Overspending can be defined as spending beyond one’s means, and is not rarely seen nowadays. According to a recent report, more than one-fourth of adults surveyed in 2020 had one or more bills that they were unable to pay in full that month.
While every individual’s spending habits are unique to their circumstances, a few common potential issues tend to be responsible for overspending.
Lifestyle creep, a financial trap, where you spend more money as you make more money, for example, often accounts for unrecognized overspending. Individuals that lack a decision-making process for making purchases can also find it difficult to control their spending.
Media and advertisements can also lead to overspending. Marketing strategies aim to create a feeling of scarcity (稀少) for consumers with phrases like “almost sold out” or “two tickets remaining” when they are making online purchases. Emails from favorite sellers can give consumers the impression that they are saving money by taking advantage of a sale, and roadside billboards can lead individuals to make impulsive (冲动的) purchases.
Social pressures to enjoy dinners out and vacations with family and friends may be a push for younger people, who see others enjoying these activities through social media platforms like Instagram. “People think spending makes you happy,” Elizabeth Dunn, professor at the University of British Columbia and chief science officer at Happy Money, says. “But for many people, it’s these values of being true to yourself that make you happy.”
Dunn notes that, “Failures in self-control in the finance can cause dire consequences. Financial stress, for example, has been linked to physical health struggles, problems in close relationships,and stress in retirement.”
“Dealing with overspending should start in bite - size pieces. Small and manageable changes over time are more likely to stick to in the long run. Instead of relying on willpower, setting specific goals and building a foundation with a budget is an effective way.” adds Dunn.
1. Why is a recent report mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To explain what overspending is. |
| B．To stress the harm of overspending. |
| C．To tell a way to stop overspending. |
| D．To show overspending is common. |
| A．Possible causes of overspending. |
| B．Typical unhealthy spending habits. |
| C．Some unavoidable financial traps |
| D．Issues resulting from overspending. |
| A．Pleasant. | B．Controllable. | C．Terrible. | D．Acceptable. |
| A．Making a reasonable budget. |
| B．Relying on personal willpower. |
| C．Setting grand and general goals. |
| D．Starting changing on the whole. |
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【推荐1】Part of the reason American shoppers are so attracted to wholesale (批发) shopping is their belief that it not only prevents waste but can save time and money, providing more value for the dollar. However, recent research suggests that the opposite may be true.
Victoria Ligon, an expert on consumer sciences, studied food purchasing habits of consumers and found that people tended to buy too much food and waste more of it than they realized. “The problem is that people are not shopping frequently enough,” Ligon said. “People are very price sensitive at the grocery store, but tend to overlook the cost of unused and wasted food at home.”
A common practice is to visit different stores for different items on a grocery list. “But people tend to overbuy at each of the places,” Ligon said. “People are not planning for the next day, but planning for the next week or two.”
“In theory, planning a week or more in advance sounds ideal. But given the reality of many people’s lives, this is challenging to do well,” Ligon said. “All of our food promotions are designed to get people to buy more. We believe it’s cheaper if we buy more now, but we rarely take into account how much we throw out in the end.”
Ligon noted shifts in the grocery industry that appear promising to help customers reduce food waste. Examples include cost-effective delivery services such as Amazon Fresh and Google Express, which allow consumers to purchase food items when they want to consume them, also reducing their need to frequent so many different stores. However, the study resulted in another troubling finding: The majority of people involved in the study had no idea that they were buying too much and wasting so much.
“When you read advice about reducing waste, it usually centers on what people do after the food is purchased,” Ligon said. “But more importantly, shop on a more frequent basis, so that you are only buying what you are going to consume in the short term.”
1. What do people often ignore when buying food in large quantities?| A．How good the food is. | B．How much the food costs. |
| C．How often they should shop. | D．How much will be wasted. |
| A．It is worth trying. | B．It is not practical. | C．It takes great effort. | D．It is not good for health. |
| A．Food prices are lowered. | B．Food waste is prevented. |
| C．Food consumption is reduced. | D．Food purchasing can be done at home. |
| A．Shop More, Buy Less | B．Shop Wisely, Eat Wisely |
| C．Eat Cheaply or Expensively? | D．The More You Shop, the More You Waste |
【推荐2】“Find your passion!” When discussing future career options or selecting a major in college, your parents often say this. The very expression is meant to inspire. But is it good advice?
“Finding” a passion implies that it already exists and is simply waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, this idea is not what science tells us.
To study this, researchers use a framework of “fixed” and “growth” mindsets.They argue that encouraging people to “find” their passion may cause them to eventually believe that interests and passions are inborn and relatively unchangeable.
Researchers have revealed that a fixed mindset of interest can decrease creativity. If people believe they are limited to only a few inborn interests and, in consequence, do not explore other areas, they may miss seeing important connections across domains.
Evidently, people can do a lot to embrace a growth mindset of interest. First, realize that your interests and passions aren’t pre-existing. Take an active role in developing your passions. Second, practise positive self-talk. When you lack interest in a new task, pay attention to your inner dialogue.
| A．So can a growth mindset of interest be taught? |
| B．Instead passions, like interests, are developed. |
| C．People who think this have a fixed mindset of interest. |
| D．Of course, not every activity will become a burning passion. |
| E．As such,seeing interests as fixed limits their creative potential. |
| F．Don’t expect that pursuing new interests will always be easy or exciting. |
| G．Replace self-critical thoughts with positive ones that encourage growth and learning. |
【推荐3】LONDON — British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Wednesday that boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games is not the right path to take.
“We are ever excited about prospects for the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing,” Miliband said in an interview with Chinese reporters in London before his visit to China.
“Everything we have seen and read suggests that preparations are proceeding in an excellent way. We very much look forward to a very successful Olympics, successful for China and successful for the world. We certainly believe that boycotts are not a right way,” he said.
“China has big responsibilities around the world. We are looking forward to working with the Chinese government to ensure the values of stability, security and social justice. And only today I spoke with (Chinese Foreign Minister) Yang about our joint work that could help the situation in Darfur. And the Chinese envoy (特使) to Darfur is in London today, that sort of engagement is the right way to go and boycotts are not the right way,” Miliband said.
“The prime minister (Gordon Brown) is determined to represent the whole of the country with his attendance to the Games,” he added.
Miliband expressed his high regard to the bilateral (双边的) relations between Britain and China. “I can’t think about a time that our relations are stronger, that is symbolized by the visit of the prime minister to China last month but also by cultural events like China now going on in Britain.”
British people are fascinated by the changes and improvements going on in China, and are trying to build bridges between the two nations, the foreign secretary said.
“Both our countries are challenged by the facts of globalization. Economic and social changes are producing challenges for both the societies, challenges about security and stability, challenges about justice, challenges about environment, and the theme of my visit is how our two countries can work together and learn from each other in adapting to these challenges,” the secretary told Chinese reporters.
1. According to the British Foreign Secretary, the right way to deal with China is ________.| A．to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games |
| B．to support the Beijing Olympic Games |
| C．to send the Prime Minister to attend the Beijing Olympic Games |
| D．to work together with China |
| A．Globalization is a challenge |
| B．Both countries face many different challenges |
| C．Britain wants to work together with China to face challenges |
| D．Britain wants to learn from China to face challenges |
| A．China and Britain enjoy a good relationship |
| B．Boycotts of Olympics are not the right path |
| C．Beijing Olympic Games will be successful |
| D．Foreign Secretary speaks highly of China |
【推荐1】The sun is going to expand into the orbit of Mercury (水星) according to scientific calculations, which will result in the entire Earth catching fire, destroying all life. In order to survive, the United Earth Government prepares 10,000 giant engines on Earth to drive it away from its original orbit. The whole trip is expected to last 2,500 years.
This imaginative tale is at the heart of the science-fiction movie The Wandering Earth. The original novel was written by Liu Cixin, one of China’s most outstanding science-fiction writers and a prize winner of the Hugo Award in 2015 for his novel The Three-Body Problem.
Perhaps thanks to Liu’s fame, as well as the huge marketing efforts of the movie team, The Wandering Earth posted ticket sales of 670 million yuan when it was shown on the first day. More importantly, The Wandering Earth is the first “made-in-China” science-fiction movie on the big screen, as the director, Guo Fan, is also Chinese.
As a fan of Liu, having read almost all of his science-fiction books, I should mention the movie follows a rather different form from his novel. Actually, it only borrows from the novel the idea of the Earth having to escape the solar system. That’s just the point. It means Chinese movie production teams have grown enough to develop new ideas on the creative basis of science-fiction writers, while the writers are willing to work together with movie productions so that the film results in the best possible performance.
Liu may be a highly regarded science-fiction writer in China, but he is not the only one. There are many writers with rich imaginations, and their works can be adapted into movies, too. Someone has predicted that 2019 will mark the starting year of success for Chinese science-fiction movies. Only time will tell whether that prediction will come true. But if more professional movie teams and creative writers could work together, we can certainly expect more success for the domestic (国内的) science-fiction movie industry.
1. Why does the Earth have to escape from its original orbit in the story?| A．Because the sun is about to hit the Earth. |
| B．Because its original orbit will be occupied by Mercury. |
| C．Because the giant engines’ strong power will drive it away. |
| D．Because it has to avoid being destroyed by the coming disaster. |
| A．It is adapted from a science-fiction novel. |
| B．Its author was once awarded for The Wandering Earth. |
| C．It achieved huge success mainly because of its author’s fame. |
| D．Its director Guo Fan is also a famous science-fiction writer in China. |
| A．The unexpected success of the movie. |
| B．The great success of the original novel. |
| C．The creative adaptation from the novel. |
| D．The imaginative idea from the novel. |
| A．There is a long way to go. |
| B．They will definitely success. |
| C．They have great potential. |
| D．It cannot be predicted. |
【推荐2】If you search for “Salar de Uyuni” in Baidu, you will get plenty of pictures of people playing in a huge salt desert. They are tourists who are attracted by the wild beauty of this incredibly beautiful place.
Salar de Uyuni was part of an ancient salt lake, Lago Minchin, which once covered most of southwest Bolivia, a country in South America. When the lake dried up, it left two seasonal lakes and several salt deserts, including Salar de Uyuni.
From a distance, the salt desert seems like something out of a science-fiction film. During the dry seasons, it looks like a white sea, which stretches on to the horizon (天际). When there is rain, something magical happens: The salt desert becomes a “mirror of the sky”.
Most people may not be familiar with the “mirror of the sky”, but astronauts are. They frequently use it to test remote sensing systems on satellites in orbit, because it is pretty large by anyone’s standards—twelve thousand square kilometers—and it has an unbelievably smooth surface which is highly reflective when it is covered in water, making it perfect for that task.
There are three different types of flamingos (火烈鸟) living in the area. They are one of the few large animals that live happily in these areas. During the rainy seasons, you will see groups of them on your visit and the sight of them flying in the air is breathtaking.
Where to stay, though? You would regret not to take advantage of the local hotels like Hotel Del Sal, which are completely made of salt. You can even picnic if you want. Of course, be prepared for your picnic table to be made of salt, too.
1. What can we know about Salar de Uyuni from the first two paragraphs?| A．It is an attraction in South America. | B．It is an ancient lake with fresh water. |
| C．It consists of several seasonal lakes and deserts. | D．It has attracted a lot of large animals to live there. |
| A．Before storms come. | B．Shortly after rain. |
| C．When its surface is dry. | D．After heavy snow. |
| A．Make picnic tables with salt. | B．Camp in the huge salt deserts. |
| C．Cook with salt from the lake. | D．Stay in the salt-made local hotels. |
| A．Science. | B．Advertisement. | C．Travel. | D．Environment. |
【推荐3】This will be an essential year for the pioneers developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft (电动垂直起降飞机), popularly known as air taxis. Several firms are hoping their craft can get the necessary certification (证书) in 2023 to put them into business, providing the first passengers with services.
Air taxis generally carry fewer than half a dozen passengers. They land and take off vertically using many small rotors (旋翼). With clever software controlling the rotors, they are easier to fly than a helicopter (a kind of plane) and enable independent flight. These rotors also help improve safety, as the aircraft can continue to fly if one fails.
Some designs use an extra rotor or two at the back of the craft to push the craft along in level flight. Others, like that produced by Joby Aviation, have rotors that bend forward; a set of small wings then provides lift, making more efficient use of the aircraft’s battery and increasing the range.
After scratching their heads about how to certify these flying machines, officials have been working with developers on safety standards. This is a time consuming process. Besides receiving “type” approval, which shows the safety of a new type of aircraft, factories must be certified before production can begin in large amounts. And airline-style permission is required if passengers are to be carried. Companies are working hard to get these approvals. Piloted operations are expected to be approved before independent flights.
In Germany, Volocopter will flight- test a family of eVTOLs. The firm is hoping its smallest, two-seater VoloCity can be certified in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris where the plan is to operate shuttles (航班) between airports and the athletes’ village. Other air taxi firms also hope to provide shuttles in Paris, or at the World Expo, which will take place in Japan in 2025.
1. Which of the following contributes to a safer flight according to the text?| A．More rotors. | B．Smart software. |
| C．Fewer passengers. | D．Skillful pilots, |
| A．Being satisfied with, | B．Thinking hard about. |
| C．Being interested in. | D．Passing judgment on. |
| A．To show it at the World Expo. | B．To strengthen its pioneering role. |
| C．To operate it at the Paris Olympics. | D．To attract more visitors to Germany. |
| A．Green Transport Is Beginning to Take Shape | B．Flying Craft Have a Long Way to Go |
| C．Flying Taxis Win the Game | D．The Air Taxi Is Coming |
