1 . Since moving to New Zealand from Australia to raise our new family, my husband Mike and I have been living on a small income, as he is the only one who is working full time. Neither of us have debt, nor do we use credit cards to buy things. In doing so, we are doing fairly well. We have savings(存款), but this could change very quickly if we’re not careful.

So how do we manage?

We sat down and really looked at what we could afford to spend each month on rent, food, baby things, and anything extra. We were pretty astonished at how little we would have left at the end of each month.

Mike suggested we eat only vegetable meals at home, so for the past four months we’ve been on a vegetable diet. I was really impressed when he suggested this, as it   also betters our health and helps the environment.

We’re active gardeners and we recently start to grow our own vegetables. The growing season is long here, so we’re pretty excited when imagining eating good home-grown vegetables all the year round.

We hardly ever eat out now and on most weekends we can be found picking up fresh vegetables from the local farmers’ market. Except getting some fried fish, we’re really turning into home cooking—and this is a huge difference from our time in Perth.

Thankfully, our life on a small income has been an eye opener in such a positive way. We’re really pleased we’ve managed to get through our first year without turning to our savings. We are really looking forward to what the future holds for us here in New Zealand.

1. What can we learn about the author’s family according to the first paragraph?

A．They move from New Zealand to Australia.

B．They are enjoying a rich life happily.

C．They have to be very careful with money.

D．They pay their debt with credit cards.

2. Why were the author and her husband astonished at the end of each month?

A．Because they could afford to spend on rent each month.

B．Because they didn’t have much money left then.

C．Because they sat down and really looked at each other.

D．Because Mike was the only one who was working full time.

3. According to the author, what’s the advantage of eating vegetable meals at home?

A．It can make people healthier.

B．It might pollute the environment.

C．It can make others really impressed.

D．It can help people go on a diet.

4. Which can be the best title for the passage?

A．Living On A Small Income.	B．Eating Vegetables.
C．Eating At Home.	D．Active Gardeners.