Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.
Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. I f you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.
When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to put something in it.
Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay(黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars. The Middle English word for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.
Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money--- college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely. What is the piggy bank strategy?
| A．Paying 1% income tax at a time. |
| B．Setting a goal before making a travel plan. |
| C．Aiming high even when doing small things. |
| D．Putting aside a little money regularly for future use. |
Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?
| A．To delight him with the latest fashion. |
| B．To encourage him to climb mountains. |
| C．To help him form the habit of saving. |
| D．To teach him English pronunciation. |
What does the underlined word “something”(Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?
| A．Money | B．Gifts |
| C．Financial success | D．Good luck |
The piggy bank originally was _________.
| A．a potter’s instrument |
| B．a cheap clay container |
| C．an animal-shaped dish |
| D．a pig-like toy for children |
The last paragraph talks about ________.
| A．the seriousness of educating children |
| B．the enjoyment of taking a great trip |
| C．the importance of managing money |
| D．the difficulty of starting a business |
A growing number of students in the United States are studying Mandarin(普通话). It is the official language of China. More and more people speak Mandarin than those who speak other languages in the world.
Schools that teach Mandarin want to prepare students for a future in which they are likely to work with people from China. Business in China is booming(繁荣的), and that trend(趋势) is expected to grow.
The US government is trying to encourage even more public schools to teach Mandarin. Officials are considering spending about $1 billion on Mandarin programs in schools. China is getting involved(参与) too. The Chinese government has donated Mandarin textbooks to US schools. Some schools are also taking part in teacher exchange programs with China.
“It is important for students to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture,” said Mary Patterson, a school principal(校长) in Portland, Oregon. “Students who do so will have wider opportunities when they become adults.”Why are US schools teaching Mandarin?
| A．To help students communicate with Chinese students. |
| B．To encourage students to move to China, |
| C．To prepare students for the future. |
| D．To get students interested in business. |
The underlined word “donated” (in Paragraph 4) can be replaced by “______”?
| A．provided | B．kept | C．made | D．found |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Why US students learn Mandarin | B．Schools in China |
| C．How to speak Mandarin | D．China today |
A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and rainy. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding up her hand as if she wanted a lift(搭便车).
“I can’t leave her out in this weather,” the young woman said to herself. She stopped the car and opened the door.
“ Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman “ Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head. “ Strange” thought the woman. She tried again. “ Bad weather for the time of the year,” she said. The old woman nodded.
Then the young woman noticed that the old woman’ s hand, which were large and hairy(多毛的). Suddenly she realize that “she” was a man！She stopped the car. “ I can’t see out of the rear screen(后挡风玻璃),” she said. “ Would you mind cleaning it for me ?”
“The old woman” nodded and opened the door. As soon as “she” was out of the door, the frightened young woman drove off as fast as she could.
When she got to the next village, she stopped. She noticed “ the old woman ” had left “her” handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was a gun. When the young woman talked with “her”, “ the old woman” only nodded or shook “her” head because “she”______.
| A．didn’t want the young woman to hear “her” voice |
| B．didn’t want to trouble the young woman any more |
| C．was so tired that “she” didn’t want to talk with her |
| D．was worried that the young woman had seen “her” hands |
The young woman asked “the old woman” to clean the rear screen in order to_________.
| A．see more clearly | B．drive fast and well |
| C．make “her” speak | D．throw “her” out |
From the story we can see that the young woman was______.
| A．kind and clever | B．beautiful and bright |
| C．foolish and shy | D．strong and helpful |
What do you think “the old woman” was?
| A．A policeman. | B．A basketball player. |
| C．A robber(抢劫犯). | D．A poor villager. |
If you live in the United States, you can’t have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer vacation you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can’t make your own money? Of course not! Kids from 10-13 years of age can make money by doing lots of things.
Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people’s yards. Lena, 13, makes money by knitting(织) dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors. Reisa said she had started taking art classes and showing her works to people. People ask her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine. 13, writes articles for different magazines!
Kids can learn lots of things from making money. By working to make your own money, you are learning the skills you will need in life. These skills can include things like how to get along with others, how to use technology and how to use your time wisely. Some people think that asking for money is a lot easier than making it; however, if you can make your own money, you don’t have to depend on anyone else. The five dollars that you make will probably make you feel a lot better than the twenty dollars you ask for. Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of______ in the USA.
A. 17 B.15 C. 14 D. 13 If you are 15 years old, you can’t work part-time______.
| A．after school | B．on weekends |
| C．during school time | D．during summer vacation |
Riesa makes money by_______.
| A．cleaning up other people’s yard | B．drawing pictures for others |
| C．writing articles for different magazines | D．knitting dog sweaters. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer thinks kids from 10-13 years of age can make money too. |
| B．Kids can learn how to use their time wisely by making money. |
| C．Kids don’t need to get along with others when making money. |
| D．Kids can learn skills if they try to make money on their own. |
We use the Internet for many things: business, shopping, writing letters, talking to people, finding information and so on. In recent years, a new kind of English has grown on the Internet. There’s no real word for it yet, so we’ll call it e-talk. People don’t like typing too much. To save time, they turn phrases into a few letters (called acronyms). Acronyms are often used in chat rooms(聊天室). Some of them are:
BTW(by the way); BRB(be right back); LOL(laughing out loud); IMO(in my opinion)
People also use many abbreviations. They are shortened forms of words. Some common abbreviations are:
info(information); puter(computer); pic(picture); sec(second)
We ususally don’t see people when we communicate on the Internet, so people have new ways to show feelings. Most people use their keyboards to draw “feelings”, such as:
:-) (happy); ;-)(joking); :-((sad); :-O(surprised)
These days, many forums(论坛)have picture feelings. For example:
(happy) (sad) (angry) (cool)
There are even whole new words, like ”newbie’s” (someone who is new on a chat board or forum). When you write something bad about someone else, it’s called “flaming” the person.
It takes time for people to get used to e-talk. Also, different groups on the Net have their own special ways of communicating. Newbie’s sometimes have to ask other people what they mean. As the Internet grows, e-talk will continue to grow and change.Why do people type acronyms?
| A．To show their feelings. | B．To make jokes. |
| C．To save time. | D．In this way newbie’s won’t understand them. |
What does “BTW, my computer is not working well, :-( ”mean?
| A．The person is happy about getting a new computer. |
| B．The person has to go away from his/her computer. |
| C．The person is angry at somebody. |
| D．The person is sad that his computer is having problems. |
If someone is angry, what may he type?
| A． |
B．BRB | C．LOL | D． |
E-talk will probably_______.
| A．keep changing | B．stay the same |
| C．be used by people on the telephone | D．be easy for newbie’s to understand. |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项．She described all the things she had to do －one was to make her bed－from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work．I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks．She was shocked, probably thinking I’d been raised by wolves in a forest．
．
Two weeks later she went into my office beaming．She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years－and nothing bad had happened．“And you know what?” she said．“I don’t dry my dishes anymore, either．”．One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before．The other was giving herself permission to be less that perfect．This story shows an important principle （原理） about managing time: No one can do it all．Each of us has to make choices and accept trade – offs．The problem is, many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last．They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves．
So what is the solution? There’s an easy way．Decide what you want in your life, and put that first．On a daily basis, that should include regular meals, enough sleep and time with your family．Exercise, leisure, friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life．．The choice is yours: whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life．Take a nap．Take a walk．Take time to play the piano．Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office．Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers．Fill more of your time with want – to – dos instead of have – to – dos．
| A．This woman had made two major breakthroughs （突破）． |
| B．Above all, you needn’t do anything for yourself regularly． |
| C．They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own． |
| D．However, she went along with my idea． |
E．Most people do not take time to relax themselves．
F．The point is to do something for yourself every day．
G．A patient came to see me about the stress in her life．
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