Parents and children often face the challenges of money. Common topics include setting pocket money, learning to save, and deciding to buy expensive things. The goal of most parents is to teach their kids how to deal with money wisely. The goal of most kids is getting money to spend. How can families achieve these goals?
The Tidier family in Denver found the best way to teach about money was to let their kids make some money. Their son, Ryan, 17, has been watering in the garden since he was 8. He owned his own tools with the help of his parents. Now he has saved $7,800. Besides, he bought a bike and a wonderful sound system. And he is going to buy a car next year.
Money skills are an important part of becoming a successful adult. David Brady manages a company toward children and young adults. “They shouldn’t be always thinking of spending money.” Brady warns. Instead, they should understand basic rules for making money, saving money, and managing money.
That knowledge is greatly needed. Over the past ten years, most Americans aged 18 to 24 borrowed nearly $3,000 on credit card（信用卡）. Among high school seniors, four out of five have never taken a class about money.
Giselle Lopez, of New York City, learned the hard way. So far, she has owed（欠）$2,000 on her first credit card. Her parents refused to pay, so Giselle got a job. Then she paid the money off slowly by herself. “Now every time I use money, I know that it comes from my own pocket,” Giselle says. “That gives me a sense of responsibility for my actions.” Different kids will have different styles when it comes to money. Teaching them how to use money doesn’t have to mean setting strict rules. When children like Ryan and Giselle have their own money to consider, they can learn to set those rules themselves.
1. What is the goal of most parents about money?| A．To set kids’ pocket money. |
| B．To get money to spend. |
| C．To save some money. |
| D．To teach kids how to use money wisely. |
| A．A car. | B．A bike. | C．Watering tools. | D．A company. |
| A．$2,000. | B．$3,000. | C．$7,800. | D．We don’t know. |
| A．Most American high school students have some knowledge about money. |
| B．Young people shouldn’t be always thinking of spending money. |
| C．Children will set rules for themselves about money. |
| D．Children shouldn’t have rules for themselves about money. |
相似题推荐
If you need to call your parents but your phone is not with you, can you remember their numbers. To remember 11 numbers is not difficult. However, because of the smart phone(智能手机), many of us are losing this ability, Record Japan reported. What’s more, smart phones make our skills at giving directions weak, as well as killing face-to-face communications. Even when friends are having a meal together, it’s common for most to check their phones.
According to a report by Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, an American company, Chinese people spend average(平均数)170 minutes on their smart phones daily.
For students, an addiction to smart phones does no good for studying. Research in Japan showed children who spend more than four hours a day on their phones do much worse in school tests than those who play with their phones for 30 minutes.
It’s true that the smart phone has made our lives easier. But many also think they spend too much time on it, and this is bad for their study or work. People are trying to change that.
A new app(应用程序) called Forest was introduced this month. It lets users plant a seed that grows into a tree over the next 30 minutes. During the half hour, users cannot use their phones, or the tree will die.
A restaurant in Los Angeles, US, gives people a 5% discount(折扣) if they don’t check their phones during a meal. Owner Mark Gold said that he hopes it gives people a way to enjoy their meal and really talk with friends and family.
1. What abilities and skills are we losing or becoming weak because of the smart phone?| A．Checking phone numbers. |
| B．Having meals together with friends. |
| C．Having communications with classmates. |
| D．Remembering phone numbers and giving directions. |
| A．Smart phones make students’ lives and study easier. |
| B．Chinese people spend nearly three hours on smart phones daily. |
| C．Spending too much time on smart phones is bad for their studies. |
| D．Students who use smart phones for over two hours daily do better in tests. |
| A．沉溺 | B．研究 | C．购买 | D．向往 |
| A．The Advantages of Smart Phones. |
| B．The Disadvantages of Smart Phones. |
| C．The Quality of People Using Smart Phones. |
| D．The Changes of Smart Phones. |
【推荐2】It seems food deliverymen (送货员) are always in a hurry. They wear blue, red or yellow helmets (头盔) and many of them don’t follow traffic rules. They drive on the wrong side of the road and run red lights. They use mobile phones while driving.
These reckless (鲁莽的) behaviors have caught the public’s attention.
In the first half of 2017, food deliverymen had 76 traffic accidents in Shanghai, according to Shanghai Public Security Bureau. That means every two and a half days, a food deliveryman will die or get hurt on the road.
What makes deliverymen take such risks? The strict rules of the food delivery service companies and the anxious (焦急的) customers may be the answer.
Many companies will fine（罚款） a deliveryman up to 2,000 yuan, if he fails to deliver an order on time, reported China Daily. Fines also go to those who get bad reviews（差评） from customers（顾客）.
To solve the problem, food delivery service companies need to improve their incentive systems (激励制度), noted CRI Online.
Some cities are also taking action. Shanghai has asked companies to train their deliverymen on traffic rules and safety. Now in Shenzhen, if a deliveryman gets caught breaking traffic rules more than twice, then he will be banned from driving food service delivery vehicles (交通工具) for a whole year .
1. The first paragraph mainly tells us that many food deliverymen _____.| A．work very hard | B．are good at driving |
| C．break traffic rules | D．use mobile phones too much |
| A．76. | B．38. | C．152. | D．2,000. |
| A．drives too slowly | B．delivers food on time | C．gets bad reviews | D．obeys traffic rules |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
| A．Companies are improving their review systems. |
| B．Some cities are working to improve the situation. |
| C．To drive safely, food deliverymen will obey more traffic rules. |
| D．Food deliverymen cannot drive on important roads in the future. |
Last Thursday, New Zealand announced a plan. Under the plan, the country would make it illegal(不合法的)for people born after 2008 to buy cigarettes(香烟)．The plan is made to keep young people from ever starting to smoke. And it won’t make a difference to people who are smokers now.
Starting in 2023, people under the age of 15 would be banned from buying cigarettes. After that, the age for buying tobacco products(烟草产品) would be raised every year. By 2050, someone would have to be at least 42 years old to buy cigarettes. In short, the move will stop people born after 2008 from ever buying tobacco products.
Tobacco products contain a drug called nicotine(尼古丁). Though nicotine is harmful, when people have a little bit of it, it can give them an exciting feeling. Over time, nicotine changes the body so people feel like they need more of it. They may feel sick if they don’t get more. Then people are unable to stop taking it. That’s why it’s so difficult for people to stop smoking.
________. It’s one of the leading causes of deaths around the world. In New Zealand, about 5, 000 people die every year of illnesses connected with smoking. No country has ever tried an age limit-raising plan like New Zealand’s before. The government says studies show that cigarettes sales to young people drop when the age limit is raised. The new plan, which is expected to become a law next year, is the first of its kind in the world.
1. What’s the purpose of the new plan?| A．To prevent young people from smoking. |
| B．To keep people from smoking. |
| C．To stop people from buying cigarettes. |
| D．To encourage young people to start smoking. |
| A．allowed | B．stopped | C．encouraged | D．agreed |
| A．It is a kind of medicine. | B．It’s good for some sick people. |
| C．It can make people feel nervous. | D．It can bring people excited feelings. |
| A．It is very expensive to buy cigarettes in New Zealand. |
| B．But sometimes cigarettes can make people relaxed. |
| C．Do you want to know more about cigarettes? |
| D．Smoking tobacco is very dangerous to human health. |
| A．Health. | B．Sports. | C．Technology. | D．School life. |
【推荐1】Language shows the environment where we live. We name the things around. Usually, the important things own many specific names, while the less important things only have some general names. So in one culture, people may have a large vocabulary to describe a certain object, while in another culture, such vocabulary is small.
For instance, the Chinese have many words for “rice” and for “family members”. The British use many different expressions for “rain”. Kids growing up on a farm may be able to offer ten different words for plow, a farming tool.
In some cultures, there is an amazingly large vocabulary to describe a certain thing. Eskimos have about 100 words for snow. For them, snow is so important to life that each of its forms and conditions has to own a name. They divide snow into four main categories, such as snow lying on the ground, snow floating in the sky, snow piling up, and snow piles. These different kinds of snow will tell them different weather conditions. It’s the same with the Arabians, whose life depends much on camels. In the Arabic language, according to camels’ appearance, characters, drinking behaviours, and the roles they play, there are hundreds of different words for the camel and all of its parts. Snow and camel are far less important in English-speaking cultures, and the single words “snow” and “camel” can usually satisfy their needs. When the needs become more specific, however, they can make up longer phrases to meet the needs: “corn snow”, “flying snow”, “big camel”, “funny camel”, etc.
As we can see, there is a 4 between the words and the ideas of that culture. So it’s not hard to understand that each culture passes on its ideas and thoughts through word.
1. What does Paragraph 2 serve as?| A．Opinions. | B．Examples. | C．Conclusions. | D．Reasons. |
| A．cold | B．dry | C．hot | D．wet |
| A．By inventing new words. | B．By using other sentences. |
| C．By making up longer phrases. | D．By translating from another language. |
| A．difference | B．connection | C．change | D．distance |
【推荐2】
Social media allows people to keep in touch with friends, family and the people around the world with like-minded interests, and share their own thoughts, personal updates, and opinions online. However, using social media too much and posting many selfies (自拍) have caused a rise in narcissism, according to a new study. Narcissism is when someone becomes very selfish and believes they are very talented and beautiful. They need attention from other people and think they are better than everyone else.
Researchers at universities in Swansea and Milan found that heavy users of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter showed a 25 percent rise in narcissism in just four months. The researchers studied how 74 people aged 18 to 34 used social media and looked at how their personality changed. They said that posting selfies seemed to increase levels of narcissism in a way that text messaging does not. Those who used social media too much, through posting pictures, showed an average 25 percent increase in such narcissistic personality over the four months of the study. Only one of them in the study didn’t use social media, and others’ average use was around three hours a day, not including usage for work. Some said that they used social media for as much as eight hours a day for non-working reasons.
More than two-thirds of the participants at the beginning used social media for posting pictures. Professor Phil Reed, from the Department of Psychology at Swansea University, said, “There have been suggestions of links between narcissism and the use of selfies on social media, such as Facebook, but until this study, it was not known if using such social media is related with the growth in narcissism.”
The results of this study suggest that posting selfies can increase narcissism. Professor Read said that about 20 percent of people may be at risk of developing narcissism. This is because they want attention and likes from other people after they post a selfie. They also want to show others how their life is better or how they are more beautiful or attractive. They might feel good at the moment, but in the long term, it only serves to drive good people away from them, have negative effects on their success, and leave them weak and at risk.
1. The word “narcissism” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.| A．self-improvement | B．self-confidence |
| C．self-respect | D．self-love |
| A．confidence and disagreement. | B．confidence and knowledge. |
| C．attention and praise. | D．attention and argument. |
| A．Texting makes people more narcissistic than posting selfies. |
| B．Posting too many selfies on social media may lead to narcissism. |
| C．Most participants use social media for work instead of taking selfies. |
| D．Psychologists found the reason of being narcissistic before the research. |
| A．To stress the importance of keeping away from narcissism. |
| B．To tell people why social media can be a way to enjoy life. |
| C．To show how people communicate with others on social media. |
| D．To advise people not to post too many selfies on social media. |
【推荐3】Li Meixi, 12, feels anxious(焦虑的) about her looks——not her face, but her outfit (穿搭). When she sees stylish people on the street, she avoids running into them. “I am afraid that they think I am out of style. Ashamed of my ordinary outfit, I feel like I don’t even deserve to walk on the same street with them, ” said Li, from Chengdu, Sichuan.
What Li is experiencing is fashion anxiety. It bothers many people today. They are anxious about their outfits, afraid of being seen out of style. Last month, a vlogger shared a video about her fashion anxiety on Sina Weibo and it quickly became a hot topic.
A big reason for fashion anxiety is fashion bullying, experts said. As fashion magazines, advertisements and icons sport( 炫 耀 ) the “latest and greatest” trends, there’s a lot of pressure on people, especially teenagers, to follow them, no matter how expensive it might be. “The need to belong in groups is very important to young learners and exclusion (排斥) is something they see as the end of the world,” said Andy Cranham, a teacher at City of Bristol College, UK.
Another reason some people might have fashion anxiety is that they lack a sense of self-identity, said The Paper. It looks like we feel anxious about our outfits, but actually we are not confident enough. So we care about how fashionable people look at us. We easily doubt or even blame ourselves. The reality is that those people usually don’t notice us at all.
Fashion trends come and go, always changing. Instead of rushing to follow a trend, the key is to find your own style. If you’re able to wear something with confidence, you will be the one starting a trend. More importantly, an outfit is just a part of your image. It can’t tell the true you. What also matters is your personality and abilities.
1. The main reason why Li Meixi keeps away from the fashionable people on the street is ________.| A．she is too poor to buy the outfits |
| B．she doesn’t like the fashion styles of them |
| C．she’s worried she’s not fashionable enough |
| D．she’s afraid others will laugh at her |
| A．trouble | B．hurt | C．cheer | D．welcome |
| A．fashion magazines | B．advertisements |
| C．the feeling of inconfidence | D．the lack of money |
| A．It only starts from people’s worries. |
| B．Fashion bullying has nothing to do with fashion anxiety. |
| C．It comes because people aren’t self-confident enough. |
| D．People spend time and money on fashion anxiety. |
| A．fashionable people on the street |
| B．fashion anxiety of the people |
| C．fashion trend in the future |
| D．fashion changes every season |
Money may not buy happiness, but it helps. Many teenagers want to learn how to manage money before going out into the world. Be smart with your money.
Ask parents or neighbors if you can help with housework to make pocket money. These can include washing a car or taking the dog for a walk. Agree on the value of different jobs before you start. In this way, you can also improve your communication skills, which will help when you have a grown-up job, too.
Help your money grow.Money can’t grow if it’s sitting inside a piggy bank. Put your money in the bank and you can get interest (利息).
If you have a big event, such as a holiday coming up, it might mean you will need to spend more of your pocket money. Try making a plan for spending and saving.
Find out how much you can reasonably spend each month.
| A．Learn to make money. |
| B．Set a goal of saving money. |
| C．Save your money in the long run. |
| D．Spend your money on what you truly need. |
| E．This idea is raised by Dr. Mara Harvey. |
| F．Write down how much money you have and what you are spending. |
【推荐2】Let’s imagine this: Your parents are going out of town for a week. You’re left with 800 yuan. How will you spend it? It would be silly to spend the money at the mall, especially if you already have great clothes in your room, right? A better way to spend that money would be on key things such as food and transportation. You’d probably also want to put part of the money aside for something else.
Well, you just learned how to budget (预算). It’s all about deciding what matters the most to you and how much you want to spend on these things.
Working out your priorities (优先事项) is the most important part of budgeting. For example, if you plan on buying a new smartphone and a cool smartwatch, you should consider saving some money. The next time your friends invite you to go to KTV with them, you might as well decide to pass.
But having a budget doesn’t mean you can’t have fun; you just have to get creative. Instead of meeting your friends at the pizza shop and then going to the movies, you could invite them over to your house. You can buy some frozen pizzas at the supermarket and watch a movie online. It’s a lot cheaper but just as fun.
If you search for budgeting tips, you’ll find many. As a young person, you have plenty of chances to experiment (尝试) with different ways. Once you find a way that works for you, it’s easier to get excited about budgeting.
Keep in mind that even adults make mistakes at times. If you go over your budget, just try to learn from your mistakes.
1. Why does the writer suggest spending the money on food and transportation?| A．Because they can help them learn budgets. |
| B．Because they are more important in daily life. |
| C．Because they cost less money than other things. |
| D．Because they may avoid trouble with you at home. |
| A．Go to the party. | B．Make a plan. |
| C．Refuse the invitation. | D．Think it twice. |
| A．By going to movies with friends. |
| B．By doing something by ourselves. |
| C．By working out how much we want to spend. |
| D．By having dinners at restaurants with friends. |
| A．It can be easier for adults. | B．It can stop people having fun. |
| C．It can be difficult but helpful. | D．It can make people get stressed. |
Nowadays, different people have different opinions about money management (管理) for children.
However, other people disagree. They think children are too young to have a clear thought about money.
As for me, my parents told me that I should learn how to manage money when I was young. They were very strict about spending money.
| A．Always keep you parents’ words in your heart. |
| B．But it didn’t mean I couldn’t spend money. |
| C．In this way, I developed a good spending habit. |
| D．They can learn it in their future life when they grow up. |
| E．So let’s help children manage money from an early age. |
| F．Parents try their best to provide a better environment for children. |
| G．Some people think that children should learn how to manage money. |
