out appearing blue.Yellow is concerned with anger in ________.
| A．Russia | B．Britain |
| C．Germany | D．China |
The two meanings of the term “red cap” form a difference in ________.
| A．pronunciation | B．climate |
| C．logical relationship | D．custom |
【改编】Britain as well as America would probably agree that ________.
| A．black stands for the color of mourning |
| B．a blackcoated worker is employed in an office |
| C．red represents beauty and excellence |
| D．a red cap is a porter in a station |
The best title for this passage is “________”．
| A．The Origin of Blue Blood |
| B．The Development of the Symbolic Use of Colors |
| C．Colors That Carry Bad Meanings |
| D．The Meaning Concerned with Certain Colors |