Despite earning more than $100,000 in household income, many people feel that they are living month to month and that a loss of employment or sudden medical emergency could easily move them from the upper middle class to low income earners. This feeling of being on the “edge” of poverty, despite these levels of income, seems a bit ridiculous but it really comes down to easy credit, misunderstanding of their incomes and peer (同辈) group pressures.
Even in today’s tough economy, for those with six-figure incomes credit is easy to come by. Credit companies may have cut back offerings to those in lower income brackets(等级) due to the recent credit reforms, but there seems to be little or no effect on high income earners. Their being able to get credit without difficulty gives them a false sense of security that makes them spend way more than their incomes can afford. That’s why they accumulate credit card debt faster than average.
Many higher income earners feel like they are making lots of money now, and believe that they will continue to make big money. This may reduce their feeling that they need to watch their money carefully now. Hand in hand with that, many of them probably believe that they are making more money than they really are—or said another way, the money they make will go farther than it really does.
Meanwhile, many young professionals who are earning good incomes don’t come from particularly privileged backgrounds, and their reference point may be that they are making twice (or more) than their parents were—so they spend like that us well. They don’t take account of the effect of inflation(通货膨胀), which means that the cost of living is much higher than that in their parents’ generation. Further, the more you earn, the more you pay in tax. Rather than focusing on after-tax incomes, many high income earners only look at the top figures. A $100,000 income before tax is only about $70,000 after tax.
1. Who is the text centered on?| A．The upper middle class. | B．Hie lower income group. |
| C．People living in poverty. | D．People getting into debt. |
| A．The effect of inflation. | B．Easy availability of credit. |
| C．The good economic climate. | D．Their privileged backgrounds. |
| A．They should focus on their top line figures. |
| B．They need to look ahead rather than look back. |
| C．They actually don’t earn as much as they think. |
| D．They should form good personal financial habits. |
| A．Effects of peer group pressures. | B．Ways to keep financial stability. |
| C．Harm of poor money management. | D．Tips on reducing the risk of poverty. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】In a recent study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers discovered that our brains may replay memories of learning new skills when we rest.
NIH researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and found that during short rest the volunteers’ brains rapidly and repeatedly replayed faster versions of the activity seen while they practiced typing a code. The more a volunteer replayed the activity the better they performed during subsequent practice sessions.
The study was conducted at the NIH Clinical Center. The team of Dr. Cohen, M.D. , senior investigator at the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), used a highly sensitive scanning technique to record the brain waves of 33 healthy, right-handed volunteers as they learned to type a five-digit test code with their left hands. The subjects sat in a chair and under the scanner’s long, cone-shaped cap. An experiment began when a subject was shown the code “41234” on a screen and asked to type it out as many times as possible for 10 seconds and then take a 10 second break. Subjects were asked to repeat this cycle of alternating (交替的) practice and rest sessions a total of 35 times.
During the first few trials, the speed at which subjects correctly typed the code improved dramatically and then leveled off around the 11th cycle. In a previous study, Dr. Cohen’s team showed that most of these gains happened during short rests, and not when the subjects were typing. Moreover, the gains were greater than those made after a night’s sleep and were related with a decrease in the size of brain waves, called beta rhythms. In this new report, the researchers searched for something different in the subjects’ brain waves.
“We wanted to explore the mechanisms (机制) behind memory strengthening seen during wakeful rest. Several forms of memory appear to rely on the replaying of neural (神经的) activity, so we decided to test this idea out for procedural skill learning,” said Ethan R. Buch, Ph.D., a staff scientist on Dr. Cohen’s team and leader of the study. To do this, Dr. Buch developed a computer program which allowed the team to understand the brain wave activity associated with typing each number in the test code.
Interestingly, they found that the more a volunteer replayed, the better their performance was. “We were a bit surprised by these last results. Overall, our results support the idea that the replay activity during waking rest may be a powerful tool that researchers can use to help individuals learn new skills faster and possibly facilitate recovery from stroke.” said Dr. Cohen.
1. What have NIH researchers recently found?| A．The brain activity slowly flows when we learn a new skill. |
| B．The value of short practice sessions can’t be overestimated. |
| C．Short rest makes no difference to the neural replay of the activity. |
| D．The frequency of brain replay contributes to practice performances. |
| A．The process of the research. |
| B．The facilities of the research. |
| C．The application of the research. |
| D．The preparations of the research. |
| A．To distinguish the first 11 cycles from the later ones. |
| B．To confirm the role of neural replay in skill learning. |
| C．To explore the potential effects of procedural learning. |
| D．To find out the reasons for the changes in brain waves. |
| A．Acceptable. |
| B．Promising. |
| C．Shallow. |
| D．Dismissive. |
【推荐2】Dry ice is carbon dioxide in frozen form, with a temperature of about -78.3℃.
Experiment: Healthy Dry Ice Yogurt Popsicles (冰棍)
This dry ice experiment is a simple project, but it’s certainly wonderful.
Materials
One large block of dry ice
Large spoon or tube-shaped piece of metal
Four Popsicle sticks
One cup of your favorite juice
Tall glass filled with water
Directions
Use the large spoon, or tube-shaped piece of metal to make a Popsicle-shaped hole in the middle of the block of dry ice. You can set the ice on a towel on your counter to do this work.
Add a Popsicle stick to the middle of the space so that when you pour in the liquid, it will freeze around the Popsicle stick.
| A．Prepare all the necessary materials. |
| B．Otherwise, it will be too cold to enjoy. |
| C．It has appeal to a wide range of audiences. |
| D．Unlike regular ice, dry ice doesn’t melt into a liquid. |
| E．Keep in mind that it’s okay if it’s not exactly Popsicle-shaped. |
| F．The number of experiments you can perform using dry ice is endless. |
| G．Hold the Popsicle stick in place and wait a few minutes for your Popsicle to harden. |
【推荐3】An oval-shaped (椭圆形) structure, which is believed to be 121meters across, is shown in a picture of Antarctica.
Some say the structure is evidence that human civilization once lived in the South Pole, while others say it may be a natural phenomenon.
“What if, in the distant past, an ancient civilization developed in Antarctica, creating splendid structures and temples there?” Peter Turney says in a post on Ancient Code.
The post says scientists first thought the discovery could be a sastrugi (雪面波纹)一a natural phenomenon formed by years of battering (磨损) by strong, freezing winds and heavy snowfalls. But sastrugi are not known to form in oval shapes.
This is not the first time people have suggested there was a lost civilization in Antarctica.
Ever since last year, some people have been claiming (声称) that a strange pyramid in the Antarctic has appeared.
A video posted on YouTube by Third Phase of the Moon, a YouTube channel, showed a picture of a pyramid-like structure in the snow. Responses to the picture were varied, with some users backing-up the claims, such as James Jason, who commented: “Excellent report by Third Phase!I also believe things are about to get very dramatic (戏剧性的)，and that is for everyone on our planet.”
Ashoka Tripathi from the University of Calcutta said the pictures showed clear evidence of an ancient human settlement beneath the ice sheet. “These are clearly characteristics of some sort of human-made structure, like some sort of pyramidal structure,” he said. “The patterns clearly show nothing we should expect from nature. We clearly have evidence of human engineering here,” John Emerson, his colleague, added.
But others were against it, such as Gordon Anderson, who said, “I have spent a lot of time on snow covered mountains—skiing down, and this looks natural to me—not man made anyway!”
1. What makes Peter Tumney believe in human civilization in Antarctica?
| A．The ice sheet. |
| B．A heavy snowfall. |
| C．A big sastrugi. |
| D．An oval-shaped structure. |
| A．A picture. |
| B．A person. |
| C．A channel. |
| D．A video. |
| A．James Jason. |
| B．Ashoka Tripathi. |
| C．John Emerson. |
| D．Gordon Anderson. |
| A．Antarctica, a possible land of civilization |
| B．South Pole, a splendid place to live in |
| C．Evidence of a newly-found planet |
| D．An excel lent post on Ancient Code |
【推荐1】It’s normal for teens to want to stay connected with friends and social circle, but what about that happening in the middle of the night? The Journal of Youth Studies recently published new research showing that one in five teens from 12 to 15 regularly wake to spend all night on social media (社会媒体). Not surprisingly, the research also showed that these social night owls were three times more likely than others to feel tired at school and that girls were more likely than boys to be called to office.
The blue light produced by cell phones and computers makes the brain to stay awake, so it's easy to see why a teen might be up all night. A study in Psychological Science showed the same brain reaction: when teens saw large numbers of “likes” on their posts, they stayed awake with excitement as if they had eaten chocolates or won money. Besides not catching up on sleep and interrupting their sleep cycle, teens may never fully enter deep sleep that may be responsible for brain development and learning.
Considering about 72 percent of children from 6 to 17 sleep with some electronic media in their bedrooms, parents need to set rules sooner rather than later.
“Providing access (使用机会) to social media is a favor that children can earn and also lose,” Janie Feldman, an expert who treats sleep disorders (紊乱), reminds parents, “The bad effect is clear. So teens and parents should discuss and agree on its use, timing and access. When teenagers agree to the rules, it’s easier for parents to control how much time they use the phones or computers.”
1. What does the underlined part “night owls” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Girls often called to office. |
| B．Teens who stay up late on social media. |
| C．Teens who are busy with their homework at night. |
| D．Boys regularly waking in the middle of the night. |
| A．They are too excited to go to sleep. |
| B．They fall asleep easily and happily. |
| C．They are too excited to go to school. |
| D．They decide to make more good friends. |
| A．Making rules about media access together with their children. |
| B．Getting their children to do homework through computers. |
| C．Encouraging their children to stay connected with online friends. |
| D．Stopping their children from using cell phones. |
| A．Deep sleep makes a big difference to brain development. |
| B．Kids are trying to win back the trust of their parents. |
| C．Social media may have a bad effect on all kinds of people. |
| D．Social media may cause teens’ sleep disorders. |
【推荐2】More than 140 sign languages are used today, primarily by deaf communities around the world. Like spoken languages, each sign language has its own grammar, vocabulary and other special features. For example, American Sign Language is unintelligible（无法了解的）to British Sign language. In fact, American Sign language has more in common with French Sign Language, largely because French educators played a key role in helping get deaf schools founded in the United States during the 19th century.
There haven’t been a lot of comparisons of sign languages. University of Texas, Austin linguist Justin Powers and his colleagues aim to address that information gap. In order to study the question of sign language evolution, they first collected a database of manual alphabets from dozens of different sign languages around the world. So a manual alpha-bet is kind of a subsystem within a sign language that is used to represent a written language. And there’s a hand shape that corresponds to each letter.
To uncover relationships between the alphabets% the researchers used the same methods that biologists use to figure out relationships between different species, based on their DNA. The methods grouped sign languages in this study into five main European lineages（谱系）. And those were Austrian origin, British origin, French origin, Spanish and Swedish. Power says manual alphabets from Austria, France and Spain could date back to one-handed manual alphabets from 16th- and 17th-century Spain. But each of those lineages evolved independently of each other.
The study also confirmed the French origins of American Sign Language and those of other countries, including Mexico, Brazil and the Netherlands. Surprisingly, the Austrian manual alphabet influenced sign languages as far away as Russia. But while this lineage has largely died out, remains of it live on in Icelandic Sign language today.
Power says future research comparing the vocabularies of different sign languages could provide even more clues about how they’ve changed over time. Understanding how sign languages evolve would tell us a lot about the way that language, in general, evolves.
1. What can we know about American Sign Language?| A．It was created by French educators. |
| B．It is less related to French Sign language. |
| C．It was further developed before the 19th century. |
| D．It has little in common with British Sign Language. |
| A．Every letter means a hand gesture. |
| B．It is used to replace the written language. |
| C．Every letter is the same as the normal alphabet. |
| D．It is used together with the shape of mouth. |
| A．Worrying. | B．Astonishing. |
| C．Moving. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．The changes of different sign languages. |
| B．The evolution of different sign languages. |
| C．The meaning of researching sign languages. |
| D．The vocabulary of different sign languages. |
【推荐3】Composite image of Europe and North Africa at night, 2016. Credit： NASA Earth NPP Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi VIIRS data from Miguel Roman, is oftenNASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Artificial light seen as a sign of progress: the march of civilization shines a light in the dark； it takes back the night； it illuminates. But a chorus of scientists and advocates argues that unnaturally bright nights are bad not just for astronomers but also for nocturnal (夜间活动的)animals and even for human health.
Now research shows the night is getting even brighter. From 2012 to 2016 the earth's artificially lit area expanded by an estimated 2. 2 percent a year (map), according to a study published last November in Science Advances. Even that increase may understate the problem, however. The measurement excludes light from most of the energy-efficient LED lamps that have been replacing sodium-vapor technology in cities all over the world, says lead study author Christopher Kyba, a postdoctoral researcher at the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam.
The new data came from a NASA satellite instrument called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). It can measure long-wavelengths of light, such as those produced by traditional yellow-and-orange sodium-vapor street lamps. But VIIRS cannot see the shortwavelength blue light produced by white LEDs. This light has been shown to disrupt human sleep cycles and nocturnal animals, behavior.
Credit: Mapping Specialists ； Source: Artificially Lit Surface of Earth at Night Increasing in Radiance and Extent," by Christopher C. M. Kyba et al. , in Science Advances, Vol. 3, No. 11, Article No. E1701528 ； November 22, 2017.
The team believes the ongoing switch to LEDs caused already bright countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U. S. to register as having stable levels of illumination in the VIIRS data. In contrast, most nations in South America, Africa and Asia brightened, suggesting increases in the use of traditional lighting. Australia actually appeared to lose lit area一but the researchers say that is because wildfires skewed the data.
"The fact that VIIRS finds an increase (in many countries) , despite its blindness in the part of the spectrum that increased more, is very sad," says FabioFalchi, a researcher at Italy's Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute, who did not participate in the study. In 2016 Falchi, along with Kyba and several other members of his research team, published a global atlas of artificial lighting that showed one third of the world's population currently lives under skies too bright to see the Milky Way at night.
The data also cast doubt on the idea that the LED lighting revolution will lead to energy cost savings. Between 2012 and 2016 the median nation pumped out 15 percent more long- wavelength light as its GDP increased by 13 percent. And overall, countries, total light production correlated with their GDP. In other words, Kyba says, "we buy as much light as we are willing to spend money on."
1. Which is not true about the spread of lit areas?| A．Lit area expanded by an estimated 2. 2 percent a year. |
| B．Artificial light is often seen as a sign of progress. |
| C．The increase in GDP is due to the increase in light. |
| D．It is bad for noctumal animals and even for human health. |
| A．It is a kind of NASA satellite device. |
| B．It can record and analyzed long-wavelength light. |
| C．The blue light generated by white LEDs can disrupt human sleep cycles. |
| D．VIIRS has found an increase of traditional lighting in lots of nations. |
| A．Artificial LED lights at nights are harmful to people's health. |
| B．It is a sign of civilization in modern society. |
| C．The blue light disrupts human and animals" life cycles. |
| D．Artificially lit surface of Earth increasing because of LEDs. |
| A．show the VIIRS data from NASA |
| B．demonstrate the significance of VIIRS for its measurement of wavelengths |
| C．reveal the relationship between wavelength light and GDP |
| D．arouse peoples awareness of light pollution |
【推荐1】You may not be aware, but digital currency (货币) is a big part of the Internet world. QQ Coins can buy you accessories (配饰) for your QQ images. More importantly, a new digital currency, Bitcoin, is bringing the world’s commerce online.
If you’re traveling, you can spend Bitcoins at restaurants and hotels listed at BitcoinTravel.com. In China, Bitcoins can be used to buy goods at about 134 online shops on Taobao. And at a café named 2nd Place in Beijing, you can even buy fresh coffee with Bitcoins.
So what makes Bitcoin so attractive to investors?
First of all, the Bitcoin system is not controlled by anyone. One central authority cannot make policies to change the value of Bitcoins. The fixed amount of Bitcoins also means they cannot lose value through inflation(通货膨胀), as all forms of paper money have done over time.
In addition, accounts in the Bitcoin system are anonymous and transparent. Users can set up an account easily and track every Bitcoin. All of these features seem to make Bitcoins immune(有免疫力的) from loss, but that is not entirely true.
“The value of Bitcoins can vary wildly as no central government makes the price of them steady. If the value drops suddenly, investors cannot get any compensation(赔偿),” Zhao Qingming, a senior researcher at China Construction Bank, told China Economic Weekly. And Bitcoins, unlike company shares, are not backed by any tangible assets（有形资产）, which also adds to their risk.
While China will not recognize the digital currency anytime soon, Xinhua said, lawmakers and officials at a hearing on Nov. 18 in the US made positive comments about Bitcoin.
Ben Bernanke, outgoing chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the Washington Post that “these types of creations, such as Bitcoin… may hold long-term promise, particularly if its system promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”
1. Bitcoin is ______.| A．actually exactly like QQ Coins | B．only used online |
| C．a new currency used both online and in real life | D．a country’s new digital currency. |
| A．online goods | B．goods at 134 online shops on Taobao |
| C．books in physical shops | D．coffee at a café named 2nd Place |
| A．the value of it can rise and fall wildly. |
| B．It cannot lose value through inflation. |
| C．Every bitcoin in your account can be followed. |
| D．It can even be used at some specific restaurants and hotels. |
【推荐2】
A STRAIGHTFORWARD INCOME? INVEST IN HIGHWAYS. Discover why now may be a good time for municipal bonds In today’s particularly unstable economy, aiming for secure sources of income is more relevant than ever. Tax-free municipal bonds (市政债券) (often issued to fund major infrastructure projects for example highways) offer two significant benefits. They can provide historically low risk, and income from bonds is federally (联邦地) tax free. With municipal bonds, investors are paid back the full-face value of their investment at maturity (or earlier, if called) unless the bond defaults, or fails to pay. This historically low risk is essential for many investors, particularly those in, or close to, retirement. In August of 2019, Moody’s Investor’s Service found that rated investment-grade municipal bonds had an average increasing 10-year default rate of just 0.10% between 1970 and 2018. Therefore, they can be an important part of your investment. Income from municipal bonds is not subject to federal income tax and, depending on where you live, may also be free from state and local taxes. Tax-free income can be a big attraction for many investors. Since 1990, Hennion & Walsh has specialized in investment-grade, tax-free municipal bonds. The company supervises over $3 billion in assets (资产) in over 16,000 accounts, providing individual investors with discipline, personal service and integrity. In case you want to know more about the benefits of tax-free municipal bonds, we now have an offer for you. Our specialists have created a helpful Bond Guide for investors. It’s free and comes with no obligation (义务) at all. FREE BOND GUIDE without cost or obligation CALL (800) 318-4850 In the Bond Guide, you’ll learn: The benefits and risks of municipal bonds Strategies for smart bond investing Municipal bond facts every investor should know© 2021 Hennion & Walsh Inc. Securities offered through Hennion & Walsh Inc. Member of FINRA, SIPC. Investing in bonds involves risk including possible loss of principal, i.e. the original amount of money invested. Income may be subject to state, local or federal alternative minimum tax. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and when interest rates fall, bond prices rise. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. |
| A．no taxes of any kind are put on municipal bonds |
| B．Investment in municipal bonds is relatively safe |
| C．Hennion & Walsh are billionaire investors |
| D．interest rates and bond defaults go hand in hand |
| A．It shares risk-free bond investing skills. |
| B．It recommends bond investing specialists. |
| C．It offers a guaranteed investment return. |
| D．It proposes investing plans for reference only. |
| A．issued particularly in hard times |
| B．intended for Hennion & Walsh Inc. |
| C．sheltered by the government in a way |
| D．subject to the major infrastructure projects |
| A．Municipal bond administrators. |
| B．Federal tax calculators. |
| C．The copyright owners of the Bond Guide. |
| D．Senior-citizen investors. |
【推荐3】The US government took extraordinary steps on Sunday after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), assuring depositors(存款人) at the institution that they would be able to quickly access all of their money. The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the California-based bank to fail could cause a banking contagion(漫延), and only a couple of hours before trading opened on Asian markets.
The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Sunday that all SVB clients will be protected-including accounts that exceed the FDIC-insured limit of $250,000. “Depositors will have access to all of their money starting on Monday, March 13. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayers,” the agencies said in a joint statement. “This step will ensure that the US banking system continues to perform its vital roles in protecting deposits and providing access to the money deposited in the bank for households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth.”
Regulators had worked over the weekend to try to come up with a buyer for SVB, the second-largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have come up empty as of Sunday.
The regulators also announced that the New York-based Signature Bank had failed and its property was taken on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets(资产), Signature Bank is now the third-largest bank failure in US history. The officials also said that depositors at the bank, which was closed on Sunday by the New York state financial regulator, would not bear the loss. Signature’s shareholders and unsecured debtors will not be protected, and management has been removed, the officials said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had said earlier on Sunday that she was working with banking regulators to respond after SVB became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, during which Washington Mutual collapsed. SVB had $ 209 billion in assets and $175.4 billion in deposits at the time of failure, the FDIC said in a statement. The bank mostly served technological companies. “We want to make sure that the troubles that exist at one bank don’t create contagion to others,” Yellen told CBS’ Face the Nation.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The cause of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. |
| B．The drawback of the US banking system. |
| C．The reaction of the public to the step. |
| D．The purpose of the measure. |
| A．The unsecured debtors will bear the loss themselves. |
| B．The management of the bank is still in power temporarily. |
| C．The benefits of signature’s shareholders will be guaranteed. |
| D．It was closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |
| A．Come to light. | B．Come to a conclusion. |
| C．Come to an end. | D．Come to life. |
| A．US to rescue failed banks’ depositors |
| B．Regulators try to come up with buyer for SVB |
| C．US banking system to promote economic growth |
| D．Factors causing SVB to fail lead to banking contagion |
