Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?
As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it's not easy to change later in life.
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.
According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail(蜗牛).
The ant－works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
The cricket－fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
The snail－lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long－term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.
1.What is the meaning of value system in this passage?
A. Belief of how to manage our finances.
B. The way we look after our money.
C. Something will not change later in life.
D. A set of our own values or beliefs.
2.The ant refers to people who ________.
A. Work very hard in summer in order to store food for winter.
B. Could make more money if they worked harder
C. Save money they earn for their later life when they get old and retire
D. Only care about enjoying the moment by working very hard
3.The crickets borrow money because _________.
A. They would like to enjoy everything now
B. They are young
C. They think they have no future
D. They want to buy insurance
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the last paragraph?
A. The snails enjoy life because they have luxury houses.
B. The snails live under pressure and they may have problems in the future.
C. The snails will take more loans if they realize that they can afford it.
D. The snails take big long-term loans because the interest for the long-term loans is low.
5.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To make fun of the three kinds of foolish people.
B. To make us understand the differences and manage our money better.
C. To make us understand we should spend our own money.
D. To state that we are the same as animals.
If you had billions of dollars, would you donate almost all of it to charity? Well, that’s what Mark Zuckerburg, CEO and founder of Facebook, just said he would do.
Zuckerburg and his wife Priscilla Chan promised to give 90% of their Facebook shares to society. Right now that is about ＄45 billion, and they plan to donate the money to things like science and education.
Many billionaires have done similar things. Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft, made The Giving Pledge, an activity in which billionaires promise donate more than half of their wealth to charities. This started in 2010, and now 139 people from 15 countries joined it.
But giving back and helping others isn’t just for big billionaires. People like Zuckerberg, and Gates may have more to give, but people with less are doing it, too.
Especially around the holidays, people want to do their part and give back to people who are less lucky than them. Schools may have food collections where people bring a few food items*, and together they can make a big donation to places like homeless people’s homes.
People also host special events like concerts of runs to be creative while raising money. Regular people donate whatever they can to US charities like the United Way and the American Red Cross.
Then these charities are able to help US communities in different ways like education, health and improving the lives of the poor. These individual* donations come together to make a big difference.
1.Mark Zuckerburg promised to donate______________________ .
A. 90% of their Facebook shares to society.
B. half of his wealth to the charities.
C. all of his money to charities
D. 45 billion yuan to society.
2.What does the underline word “share” mean?
A.分享 B.给予 C.股份 D.参与
3.According to Paragraph 3, The Giving Pledge___________
A. started just ten years ago B. is a charity to raise money
C. has attracted 139 people D. is only for US people
4.According to this passage, regular people ___________
A. get help from rich people.
B. hold special events to celebrate holidays
C. help the people who is less lucky.
D. collect food in homeless people’s home.
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. It’s rich people’s duty to give more money
B. There are more charities in the US than in China
C. The poor should work hard to make a living
D. Everyone can do their part to help others.
Wonderful Experiences in Australia
Phillip Island Nature Park
Adult:￡79.00 Child:￡67.00 Location: Melbourne Have fun at Phillip Island Nature Park. You will spend half a day there. You can see many animals, such as koalas, kangaroos and penguins at the peak. | Balloon Flight
Adult:￡209.00 Child:￡161.00 Location: Melbourne Enjoy an early morning balloon flight over the beautiful city of Melbourne. After the flight you will enjoy a wonderful breakfast at the Hilton Hotel. |
Amazing Sailing
Adult:￡168.00 Child:￡126.00 Location: Sydney Relax and enjoy the wonderful sights of the heart of Sydney as you sail across the sea in a large boat. | Restaurant Tour—Lunch
Adult:￡56.00 Child:￡50.00 Location: Melbourne Having lunch in Melbourne can be a wonderful experience, specially in old trams(有轨电车)that have become restaurants. |
1.11-year-old Tony and his parents will visit Phillip Island Nature Park. They should pay_____.
A．￡79 B．￡146 C．￡158 D．￡225
2.The Balloon Flight starts in the_______.
A．early morning B．late morning C．early afternoon D．late afternoon
3.When you_______, you can enjoy the wonderful sights of the heart of Sydney.
A．visit Phillip Island Nature Park
B．sail across the sea
C．take a balloon ride
D．have lunch in an old tram
4.From the passage, we can learn that_______.
A．people can see animals at the Hilton Hotel
B．food in the trams is not good
C．Melbourne is a beautiful city
D．there are no aquatic animals at Phillip Island Nature Park
5.People who want to _______are most interested in this passage.
A．travel in Australia
B．learn about the history of Australia
C．eat Eastern food
D．see forests
书面表达
朋友是人生中的一大财富，请你根据以下的写作要点写一篇短文，介绍你最好的朋友Sally，同时分享一下你们维护彼此间友谊的心得。词数80个左右，短文的开头已给出，不计入总词数内。
写作要点：Sally： 1.外貌：一双大眼睛，长长的头发，和我一样高。
2.性格： 待人友好，脸上经常带着微笑。
3.兴趣爱好：喜欢唱歌跳舞（和我一样）
维护友谊的心得：1.每天一起骑自行车上学，周末一起到图书馆看书。
2.下课后经常一起聊天，分享快乐和烦恼。 3.彼此诚实。
Sally is my best friends. We met at a party 10 years ago. ______________________________________
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Thomas Edison lost the first job. For the next five years he went around the country from job to job. At last Edison went to New York. He had little money. He could not buy enough food to eat. He had no place to sleep.
For many days Edison looked for work. He was hungry. At last he found work fixing machines. He could fix the old machines. He also made new ones. The head man liked Edison’s new machines. He was going to give Edison $40， 000 for them. Edison would now have money to do what he wanted.
Thomas Edison was then 23， He used the money to build a shop in New Jersey. He had many people working for him. But he worked more than 40 new things at one time.
In 1876 Alexander. Graham Bell made a telephone. But it could carry voices only a little way. Edison wanted to make a better telephone. He soon made one. It could carry voices a long way.
（一）根据短文内容简要回答问题。
1. What did Thomas Edison do after he lost his first job?
______________________________________________________.
2.Where did Edison begin to have good luck after he found work?
____________________________________________________________
（二） 将短文中划线的句子译成汉语。
3. ___________________________________________________________
4.___________________________________________________________
（三）请给短文拟一个适当的标题。
5. _________________________________________________________
People and animals live in the same world. We should keep the balance（平衡）b_1.______ people and animals. If the balance is destroyed，there will be bad result to both people and animals. Wild animals are friends of people. We have to p___2._____ them， or there will be no wild animals in the future. Now we know that there are n__3.____ 2，000 nature reserves(自然保护区) in China
There is a black and white animal l 4. in China. It is always known as the national treasure(国宝) of China. Everyone knows it is c 5. Giant panda. Now there are f 6. pandas than before. Most of them live in Sichuan and Gansu Provinces. There are also some other rare animals in China. H 7. ， the n 8. is becoming smaller and smaller than before. So people should try t 9. best to help these animals. They are in d 10. of disappearing from the world.
