Understand the Economic Concept of a Budget Line
The term "budget line" has several related meanings， including a couple that are self﹣evident and a third that is not．
The Budget Line as an Informal Consumer Understanding
The budget line is an elementary concept that most consumers understand intuitively without a need for graphs and equations it's the household budget， for example．
Taken informally， the budget line describes the boundary of affordability for a given budget and specific goods．
Given a limited amount of money， a consumer can only spend that same amount buying goods． If the consumer has X amount of money and wants to buy two goods A and B， she can only purchase goods totaling X． If the consumer needs an amount of A costing 0.75 X， she can then spend only 0.25 X， the amount remaining， on her purchase of B．
This seems almost too obvious to bother writing or reading about． As it turns out， however， this same concept one that most consumers make many times each day with reflecting on it is the basis of the more formal budget line concept in economics， which is explained below．
Lines in a Budget
Before turning to the economics definition of "budget line"， consider another concept： the line﹣item budget． This is effectively a map of future expenditures， with all the constituent expenditures individually noted and quantified． There's nothing very complicated about this： in this usage， a budget line is one of the lines in the budget， with the service or good to be purchased named and the cost quantified．
The Budget Line as an Economics Concept
One of the interesting ways the study of economics relates to human behavior generally is that a lot of economic theory is the formalization of the kind of simple concept outlined above a consumer's informal understanding of the amount she has to spend and what that amount will buy．
In the process of formalization， the concept can be expressed as a mathematical equation that can be applied generally．
A Simple Budget Line Graph
To understand this， think of a graph where the vertical lines quantify how many movie tickets you can buy and where the horizontal lines do the same for crime novels． You like going to the movies and reading crime novels and you have ＄150 to spend． In the example below， assume that each movie costs ＄10 and each crime novel costs ＄15． The more formal economics term for these two items is budget set．
If movies cost ＄10 each， then the maximum number of movies you can see with the money available is 15． To note this you make a dot at the number 15 （for total movie tickets） at the extreme left﹣hand side of the chart． This same dot appears at the extreme left above "0" on the horizontal axis because you have no money left for books the number of books available in this example is 0．
You can also graph the other extreme all crime novels and no movies． Since crime novels in the example cost ＄15 and you have ＄150 available， if you spend all the available money crime novels， you can buy 10． So you put a dot on the horizontal axis at the number 10．
You'll place the dot at the bottom of the vertical axis because in this instance you have ＄0 available for movie tickets．
If you now draw a line from the highest， leftmost dot to the lowest， rightmost dot you'll have created a budget line． Any combination of movies and crime novels that falls below the budget line is affordable． Any combination above it is not．
（1）Which sentence about the budget line is NOT TRUE？
| A． |
It is a limitation of affordability for a given budget and specific goods． |
| B． |
Most costumers will be confused with this concept because of its complex． |
| C． |
It is the effectively a map of future expenditures． |
| D． |
It can be expressed as a mathematical equation． |
（2）What is the purpose of the passage？
| A． |
To tell us any concept can be expressed as a mathematical equation． |
| B． |
To help us figure out the meaning Budget Line． |
| C． |
To tell us we should budget before we buy goods． |
| D． |
To give an instruction of drawing a budget Line． |
（3）Assume that each movie costs ＄10 and each crime novel costs ＄15， you have ＄150． Which is RIGHT according to this passage？
| A． |
The maximum number of movies you can see is 10． |
| B． |
The maximum number of crime novels you can buy is 15． |
| C． |
You can buy 7 crime novels and see 5 movies． |
| D． |
You can buy 7 crime novels and see 4 movies． |
（4）What is the best title of this passage？
| A． |
Do we really know the economic concept of a budget line？ |
| B． |
The Budget Line as an Economics Concept |
| C． |
The Budget Line as an Informal Consumer Understanding |
| D． |
The Complex Concept Budget Line |
Everybody is happy as his pay rises. Yet pleasure at your own can disappear if you learn that a fellow worker has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he is known as being lazy, you might even be quite cross. Such behavior is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying belief that other animals would not be able to have this finely developed sense of sadness. But a study by Sarah Brosnan of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well.
The researchers studied the behaviors of some kind of female brown monkeys. They look smart. They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food happily. Above all, like female human beings, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “goods and services” than males.
Such characteristics make them perfect subjects for Doctor Brosnan’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens (奖券) for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for pieces of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate and connected rooms, so that each other could observe what the other is getting in return for its rock, they became quite different.
In the world of monkeys，grapes are excellent goods (and much preferable to cucumbers). So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was not willing to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either shook her own token at the researcher, or refused to accept the cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other room (without an actual monkey to eat it) was enough to bring about dissatisfaction in a female monkey.
The researches suggest that these monkeys, like humans, are guided by social senses. In the wild, they are co-operative and group-living. Such co-operation is likely to be firm only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of anger when unfairly treated, it seems, are not the nature of human beings alone. Refusing a smaller reward completely makes these feelings clear to other animals of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness developed independently in monkeys and humans, or whether it comes from the common roots that they had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question.
68. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A. Only monkeys and humans can have the sense of fairness in the world.
B. Women will show more dissatisfaction than men when unfairly treated.
C. In the wild, monkeys are never unhappy to share their food with each other.
D. Monkeys can exchange cucumbers for grapes, for grapes are more attractive.
69. The underlined statement “it is all too monkey” means that ________.
A. monkeys are also angry with lazy fellows
B. feeling bitter at unfairness is also monkey’s nature
C. monkeys, like humans, tend to be envious of each other
D. no animals other than monkeys can develop such feelings
70. Which of the following conclusions is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Human beings' feelings of anger are developed from the monkeys.
B. In the research, male monkeys are less likely to exchange food with others.
C. Co-operation between monkeys stays firm before the realization of being cheated.
D. Only monkeys and humans have the sense of fairness that dates from 35 million years ago.
71. What can we infer about the monkeys in Sarah’s study?
A. The monkeys can be trained to develop social senses.
B. They usually show their feelings openly as humans do.
C. The monkeys may show their satisfaction with equal treatment.
D. Co-operation among the monkeys remains effective in the wild.
Patricia Blues, 29, has a new aim in life: to keep drivers' hands on their steering wheels and off their cell phones. On November 2, 2007, Blues lived through a horrible experience. A motorist dialing a cell phone drove through a stop sign at 45 miles per hour and run into the side of Blues' car. Blues' 2-year-old daughter was killed immediately in the crash.
Blues has since dedicated her time to pushing for laws that would prevent this type of tragedy from happening again.
Cell phones are not the only distractions (分神) that cause accidents. Eating, changing CD, reading maps, talking to passengers, and just reaching for an object on the floor can be dangerous. Therefore, the emphasis should be on educating drivers to avoid all distractions. However, talking on cell phones might be easier to regulate than eating or changing music. At least 34 states have already passed laws to restrict cell phone use in moving cars. No state has banned it yet, but several U. S. cities have. Worldwide, 13 nations, including Australia, England, Germany, Japan and China have banned drivers' use of cell phones in moving cars.
To date, no scientific evidence has been published showing that talking on the phone affects driving safety. But according to a test by some high school students, "driving while on the phone does affect safety and probably shouldn't be done".
64. What happened to Patricia Blues last November? ________.
A. She was seriously injured in a car crash
B. She lost her daughter in a road accident
C. She broke the traffic rules at a bus stop
D. Her vehicle was destroyed by a motorbike
65. The tragedy was caused by ________.
A. Blues' lack of driving experience
B. the motorist’s failure of seeing the stop sign
C. Blues' poor car conditions
D. the motorist's absence of mind while driving
66. Patricia Blues' new goal of life is to persuade the government ________.
A. to prohibit the carrying of cell phones in cars
B. to educate drivers to avoid all distractions
C. to ban talking on the phone while driving
D. to study, harmful results of using cell phones
67. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text? ________.
A. Using cell phone while driving is easier to be controlled by law than other distractions
B. It is more important to make laws than educate drivers to be aware of driving safety
C. Driving while on the phone is firmly against only by some students from high school
D. It is extremely urgent for the cities with a large population to restrict using cell phones
“I’m seventy years old,” says the gray-haired lady proudly to the entertainer at her Community Club dinner.
“Did you hear that, everyone?” says the entertainer. “This lovely lady is just seventy years young! And she doesn’t look a day over fifty.” He has been careful not to use the word “old”. In a society where youth is so admired, old age is often seen as something sad, something to fight against. Americans prefer not to say “old” people. They use the expression “senior citizens”. They do not talk about “old people’s” homes, but “retirement” homes.
In fact, the entertainer is not so wrong. Seventy is not very old these days. People in the US are living longer and longer. In1980, 12 percent of Americans were over sixty-five years old. By 2030, 21 percent will be over sixty-five. One reason for this is that families are getting smaller. The average couple now has only 1.8 children. At the same time, improved medical care means that people are living longer.
This change in the age of Americans is going to have serious results. For one thing, medical costs are rising. The government is unable to pay the elderly people’s medical bills that have gone up very much. Some old people have to leave hospital “sicker and quicker” than they should, before they are really better.
More fortunate senior citizens, though, who still have good health, want new laws to be passed to allow them to stay at work. In the past, the retirement age was sixty-five, but that is changing now. Older people are stronger and more energetic than ever before. Many of them refuse to stop working just because they have reached a certain age.
There is a change, too, in the way in which elderly people see themselves. Many are no longer happy to accept the gray hair, bald heads, and boring clothes of their own parents. They like to wear younger-looking clothes and bright makeup（化妆品）.American women spend millions of dollars a year on operations to lift their faces and make those ugly wrinkles disappear. Men are prepared to spend even more on operations to plant new hair on their bald spots. It’s worth any money to look younger.
60. In America people try to avoid using the word “old” because ____.
A. the old age is seen as something that isn’t admired
B. it is now believed to bring bad luck to elderly people
C. the standard of getting old has changed
D. the change in the age has caused a healthy problem
61. According to the passage, which of the following does NOT describe the American society correctly?
A. People live longer because of improved medical care.
B. The government finds it difficult to afford the medical bills of the elderly.
C. People use polite expressions when talking about old age.
D. The old patients’ time in hospital is strictly limited.
62. Which of the following is not the result of the changing in the age of Americans?
A. Medical costs are rising.
B. The family becomes smaller.
C. The retirement age needs changing.
D. Elderly people spend a lot on keeping young.
63. This passage is most probably taken from .
A. a travel booklet B. a magazine
C. an advertisement D. a medical report
FOR many young people, having to attend school with a parent would be their worst nightmare. However, Senior 1 student Li Qinmei is happy taking her father with her as long as she can go to classes. He is disabled and unable to take care of himself.
The 16-year-old country girl in Zhucheng, Shandong Province has experienced one disaster after another in her short life. Li lost her mother at three. Four years later, her father became paralyzed after a tractor accident. At 12, her misfortune returned with the death of her grandma. Since then she has been forced to shoulder all the responsibility for her broken family.
Li learnt to cook and managed to live a life with an allowance of only 24 yuan per month. The most difficult thing she had to deal with was helping her father bathe, dress and use the toilet as he could hardly move.
"I felt embarrassed, and so did my dad. It was really hard at the beginning," she recalled.
During most of her junior school years, Li went to classes only once a month as her father was seriously ill at the time. "I taught myself at home and asked teachers for help on my school days," she explained. Li's hard work paid off this fall. She was admitted by Zhucheng No 1 High School, a local key school, based on her good performance in the entrance exams. The school offered Li and her father a room on campus to live in so she could look after him during breaks.
Once in a while, Li felt sad when she saw her classmates going shopping or hanging out with friends. "I envy them sometimes because they have both mum and dad to look after them. However, I soon feel relieved as I still have my dear dad with me," she said.
Li admitted that the difficulties in life had taught her to be strong. "I believe I will go on and continue my studies at a good university," she said, in a confident tone.
Her teacher Mr. Wang has the same belief. Li made great progress in the recent monthly exams. "She works hard and is always eager to excel (好强的). It's not easy for her never to be late for school, but she has managed to make it work," Wang said.
56. Li Qinmei has to shoulder the family because ________.
A. her father was badly injured in a car accident
B. her grandma died when she was 12
C. her mother passed away when she was 3
D. misfortune in her life forced her to do so
57. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. Li Qinmei doesn’t like others talking about her father
B. many young students hate going to school with their parents
C. Li Qinmei has made great progress in her study
D. Li Qinmei has lost three relatives and has to take care of her father
58. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “hanging out” in the passage?_________.
A. playing outside B. working hard
C. exchanging ideas D. talking happily
59. According to the passage, which statement is Not True? __________.
A. Li Qinmei was admitted to a local key school because of his good scores in the exams
B. Li Qinmei is very embarrassed when she helps her father bathe
C. Li Qinmei often goes to attend her father after class
D. Li Qinmei is able to go to class on time though she has to attend her father
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You could fill a store with all the energy drinks now available. They promise to make people feel more energetic and think more clearly. These products have names like Red Bull, Monster, Ripped Force, Speed Stack and 5-Hour Energy. They appeal mainly to young people and are fueled mainly by caffeine.
Chad Reissig at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, is a medical researcher who studies drug dependence. He says the team he works on got interested in studying energy drinks because of the explosion in their popularity in the last few years.
He says the researchers found three major things. One: there are hundreds of brands of energy drinks in most major countries. Two: the drinks are not clearly labeled with enough information. And three: the amount of caffeine varies greatly. Some contain as little as fifty milligrams, others as much as five hundred.
By comparison, a cup of Starbucks brewed coffee contains 330 milligrams in 473 milliliters.
Some energy drinks contain a mixture of ingredients listed as an “energy blend(混合物)”. Ingredients like taurine, guarana and inositol are natural substances. But Chad Reissig says scientists do not know a lot about them and how they interact with each other and caffeine. And worse, he says, there is no listing of the amount of each ingredient.
Some people combine energy drinks with alcohol. They think they can drink more alcohol that way and not be affected. Studies, however, suggest that they are still under the influence of the alcohol even if they do not feel that way.
Some makers of energy drinks do provide warnings. For example, a popular energy shot warns against use by people who are pregnant, nursing a baby or under the age of twelve. Energy shots are small bottles of liquid. The directions also advise people to limit caffeine products and drink only half the bottle if they want a moderate (适度的) amount of energy.
The team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published a report in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. They suggested better labeling with the amount of caffeine and other ingredients clearly listed on the drink. The researchers are continuing to study energy drinks. They are currently seeking young people who have had a bad experience after drinking them.
| Research on energy drinks |
|
| Brands of energy drinks |
Red Bull, Monster, Ripped Force, Speed Stack and 5-Hour Energy and so on. |
| (71)____ of energy drinks |
Young people would feel more energetic and drink more clearly after drinking them. |
| (72)_____ for research |
Why energy drinks are extremely(73)_____ with young people? |
| Researchers’(74) _____ |
•Hundreds of energy drinks in most major countries are not clearly labeled with ingredients. •The amount of caffeine is(75)_____ from one kind to another. |
| Problems of energy drinks |
•How “energy blends” interact with each other and caffeine and the amount of each ingredient are(76)_____ to scientists. •Some people drink energy drinks together with alcohol, (77)_____ they won’t be affected. |
| (78)_____ of the researchers |
List exact amount of caffeine and other ingredients on the bottle. |
| Researchers’ (79)_____ job |
To find young people with a bad experience after drinking energy drinks for(80)_____ research. |