Money Matters
     Parents should help their children understand money.  1  So you may start talking about money when
your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.
1.The basic function of money
     Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or
services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he
wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员).  2   When
your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more
complex ways of using money.
2. Money lessons
     Approach money lessons with openness and honesty.   3   If you must say no to a child's request to
spend money, explain, "You have enough toy trucks for now." Or, if the request is for many different
things, say, "You have to make a choice between this toy and that toy."
3.   4  
     Begin at the grocery store. Pick out two similar brands of a product-a name-brand butter and a
generic(无商标产品),for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different
brands of a product so that you can save money.  5  If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to make
another purchase with the money saved. Later, you may explain how the more expensive choice leaves
less money for other purchases.
A. Wise decisions.
B. The value of money.
C. Permit the child to choose between them.
D. Tell your child why he can-or cannot-have certain things.
E. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you.
F. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.
G. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest.

     Hello-Hello, a creative mobile language learning company, announced the launch of Hello-Hello
World, a free application for the iPad that helps people learn a new language by connecting them with
native speakers through social networking.
     The application lets users complete language lessons and connect with Hello-Hello's global community of language learners with members in almost 100 countries to help each other in the learning process.
Hello-Hello World is available in 11 different languages and allows users to submit both oral and writing
exercises for their friends and Hello-Hello's language experts to review. Users are also able to provide
written feedback on their friend's exercises directly from their mobile devices.
     "The most effective way to learn a new language is through total immersion (沉浸),"said Sarah Gontijo, founder and CEO of Hello-Hello. "However, not everyone has the opportunity to live in another country. Hello-Hello World brings the convenience of connecting with native speakers anytime, from anywhere.
This can help users not only learn the language but also understand the culture."
     Hello-Hello World lets users synchronize (使同步) their information with the Hello-Hello Cloud and
then access the content from any mobile device or computer. The application is first being released for the
ipad and will become available on a variety of platforms, including the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
     The application arrives at a time when tablet (平板电脑) computing is driving the creation of new
educational tools, such as Hell-Hello World. Many schools and colleges are finding ways to adapt mobile
technology for classroom learning. "The market is hot for such pioneering in education and social
networking," said Gontijo. "Hell-Hello promises to be the invention that will set the ball rolling and bring
innovation to an industry that has seen little change over the years."
     Technology research firm Gartner predicts that app-store downloads worldwide will double to $17.7
billion as the year closes, and that app-income will hit $15.1 billion, tripling the impact of last year's sales. App-downloads are expected to continue to jump to 185 billion by 2014, at which point worldwide
tablet sales are projected to surpass (超过) 208 million units.

1. With the launch of Hello-Hello world, users can           .

A. talk to any foreigners in the world  
B. speak any foreign languages fluently
C. practice pronouncing words correctly  
D. communicate with native speakers anytime

2. Which mobile device is Hello-Hello World being released for now?

A. The iPhone.  
B. The ipad.
C. Android.  
D. Blackberry.

3. What does Sarah Gontijo think it takes to learn a new language effectively?

A. Hard work and practice.
B. Cultural understanding.  
C. A language learning environment.  
D. Modern mobile technology.

4. It is implied in the passage that           .

A. there is a potential market for this mobile technology  
B. mobile technology is being used for classroom learning  
C. students do not know how mobile technology can be used  
D. it is difficult for Hello-Hello to change the mobile industry

     Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping,
according to a study published last week in the US.
     For Years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women, but during the 2011 holiday season 58 percent of those making online purchases (购买) were women.
     "It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming", said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group, which carried out the study.
     Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because
women traditionally make decisions about spending.
     Users were more likely to shop online to save time. Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic increases in the online gift-buying population this time around.
     However, three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2011. They worried about credit card security(安全), or just compared online prices with off-line prices, then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals.
     "But even if shoppers don't buy online, websites are becoming promotion tools for stores," said Dan Hess, vice president of Comscore Networks Inc. Hess said that actually most stores' websites can make customers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive
on time. "It's all about making the shopping experience more efficient, more reliable and more
comfortable." Hess said.

1. Which of the following statements is true?

A. More women shopped online than men in 2011.
B. There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2011．
C. Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women.
D. People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online.

2. From the passage we can infer that________.

A. men usually decide how to spend money in the family  
B. women usually decide what to buy in the family
C. the Internet is used in all the shops.                
D. more and more shops will sell their goods online.

3. According to Dan Hess, shopping online is _______.

A. unsafe
B. convenient
C. a waste of time
D. cheaper

4. What can we know from the passage?

A. American people only buy gifts in holidays.  
B. Shopping online is fun for women.
C. Shopping off-line provides better service.  
D. Young people like to do gift-shopping online.

     When you are talking to somebody at a party, do you focus entirely on the person you are speaking
with or does your attention keep jumping around the room to all the other people there? General1y, if the
person is someone you really want to talk to, you will focus on him. Most other people will only get about half of your attention.
    You may think that this is OK, because if you don't really want to talk to him, then what does it matter
if you don't give him your full attention? Consider two things. First, you may just not realize the importance of that conversation. If you are at a networking meeting and you hope to meet the CEO of Company X,
but you end up talking to someone who has a low-level job at a different company, then you may let your
attention wander (走神) as you speak to him. But maybe you don't realize that this person has already
met the CEO and could introduce you. Do you think he will do that if he feels you don't really care about
speaking to him? This doesn't mean you need to spend the whole time talking to him. Five or ten minutes
of real attentive (专心的)conversation can be worth 30 minutes to an hour of partial attention.
     Second, whether you want to speak to someone is based on the situation. You can love your wife, but
if she tries to talk to you while you are watching something you like on TV, where is your attention going? Make your own decision, but if you want her to feel valued, give her your 100% attention. The nice thing
is that in many cases you can give her your attention for a few minutes and then return to what you were
doing. You miss very little, she feels valued, and all is good.

1. The author's opinion is made believable mainly by ________.

A using figures
B. giving examples  
C. asking questions
D. description

2. The second paragraph mainly tells you that ________.

A. you should be interested in everyone at a party
B. you can refuse to talk to someone you don't like at a party
C. you should focus on whoever you are talking to
D. you should be patient with everyone at a party

3. A person who has a low-level job probably ________.

A. would like to talk to you      
B. is well worth focusing on
C. wants to make friends with you    
D.  is the one you're looking for

4. If your wife wants to talk to you when you are busy, you should ________.

A. decide what to do according to the situation  
B. go on with what you are doing  
C. stop doing anything immediately
D. finish what you are doing with her

5. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Always be friendly to others at a party.
B It is important for you to be active at a party.
C You should respect your wife at any time.
D Improve your communication skills by focusing on others

     Millions of Americans have been heading to the shops on Black Friday, a crucial event for US retailers. Many stores open their doors overnight, hoping to entice customers with cut-price bargains. Black Friday－the day after the Thanksgiving public holiday－is traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season.
     Consumers are spending in an uncertain environment as fears about the health of the US economy
persist. Thousands of people queued late on Thursday evening in the hope of being the first to find a
bargain, with many shops offering deep discounts on clothing, electronic goods and toys.
     "Several chains opened even earlier than the typical midnight start. Children's retailer Toys R Us threw open its doors at 22:00 on Thursday for the first time. Others stayed open after trading on Thanksgiving
itself. Judging from the excitement at Toys R Us at 10 pm (on Thursday) and throughout the evening, the
shopper is back, " Toys R Us chief executive Jerry Storch told Reuters. Department store Macy's said it
had 7,000 shoppers outside its flagship Herald Square store in Manhattan in the early hours of Friday
morning, some 2,000 more than last year.
     Despite continued concerns over the US economy and a stubbornly high unemployment rate of 9.6%,
analysts are predicting a better holiday season than last year. The National Retail Federation says it expects sales to be 2.3% higher than 2009, to totalling $447m (285m). That could bode well for the US economy, with consumer spending making up about 70% of total economic output. "This is shaping up to be one
of the biggest Black Fridays we've seen," said David Bassuk, managing director at consulting firm Alix
Partners.
     Black Friday is so named because it is the day of the year when retailers traditionally hope to leave the "red" and enter the " black ", breaking even or making a profit.

1. What will happen after the Thanksgiving public holiday is over?

A. The white collars are feeling down.
B. The day will be black enough on Friday.
C. The fear of expenses will be caused.
D. The Christmas season is really coming.

2. What's the customers' hope during Christmas season?

A. To make a good deal with retailers.
B. To kill time by shopping overnight.
C. To buy more discounted things.
D. To enjoy the merry atmosphere.

3. What do most Americans concern about?

A. The worse situation which American economy is in.
B. The fear that they lose chance to buy cheaper clothes.
C. The profit that retailers will make during Christmas season.
D. The sale that is believed to be higher than last year.

4. What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?

A. Americans are worried about inflation.
B. America's economy wouldn't inflation.
C. The sale this year is $ 447m higher than 2009.
D. Black Friday promises economic recovery.

5. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A. Black Friday got the name from a tale in history.
B. Black Friday often let most Americans down.
C. Black Friday drives most Americans crazy.
D. Black Friday is when retailers expect to make money.

     A person, like a commodity (商品), needs packaging. But going too far is absolutely undesirable.
A little exaggeration, however, does no harm when it shows the person's unique qualities to their
advantages. To show personal attractiveness in a casual and natural way, it is important for one to have
a clear knowledge of oneself. A skilled packager knows how to add art to nature without any signs of
embellishment (装饰), so that the person so packaged is not a commodity but a human being, lively and
lovely.
     A young person, especially a female, shining with beauty and full of life, has all the favor granted by
God. Any attempt to make up would be self - defeating. Youth, however, comes and goes in a flash.
Packaging for the middle - aged is primarily to hide the marks made by years. If you still enjoy life
enough to keep self - confidence and work at pioneering work you are unique in your natural qualities;
and your attractiveness and grace will remain. Elderly people are beautiful if their river of life has been
through plains mountains and jungles, running its course as it should. You have really lived your life,
which now arrives at a self - satisfied stage of quietness and calmness with no interest in fame or wealth .
There is no need to make use of hair dyeing. The snow - capped mountain is itself a beautiful scene of
fairyland. Let your looks change from young to old in step with the natural ageing process so as to keep
in harmony (和谐)with nature, for harmony itself is beauty, while the other way round will only end in
unpleasantness. To be in the elder's company is like reading a thick book of deluxe (better quality)edition
that attracts one so much as to be unwilling to part with.
     As long as one finds where one stands, one knows how to package oneself, just as a commodity sets
up its brand by the right packaging.

1. It can be concluded from the text that________.

A. people should be packed at all ages
B. people should be packed in a special way
C. elderly people also care about packing
D. proper packing makes people attractive

2. For the middle - aged, attractiveness________ .

A. hardly exists
B. is the strongest
C. comes from the inside
D. comes from the appearance

3. The underlined sentence means that elderly people ________.

A. are usually packed like a finely - made book
B. experience a lot and have rich knowledge of life
C. do a lot of traveling and can give you much information
D. enjoy reading thick books of beautiful nature and fairylands

     If you talk about a dog's life, go to Beijing to see the pampered (过分娇惯的) dogs. Dogs clipped,
dressed up, washed and dried. Here, it's the owners who go to obedience (服从) school, and these
people pay almost a thousand US dollars a month to learn how to properly care for their pets. Dogs are
hot in Beijing, a symbol of a new middle-class family.
     Dogs or pets can take the place of children, even husbands. Qin Lu, 23-year-old dog owner, certainly
thinks her dog makes some more loyal partner. She's spending 1,300 yuan, that's almost 200 US dollars
a month, sending her dog to the training school. Think about it, almost half her monthly salary as a
secretary.
     Personally, if I have a dog, I want to give it the very best of everything. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a
dog.
     Before we get too sentimental (引起伤感情绪的), though, other dogs in China have a far more
grisly (令人毛骨悚然的) fate, many still destined for the dinner table, dog meat, a popular delicacy.
But appetities are changing. What was once for the eating is now for the treating. Beijing alone is home
to more than a million dogs. Owners spend an average 25 dollars a month on pets. Do the math. Dogs
are big business. Ning Wei who runs this obedience school on the outskirts of Beijing said. "It has been
open for almost three years. There are many dogs. And now we are opening another branch."
     As their owners embrace everything western, so too, are the dogs. Ning Wei's specializing in
producing a new breed of bilingual puppies. Yes, dogs that understand Chinese and now English. "I'm
going to do a test now to see if it understands both English and Chinese. Effectively, if its Chinese is better
than my English, and its English is better than my Chinese."

1. From the first paragraph we can know _______ in Beijing.

A. dogs are tired of the hot days
B. why people spend so much buying a dog
C. dogs are very expensive
D. many new middle-class families raise dogs

2. What can we know about Ning Wei from the passage?

A. He is an English teacher in an obedience school.
B. He is a businessman who runs a school.
C. He is a dog-keeper who is learning how to properly care for his dog.
D. He is a researcher who is crazy for the bilingual puppies.

3. From the passage we can conclude that ______.

A. there are many different kinds of dogs from all over the world in Beijing
B. many Beijingers love dogs better than their own sons or daughters, even their husbands or wives
C. learning how to treat dogs is a hot business in Beijing now
D. so much money has been spent on treating every dog

     I was interested in reading a newspaper article about a new concept in old people's homes in France.
The idea is simple, but revolutionary - combining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school
in the same building.   1   In the afternoon, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and
if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle (拥抱). There are trips
out and birthday parties too.
       2   The children are happy because they get a lot more individual attention, and respond well
because someone has time for them. They see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents
are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the
children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too.
       3   There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for aging relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for
grandparents. But the result is the same-increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old
people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along
with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support.  4   
     That's why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are
growing in popularity all over the world.   5   Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one
obvious example. Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with
children who need extra attention.
A. The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned.
B. There are examples of successful attempts all over the world.
C. Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young.
D. However, there are some similarities between the old and the young
E. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities.
F. No previous experience can we use to communicate between them.
G. It's a major problem in many societies.  

     In many countries the standard of living enjoyed by their people has increased rapidly in recent years.
Sadly, not everyone in these countries is so fortunate and many people in rich countries are homeless.
     The reasons for homelessness are various, but poverty (贫穷) is undoubtedly one of the main causes.
The homeless people may have become jobless and then been unable to pay their rent and so no longer
have a roof over their heads. Often, the fact that unemployed people get help from the government prevents
this from happening, but not always.
     Some homeless people are mentally ill and have no one to look after them. Some are young people who,
for one reason or another, have left home and have nowhere to live. Many of them have had a serious
disagreement with their parents and have left home, choosing to go to a city and live on the streets. Sometimes
they have taken such action because they have been unable to get on with a step-parent.
     Many homeless people get into the habit of begging to get enough money to stay alive, but many of the
general public refuse to give anything to beggars. Often they are moved on by the police, being accused (指
控), whether rightly or wrongly, of forceful begging. There are many who disrespect homeless people.
     Some cynics (愤世嫉俗的人) declare that homeless people choose to live the life which they lead. But
who would willingly choose to live in z shop doorway, under a bridge or in a cardboard box?

1. According to the text, what causes some people to be homeless?

A. Lack of money.
B. The increased standard of living.
C. No government help.
D. Agreement with their parents.

2. It can be inferred from the text that _____.

A. the homeless are willing to live under a bridge or in a cardboard box
B. you will not find homeless people in countries with a high standard of living
C. the mentally ill live on the stress because they want the company of other homeless people
D. the unemployed who receive help may still be among the homeless

3. In paragraph 2, "a roof over their needs" most probably means _____.

A. a cap
B. a car
C. a home
D. a covering

4. The author thinks that the homeless people are _____.

A. pitiful
B. troublesome
C. respectable
D. admirable