Do you think it is ever a good idea for a teenager to have a credit card?

My kids watch closely as I swipe the card through the register．They’ve seen me do it hundreds, thousands of times．Cool．They are itching to swipe it through the machine themselves． When we walk out of the store with our groceries or pet food, or whatever, it’s almost as though money has not changed hands, painless, easy．

So it shouldn’t be shocking to discover that teenagers are becoming card carrying consumers in their own right．The question is, should they?

    While some argue it’s best to teach kids how to use a credit card while still living under the family roof, not everyone agrees． Dave Ramsey, financial expert says getting a credit card for your teenager is actually, “an excellent way to teach him or her to be financially irresponsible．”

Now parents are required to co-sign on credit cards for children under 21．“If their name is on the credit card, then the parent may say, ‘Hey, my name is on this．Don’t get me into trouble,” says Mary Beth Pinto, a marketing professor．“When parents were the co-obligors（共同借贷人），the children caused less debt．If the parents are the co-obligors, the tendency is that the parents were explaining how to use the cards．” Still, Pinto believes parents should start the process much earlier．“Yes, there has to be teaching going on and it has to start when they’re younger． You’re not going to get rid of credit cards．They are here to stay． You have to have them． You can’t fight progress,” Pinto said．

Ramsey, however, disagrees．“Throwing teens into a pool of （credit）sharks is a sure way to guarantee a life-time of heartache,” he said．“You can make online purchases and rent a car with a credit card．Of course, you must have money in your bank account before you can make a purchase with a credit card．But paying for things with money is what you are supposed to do．”

1.The author mentioned her experience in Para 2 mainly to______．

   A． prove the convenience of using credit cards

   B． tell what impression credit cards leave on kids

   C． give advice on using credit cards wisely

   D． explain the pleasure credit cards bring to customers

2.The underlined word in Para 2 can be replaced by __________．

   A． eager           B． afraid          C． embarrassed     D． thankful

3.What’s Ramsey’s attitude towards teens’ using credit cards?

   A． He feels it is worth a try               

    B． He is very supportive

   C． He is strongly against it                 

    D． He considers it as a pleasant experience

4.Pinto will most likely agree that __________．

   A． parents should let teens own their credit cards earlier

   B． you shouldn’t be in control of credit cards

   C． it is never good for anyone to get a credit card

    D． learning to use credit cards is practical

 

 

　　      

第二卷（45分）

第一节：阅读表达（每小题３分，共１５分。）

阅读下面的短文，并根据要求回答问题。

         Confidence: you’ve either got it or you haven’t, right? Wrong. Most people learn confidence

as they go through life.

         Even if you are shaking like a leaf on the inside, you’ll make a lasting impression if you can come across as confident. Here are some confidence-building tips.

         Fake(假装) it! If you can pretend that you feel confident when you don’t and keep on doing so, your fake confidence will soon turn into real confidence. It only takes a few repetitions of an activity for it to become a habit—so get in the habit of         .

         Think it. For an instant encouragement to yourself-esteem (自尊心), recall three things that give you positive emotions. It could be a great compliment somebody paid you, a special time when you felt happy and popular, or when you really excelled (胜过别人) at something. Bringing them to mind will help you to feel good instantly—and when you feel good, you have greater confidence.

         Focus it. Difficult situations, such as interviews or new jobs, can make you feel shy. If you’re feeling anxious about yourself, stop thinking about yourself and focus on something else. It could be that you focus on something normal, like the view out of the window, or that you pay more attention to the task at hand—getting the job! Either way, you'll feel less awkward.

         Talk it. If you keep telling yourself that you're not good at something, you’ll start to believe it. Next time you blame yourself, ask yourself whether you'd talk to your friends like that. So quit being negative and start recognizing and appreciating the things you are good at.

         Walk it. Great posture can signal great confidence. Walk with a purposeful stride, walk with your back straight and with your head held up high!

1．What is the best title of the passage?  （within 8 words）

                                                                               

2．Please fill in the blank in the 3rd paragraph with proper words to complete the sentence. 

    （within 6 words.）

                                                                               

3．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

         Stop finding fault with yourself and try to think more about your advantages.

                                                                               

4．Which of the tips given in the passage will work best with you? Why? （within 30 words.）

                                                                               

                                                                               

5．Please translate the underlined sentence in the third paragraph into Chinese.

                                                                               

 

How many coins have you got in your pocket right now? Three? Two? or One?

With a phonecard you can make up to 200 calls without any change at all.

   1. What do you do with it?

Go to a telephone box marked “Phonecard”. Put in your card to start, make your call and when you have finished, a screen tells you how much is left on your card.

It costs no extra for the cards, and the calls cost 10p per unit, the same as any other pay-phone call.

You can buy them in units of 10, 20, 40, 100 or 200.

   2. Now appearing in a shop near you

Near each phonecard place you will find a shop where you can buy one. They’re at bus, train and city tube stations.

At many universities, hospitals and clubs, restaurants and gas stations on the highway and shopping centers.

At airports and seaports.

    3. No more broken payphones

Most broken payphones are like that because they’ve been damaged. There are no coins in a cardphone to excite thieves’ interest in it. So you’re not probably to find a broken one.

Get a phonecard yourself and try it out. Or get a bigger wallet.

1.The passage is most probably          .

         A．a warning                    B．a notice

         C．an advertisement             D．an announcement

2.There are three sections in the passage. Which one do you think is about why phonecards are good?

           A．Section 1  B．Section 2.   C．Section 3.    D．none.

3.Which statement of the following is right by inference（推断）?

           A．Using a phonecard will cost you less money than payphone call.

           B．Phonecards are easier to carry.

           C．If a thief steals your phonecard, he can’t use it any more.

           D．When you finish your call, take out your card first and then you will see how many calls you can still make.

 

It’s great fun to explore new places—it feels like an adventure, even when you know you’re not the first to have been there. But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.

·Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere. It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn, or you’ll have to move to the back seat.

·Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You’ll need a good map, a compass(指南针), a raincoat, a cellphone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies. Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back. The test is not in getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.

See if your school or a club organizes orienteering(越野识途比赛) activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B (and B to C, etc) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. Either way, it’s not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit.

1. Sitting beside the driver, you should _______.

A. direct the driver when necessary

  B. look ahead to see where there’s a turn

  C. move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable

  D. Keep looking at the map to find a place to go to

2. Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?

A. To get information when in danger.

B. To be saved in case of an accident.

C. To share the fun with him/her in exploration.

D. To tell him/her what’s going on with the group members.

3. Orienteering activities can _______.

A. make people work fast                 B. help people stay healthy

C. help people organize other activities      D. make people get prepared for sports.

4. The text mainly talks about _____.

A. the fun of exploration                  B. what to bring for exploration

C. the way to use a map in exploration       D. how to prevent getting lost in exploration.

 

How clean are the nation’s homes?

According to a survey by CIF, there’s room for improvement all over Britain.

Love or hate it — cleaning your home is one job you simply can’t ignore（忽视）. But that’s not to say everyone spends the same amount of time or effort on making their places spotless. A new survey by CIF— experts on making tough cleaning jobs easier—— shows that when it comes to washing windows or cleaning the oven（烤箱）,where you live in the UK it may show how much effort you put into the task.

BATHROOM

25% of men have never cleaned the toilet — but those in Wales are the worst. Nearly four in 10 Welsh men said they never cleaned anywhere in the house. Hate cleaning the shower head? You’re not alone — a  quarter of a million Brits say the same. 20% of Scots regard window-cleaning as their most hated job.

KITCHEN

36% of people in the south-east say cleaning the cooker is their hated task. 68% of those in the north-east spend more than six hours a week cleaning their homes — especially the kitchen — in sharp contrast to the 49% of Welsh and West Country folk, who put their hands up to cleaning for under an hour.

BEDROOM

18% believe cleaning starts here: that’s the percentage of women who clean wearing their dressing gowns. 51% of women in the north-west may be staying in bed and giving their husband a cuddle（拥抱）—as a thank-you for helping them clean. In other places, there are far fewer helpful men.

LIVING ROOM

32% of women in the north-east turn up the stereo to help make the dusting more fun. Almost six in 10 women agree, however, that cleaning is seriously energetic exercise.

SHIFT THE DIRT WITH CIF

It’s no secret that the right cleaning products will cut cleaning time and effort in half— and no one knows that better than How Clean Is Your house? Presenters Aggie Mackenzie and Kim Woodburn. For solutions（解决办法）to all your cleaning needs, here are some of CIF’s top tips:

·Stop a lot of build-up on your shower head—give it a quick squirt（喷洒）with CIF bathroom spray once a week.

·Stainless steel（不锈钢）tools seem to need endless cleaning. The CIF Wild Qrchid Qxy-Gel-it lifts dirt easily and leaves the kitchen smelling fresh and clean.

·Cooking outside? CIF cream will get your barbecue （烤架）spotlessly clean, ready for those long, lazy summer evenings. Perfect!

The main purpose of this passage is to ______.

A. tell us the results of a certain survey

B. advertise a certain product

C. advise men to do more cleaning housework

D. tell us which is the hardest job at home

It can be concluded from the survey that people in different parts of Britain______.

A. have different views on house cleaning

B. spend different amounts of time and effort on house cleaning

C. like to do different kinds of housework

D. have different ways to do housework

According to the survey,______ spend the most time cleaning their homes.

A. the Welsh                   B. people in the north-west        

C. people in the south-east        D. people in the north-east

CIF in the passage probably refers to ______.

A. an organization doing research on housework

B. a group of experts who give advice on doing housework

C. a company providing advice and products on cleaning

D. a company providing cleaning services