Every year, thousands of new high school graduates pack their bags, move to new cities, and sign papers accepting loans, the money borrowed from a bank or lenders etc, which they might not be able to pay back. Without proper education on personal finance, especially as it relates to paying for college, young adults are guided into improper loan plans that result in years of debt after graduation. In order to set students up to succeed financially, it is important to educate students and parents on their financial options before school in the fall. The best way to support families heading for college is to require that every high school student take a personal finance class before graduation. This will help smooth the transition into adulthood.
The average student takes out at least one loan to cover the costs of their education each year. In 2014 the average student graduating from college carried a negative balance of about $20,000 in debt, which often spread over multiple lenders. Upon graduation, students rarely know exactly how much money they owe, and even though they are in the state of being unable to pay their debts, they cannot wipe out student loans. These students spend much of their adult lives paying off the gradual increasing debts.
A personal finance course would teach students how to manage their income and expenditures, while helping to significantly reduce the amount of debt students carry into adulthood. By teaching students how to save money and live within their means, this course will provide the next generation with a foundation to progress financially. Students choosing to get a job straight out of high school would also benefit from finance education for these very reasons. With education on how to manage their finances, all young people will have the knowledge to make healthy decisions, leading them to improve good credit and purchase needed items like cars and homes with skill and confidence.
While not every young person makes financial mistakes, those who do can face years of difficulty trying to get their finances back under control. Rather than help them through these hard times when they happen, we should try to prevent them from happening at all. Making the completion of personal finance coursework a requirement for graduation would ensure that young people are at least aware of the basics of preserving a financial stability.
1.After graduation from college, many young people ________.
A. struggle to support their families
B. spend years paying off their debts
C. get through the hard times smoothly
D. are able to manage their own finances well
2.What is the third paragraph mainly about?
A. Ways to improve financial credits.
B. Advantages of taking a finance course.
C. Skills of balancing income and expenditures.
D. Introduction to the education on personal finance.
3.Having financial knowledge, high school students are probably able to ________.
A. smooth their way for college
B. get out of their financial trap
C. free from the cost of their college education
D. avoid the risk of the future financial trouble
4.The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
A. inform and explain
B. argue and persuade
C. analyze and evaluate
D. discuss and examine
Giraffes Are Being Killed for Their Tails
Documentary filmmaker David Hamlin recalls how excited he was at the sight of three giraffes standing in a small clearing when he was flying over the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Garamba National Park in late June. “Seeing these giraffes from the air was really exciting,” says Hamlin, who was working for National Geographic. That’s because Garamba is huge, extending over nearly 2,000 square miles of mostly forested land, and it’s a rare, lucky event to come across any of its 40 remaining giraffes.
But Hamlin’s thrill at seeing and photographing the giraffes didn’t last long. Twelve hours later, people looking after the national park reported hearing gunshots, and they later discovered three bullet-riddled bodies of dead giraffes in the sun. “It was horrible for me and the team,” Hamlin says “to realize that most likely it was these guys, the ones we’d seen.” Hamlin decided to document the sad event to raise awareness about illegally shooting animals in the park.
Garamba is Africa’s second oldest national park and has been hit hard by illegal shooting in recent years. Its rhinos have been wiped out, and elephants have suffered huge losses. The same goes for its Kordofan giraffes, one of Africa’s nine giraffe subspecies. Fewer than 2,000 now wander central Africa, according to Julian Fennessy, co-director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Garamba’s Kordofan giraffes represent the last population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “If the number slips in half, then we’re in an extremely serious situation,” Fennessy says. “Every single giraffe is valuable.”
Congolese usually kill the giraffes for one body part, their tails, considered a rank symbol in some communities. Meanwhile men from neighboring South Sudan target the giraffes for their meat to feed poor villagers. But the massive bodies (giraffes can grow to 18 feet and weigh up to 3,000 pounds) of these three giraffes were complete — only the ends of their tails were missing. According to Leon Lamprecht, joint operations director for African Parks, “men use the tail as treasure to the bride’s father if they want to ask for the hand of a bride.” “What an absolute waste!” Lamprecht says.
1.What made Hamlin so excited when he was flying over the park?
A. Filming the huge national park.
B. Reporting the event in the air.
C. Picturing the running rhinos.
D. Spotting the rare animals.
2.What does the underlined part “the ones” refer to?
A. The filmmakers.B. The elephants.
C. The giraffes.D. The hunters.
3.What did Hamlin decide to do after learning about the event?
A. Uncover the ancient African traditions and customs.
B. Call on people to protect the habitat of wild animals.
C. Improve people’s knowledge of preserving wild animals.
D. Become a volunteer in the animal conservation foundation.
Get a Custom（定制的） Salt Shaker for your Dining Table
If you are looking for custom salt shaker for your dining table, then there are a number of varieties available from which you can have your pick.
Get custom salt shakers for custom seasoning
A wooden salt shaker has a beautiful design that can enrich your dining table. It is handmade from different pieces of wood of varying sizes. It has a pear shaped body with a ceramic(陶瓷的) grinder with fancy wood finish. The ceramic grinder for making salt into powder is built to last a life time. It does not wear away like metals do when used to grind salt. It is an extremely beautiful and very delicately made gift to be given to anybody. If you buy two pieces they offer you a generous quantity of Himalayan salt.
Ceramic salt shakers for custom Seasoning
A ceramic salt shaker is handmade and ideal to be kept in the kitchen to keep the cooking area neat and orderly. It is available in different colors, olive green, coffee brown, purple, egg blue, yellow and many more colors. You can use your fingers when you require a pinch of salt or use the spoon that accompanies it. It looks beautiful for kitchen use and can be given as a gift.
Personalized salt shakers that can be given as anniversary gifts
If you are looking for handmade anniversary gifts that you would like to give to your friends, you can give hand painted salt shakers. You can send your pictures and the makers will paint the picture of your friend and her loved one. Any message you like to add will be written on the salt shaker.
This cannot be put in a dishwasher or soaked in water. It has to be washed carefully by hand. If you are a person who likes eco-friendly items then you can have a salt shaker made of bamboo. It has a solid construction which makes it ideal for kitchen setting.
So if you are interested in buying a salt shaker for your table, you can choose one from above and order it.
1.If you prefer salt powder, you may choose ________.
A. a wooden salt shakerB. a bamboo salt shaker
C. a ceramic salt shakerD. a hand painted salt shaker
2.According to the passage, ceramic salt shakers are distinct in ________.
A. shapes.B. designsC. coloursD. sizes
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Salt shakers with a solid construction can last a life time.
B. Hand painted salt shakers can be washed in dishwashers.
C. Bamboo salt shakers are harmless to the environment.
D. Metal salt shakers are painted with personal pictures.
4.The passage is intended to ________.
A. promote different salt shakers
B. tell how to choose salt shakers
C. describe the advantages of salt shakers
D. persuade people to give salt shakers to friends
I left home to support my sister in her efforts to present a music festival. She lives on the other side of the world, and I went to visit her, not wanting to leave and feeling like I was leaving home against my will. However, I wanted to show her my support because she is my only sister.
So I boarded the plane in mid-August, and hated the long flight. I arrived, tired and hungry. I had left my husband of 2 years, alone, in our old New Orleans house.
I was all set and ready to perform for my sister for the music festival on Sunday morning when I received a call from Chicago. The hurricane was predicted to hit our city, and many people had already evacuated, but my husband chose to stay behind. He could not get a call to me on the other side of the world, but he could call his cousin in Chicago. He gave his cousin a message for me, that he would be just fine, and not to worry.
As the day wore on, I finally took the stage in front of hundreds of Europeans, and I realized, thanks to CNN, that New Orleans was under water.
I performed, hoping that my husband would survive. And I performed perfectly. The audience stood and applauded. I left the stage and went straight to the TV. I saw the street sign near my home, of Humanity Street, but nothing below it, except water.
In the days that followed, I found out that my house, my car, my clothes, my furniture, everything that I’d left behind was gone…but not my husband. He survived by riding on the rear bumper(后保险杠) of a VW bus, holding on to the overhead luggage rack, in the pouring rain, down the highway from New Orleans, half-way to Baton Rouge. The rest of the journey was a long walk, but he survived.
By the first week of September, I flew back to the Baton Rouge airport, and hugged my husband. Since then, our relationship has grown deeper; we have completely rebuilt our house, bought a new car, bought new furniture and new clothes and joined an inspirational, spirit-filled community.
1.Why did the author leave home?
A. To look after her sister.
B. To attend a music festival.
C. To watch a performance.
D. To visit her husband’s cousin.
2.How did the author feel when she left home?
A. Disappointed.B. Worried.C. Tired.D. Unwilling.
3.What does the underlined word “evacuated” mean?
A. Gathered.B. StruggledC. Escaped.D. Hid.
4.What might be the title for the passage?
A. Lost it All, Gained Even More
B. Once Gone, Never Returned
C. Caught in the Hurricane
D. Trapped in a Dilemma
When I was young at school, I loved to talk, a characteristic not always appreciated by Miss Jordan, my tenth-grade English teacher.
She was a teacher no one wanted because she was so ________. She stood about five-foot-five, was very thin and wore her hair pulled back in a way that gave her a horsy ________. She wore those half-circular reading glasses. Whenever she got upset, she would lower her head and look at you over the top of her glasses.
One day in her class I was busy talking. I didn’t ________ she had stopped teaching and was ________ straight at me. “Young lady, I would like to see you after school.”
Later Miss Jordan ________ in a low, but very firm voice that showed she expected me to listen when she was talking. For ________ she told me to write a thousand word essay on education and its effect on the economy(经济). She wanted it in by the following Wednesday.
Well, I met my deadline. I was ________. It was a good paper. And I expected a sign of ________ from her. The next day in class, ________, she was looking at me over her glasses. She called me forward and ________ my paper. “Go back and rewrite,” she said. “Remember, each paragraph is supposed to begin with a topic sentence.” When she gave my paper back a second time, she ________ the grammar. The third time, the spelling. The fourth time, it was punctuation. The fifth, it wasn’t neat enough. I was ________!
The sixth time, I rewrote the whole paper ________, in ink, leaving generous space. When she saw it, she removed her glasses and smiled. She finally ________ the paper. After that, I put the whole thing out of my ________.
Two or three months passed. One day Miss Jordan came into the class and said to us: “Class, do you still ________ an essay contest held citywide? They’ve announced the ________. I am happy to inform you that Mary has won third prize in the essay contest —‘On the Impact of Education on the Economy’.”
I was amazed and ________. It was the first time I had ever won a prize. Years later, I told a reporter that story, and my comments—including my unfriendly ________ of Miss Jordan’s appearance. Miss Jordan wrote me, and said that her appearance wasn’t what was important. What was important was the ________ I had learnt. When I wrote and rewrote that paper for her, I began to learn how to discipline myself.
1.A. open-mindedB. strictC. carefulD. cold-hearted
2.A. lookB. shapeC. styleD. character
3.A. guessB. believeC. imagineD. realize
4.A. wavingB. laughingC. staringD. running
5.A. complainedB. whisperedC. explainedD. apologized
6.A. objectionB. motivation
C. punishmentD. encouragement
7.A. confidentB. concernedC. nervousD. helpful
8.A. suggestionB. approvalC. commentD. respect
9.A. otherwiseB. moreoverC. howeverD. therefore
10.A. changedB. toreC. openedD. returned
11.A. masteredB. correctedC. taughtD. identified
12.A. relievedB. gratefulC. relaxedD. sick
13.A. carelesslyB. eagerlyC. vaguelyD. slowly
14.A. publishedB. acceptedC. finishedD. studied
15.A. mindB. listC. questionD. sight
16.A. rememberB. enterC. expectD. organize
17.A. plansB. winnersC. participantsD. names
18.A. curiousB. anxiousC. thrilledD. enthusiastic
19.A. conclusionB. reaction
C. recommendationD. description
20.A. lessonB. meaningC. skillD. result
Life isn’t always beautiful, ________ the struggles make you stronger and the changes make you wiser.
A. orB. soC. butD. for
