| A．$15. | B．$24. | C．$30. |
They like using the Internet. They have lots of pocket money to spend. And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us. Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy — games, CDs and clothing — are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards. Most have to use a parents card. They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic. If successful, these products could stimulate online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153 bn (billion) in the US last year and £20 bn annually in the UK. Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school — 88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK. According to Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online — mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children. Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street. They’re more likely to ask “Why” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as IntenetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK, Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as £20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.
3 . A house is the most expensive thing most people will buy. Very few people have enough money of their own to buy a home, so they have to borrow money from a bank. Borrowing money from a bank to buy a house is called “take a mortgage （抵押）”. The bank usually lends money or gives a mortgage for twenty-five years. Houses are so expensive that many people nowadays have to borrow as much as $ 50 000. In other words, they will have a $ 50 000 mortgage.
How can you get a mortgage？ When you find a house you like, you go to a bank. The bank will research you financial history and decide if they think you are a good risk. They will want to know what kind of job you have, what kind of salary you make, and how long you have had the job. They will also want to know how much money you have. In addition，the banks will require a down payment. Depending on which state you live in， the bank may require as much as 30% of the-price of the house as a down payment. The bank will then lend you the rest of the money to buy the house. Many people are never able to buy a house because they cannot save enough money for the down payment.
1. What does a house mean in the United States？| A．It is a dream which many people can hardly realize. |
| B．It is so expensive that many people cannot really buy them. |
| C．It is the most important property that many people try to buy. |
| D．It doesn‘t belong to people if they can’t borrow money from the bank. |
| A．has twenty-five years to pay back the money |
| B．has more than twenty-five years to pay back the money |
| C．has less than twenty-five years to pay back the money |
| D．has about twenty-five years to pay back the money |
| A．Money borrowed from a bank as a mortgage. |
| B．Money paid to a bank before the mortgages is given. |
| C．Interest received by a person who borrows money as the mortgages. |
| D．Interest charged by a bank on a mortgage. |
| A．How to Save Money on the House |
| B．How to Borrow Money from a Bank |
| C．How to Take a Mortgage |
| D．How to Buy a House |
4 . Working up a credit score for Walter Cavanagh has got to be a mathematical nightmare ﹣ the man has nearly 1，500 valid credit cards to his name and holds the Guinness Record for the most credit cards． Mr． Plastic Fantastic ﹣ a title given to him by Guinness World Records ﹣ is also the proud owner of the world's longest wallet， which can hold about 800 cards． But he uses it only to carry a few cards， while the rest are safely kept in bank safedeposit boxes．
Cavanagh started collecting credit cards in the late 1960s． "One of my best friends and I made a silly bet： the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner，" he said． " I got 143 cards by the end of the year， and my friend gathered 138．" After winning that bet， Cavanagh decided to simply keep going with his unusual collection． He got credit cards from gas stations， airlines， bars， and even ice cream stores．
If there's one card missing from Cavanagh's collection， it's that from the Newberry Company． They repulsed his application for a card in the early 1970s， even though he'd collected over 100 by then． They said he had too much credit． Therefore， so far he hasn't had a Newberry card in his collection．
Cavanagh hasn't stopped applying for new cards ﹣ he's held the Guinness Record since 1971 and has no intention of letting go of it． He copies whole pages from a U．S． directory of businesses and keeps sending applications． If he receives a rejection， he writes back to the company explaining his goal and ambition． But he doesn't count useless cards in his total collection．
Thanks to all the cards to his name， Cavanagh has access to about ＄1.7 million at any moment． Despite this privilege， he has managed to maintain an excellent credit score．
The 72﹣year﹣old retired financial planner and credit expert has only one piece of advice to share： "Never use a card to buy anything you can't pay off in a couple of months． If you don't have the discipline， you shouldn't have the cards．"
1. Cavanagh began to collect credit cards when he ．| A．owned a very long wallet |
| B．made a bet with his friend |
| C．wanted to create a Guinness Record |
| D．was treated to dinner by his friend． |
| A．Rejected． |
| B．Recalled． |
| C．Repeated． |
| D．Recognized． |
| A．Having many cards to your own name． |
| B．Buying things by card and paying off in time． |
| C．Managing to own more privileges for your card． |
| D．Using a card to buy things as many times as possible． |
| A．Some of them are useless． |
| B．They are safely kept in his long wallet． |
| C．They have brought him fame and privilege． |
| D．Fewer new cards are added to his collections． |
5 . No messy coins—and more importantly—no embarrassment. This is how young Chinese “go Dutch” these days—scan a QR code and pay their share via smart phones in one easy click.
It was the first time most of the 13 people at my dinner table last weekend had used the function on social networking tool WeChat. “It has made going Dutch less embarrassing and so much more fun,” said Zhou Ye, a Beijing-based journalist. “Young people think splitting bills this way is fun, and older ones may find it fashionable to do so.” Most importantly, it saves people the embarrassment of figuring out who owes what.
Splitting the bill is a relatively new idea to most Chinese. It's being popular among the young people, but for many older folks, who fear “losing face,” it feels embarrassing. At dinner parties, families and friends often fight over who will cover the expense.
Used by 600 million Chinese, WeChat is similar to WhatsApp but has many more features. One of them, WeChat Wallet, allows people to pay for almost any service by smart phones. The bill splitting function was launched last year. Owned by Chinese Internet giant Tencent, the payment platform competes with Alibaba’s Alipay, which is widely used and also has a bill splitting function.
The smart phone apps that rely on these payment platforms have transformed the lives of many urban Chinese. Massages, haircuts, house cleaning, laundry services and personal trainers can be ordered in your own home. Zhao Mengsha, 28, an editor in a magazine, enjoys a manicure (美甲) once every month, and pays half of the price charged in salons. “It's just really convenient,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought about getting a massage at work without the apps.” Like millions of others, Zhao uses Alipay and WeChat to pay for the services. “You can make do without a wallet but can't live without your smart phone when you go out these days,” Zhao said.
1. What does the underlined phrases “go Dutch” in the first paragraph refer to?| A．pay a visit to Dutch. | B．become a person like the Dutch. |
| C．share expenses equally. | D．visit a website called Dutch. |
| A．Because they think splitting bills funny. |
| B．Because they want to know who is rich. |
| C．Because they figure out who owes what |
| D．Because they want to pay the bill. |
| A．Neither of them will win in the competition. |
| B．Both of them are acceptable. |
| C．Smart phones with them cost a lot of money. |
| D．The payment platform should be improved. |
| A．the wallets are not necessary any more |
| B．she bought all that she needs through the Internet |
| C．she doesn’t know how to work with phones |
| D．the smart phone apps change people’s life |
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Sam,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
City Varieties
The Headrow, Leeds. Tel. 430808
Oct 10—11 only A Night at the Varieties. All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer,Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio; Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favorite songs.
Performances: 8 pm nightly.
Admission: ₤5; under 16 or over 60: ₤4.
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard's Place, York. Tel. 223568
Sept. 23--Oct 17 Groping for Words - a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.
Admission: First night, Mon: ₤2; Tues—Fri: ₤3.25 - 5.50; Sat: ₤3.50 - 5.75.
Halifax Playhouse
King's Cross Street, Halifax. Tel. 365998
Oct 10—17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy about real people. A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don't miss it.
Performances: 7:30 pm.
Admission: ₤2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one
Grand Theatre
Oxford Street, Leeds. Tel. 502116
Restaurant and Caf
Oct —17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book.
Performances: Evenings 7:45. October 10—17,at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.
Admission: Tues—Thurs: ₤2—5; Fri & Sat: ₤2—6.
1. Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
| A．City Varieties | B．Halifax Playhouse |
| C．Grand Theatre | D．York Theatre Royal |
| A．430808 | B．223568 | C．365998 | D．502116 |
| A．a musician | B．an actress |
| C．a writer | D．a director |
8 . Although credit cards are becoming a more acceptable part of the financial scene, they are still regarded with doubts by many as being a major part of the “live now pay later” syndrome（综合症）.Along with hire-purchase, rental and leasing schemes（租赁项目）, they provide encouragement to spend more money. Of course, it is only the hotheaded who give way to the temptation to live, temporarily at least, beyond their means, and such people would no doubt manage to do so even without credit cards.
Advertising campaigns have, however, promoted a growing realization of the advantages of these small pieces of plastic. They prevent need to carry large amounts of cash and are always useful in emergencies.
All the credit card organizations charge interest on a monthly basis which may work out as high as 25 per cent a year, yet sensible purchasing using a card can mean that you obtain up to seven weeks, interest-free credit. Using the card abroad, where items frequently take a long time to be included on your account, can extend this period even further.
It is worthwhile shopping around before deciding on a particular credit card. It is necessary to consider the amount of credit granted; interest rates, which may vary slightly; the number and range of outlets（经销店）, though most cards cover major garages, hotels, restaurants and department stores; and of course, what happens if your card is lost or stolen. A credit card thief may be sitting on a potential goldmine particularly if there is a delay in reporting the loss of the card.
However, if used wisely, a credit card can cost nothing, or at least help to tide you over a period of financial difficulty.
1. The hotheaded are people who ________.| A．spend more money than they have |
| B．spend less money than other people |
| C．save money |
| D．make money |
| A．to enable you to buy things without carrying large amount of cash |
| B．to encourage people to spend more money |
| C．to be always useful in emergencies |
| D．to help people tide over a period of financial difficulty |
| A．the amount of credit granted |
| B．the number and range of outlets |
| C．the possibility of loss of money |
| D．the department stores where you are going to use your credit cards |
| A．floating with the tide of |
| B．going through a difficult period of |
| C．rising and falling with the tide of |
| D．attempting to go against the tide of |
