Parents need to be good role models to help their children make sensible financial decisions, according to Adam Hancock and hs team, from East Caronlina University in the US. Their work highlights that parents who argue about finances contribute to increasing credit card debt among their children during their students years. Their work is published online in Springer's Journal of Family and Economic Issues.

   Credit card debt among college students has been a growing concern for researchers and policymakers over the last decade. In addition, there is growing concern among educators that more students are dropping out of school, not because of academic failure, but because of financial reasons, and credit card especially. Hancock and colleagues' study is the first to examine how parental interactions, and financial knowledge and attitudes may have a cumulative effect（累积效应）on the number of credit cards students own and their level of credit card debt.

   The researchers analyzed data for 420 undergraduate students from seven different American universities, who took part in the College Student Financial Literacy Survey. According to the online survey, nearly two-thirds of students had a credit card, and nearly a third had more than one. Those students who reported that their parents argued about finances were more likely to have more than two cards than the students whose parents who did not argue about finances.

In terms of debt, those students who had two or more credit cards were nearly three times more likely to report having credit card debt over ＄500.

The researchers conclude, "It is clear that the influence of parents cannot be neglected. Researchers, educators and policymakers should work in finding effective ways to increase the positive financial behaviors fo college students. We need to help students learn financial skills and establish healthy financial attitudes at earlier ages to prevent poor financial habits from taking root."

31. In Adam Hancock's research, student's credit card debt is related to their _________.

   A.knowledge            B.concerns           C.school            D.parents

32. When college students have credit card debt, they may ________.

   A.quit school                                B.fail in their exams  

   C.study financial knowledge                    D.have more credit cards

33. What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

   A. More than 400 students i a university took the survey.

   B. The survey was conducted with the paper questionnaire.

   C. Nearly all the students in this survey have credit cards.

   D. Students have fewer cards if their parents argue more.

34. If you have two or more credit cards, you are more likely to ________.

   A.get wealthy           B.have argument       C.buy more things   D.become in debt

35. As a student, what can yo learn from the passage?

   A. We need to turn to our parents when we have credit card debt.

   B. We should build correct financial attitudes when we are young.

   C. We shouldn't have credit cards so that we can avoid argument.

   D. We can have more credit cards to make life more comfortable.

                                      

Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine an early Christmas churchman who reportedly helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day that has his name is even earlier than that.

More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also sent gifts, like flowers of chocolate candy. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some used another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever. May.”

Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States, and 90 other countries as well. This means someone can send a Valentine message to lover in a far-away city or town almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.

1. When was the day named after Valentine?

A. More than 1700 years ago before Valentine’s death  

B. More than 2000 years ago

C. On February 24                              

D. It is not mentioned in the passage.

2. Which is not true about the Roman holiday?

A. Girls put into a container large pieces of paper with their own names on them.

B. Boys and girls became sweet hearts by chance

C. Girls and boys were not lovers for a year.

D. It was celebrated as a holiday for lovers

3. What is the cost of printing a message to show one’s love? It’s _______________.

A. a few dollars                   B. 80 dollars, and more                C. very expensive

D. a few dollars in a local newspaper and 80 dollars in USA Today

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ancient Roman girls were more open and easy-going than boys

B. Valentine was killed for helping lovers

C. Readers of USA Today can send roses to their lovers along with printed messages

D. Valentine was honored by people for his firm Christian belief and warm heart

5. What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To briefly introduce the origin of Valentine’s Day and the modern style.

B. To advertise for USA Today.

C. To tell you that Americans are open to express their love

D. To sell roses on Valentine’s Day.              

 

The lights dimmed，the musical hall grew quiet and out walked the conductor (指挥) shiny and white and 4 feet and 3 inches tall.

ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony (底特律交响乐团), in a performance of “The Impossible  Dream” from “Man of La Mancha”．

“Hello, everyone，” ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra. As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked (模仿) the actions of a conductor,

nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to excited shouts from the audience. Later, cellist Yo－Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education.

Honda spokeswoman Alicia Jones says it is the first time ASIMO has conducted an orchestra, and it may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance. But ASIMO has its  limits. ASIMO's engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony's education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can't respond to the musicians.

“It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a set of gestures，” said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical director. “If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control.”

But several musicians also said ASIMO was more realistic than they expected. “The movements are still a little stiff (僵硬的), but very humanlike, much better than I thought，” Hutchinson said.

1.What's the audience's response to ASIMO's performance?

A．Disappointed.	B．Moved.
C．Excited.	D．Astonished.

2.Whose conducting was ASIMO made to copy?

A．Yo－Yo Ma's.	B．Charles Burke's.
C．Leonard Slatkin's.	D．Alicia Jones's.

3.We can learn from the passage that ASIMO ________.

A．was designed and trained by Yo－Yo Ma

B．can communicate with the audience freely

C．only performs according to the designed programs

D．can change its conducting style freely

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Detroit Symphony gives a good performance

B．Honda robot conducts Detroit Symphony

C．“The Impossible Dream” from Detroit Symphony

D．Cooperation between Honda and Detroit Symphony

 

Aquatic Adventures!

Help Us Get Ready for Showtime!

Trainer Program

What does it take to work with seals or sea lions? Find out with Atlantis Marine World’s Trainer Program and go behind the scenes with our Marine Mammal staff and:

﹒Learn how we train our animals and help train our sea lions to learn how to paint

﹒Go into the seal exhibit with trainers

﹒Join in a seal training period - and get to pet and feed one of our harbor seals

﹒Help prepare food for seals

﹒Attend our Sea Lion Show

﹒Get a kiss from sea lion, Java – and take home a photo

Summer Adventure Days – Camp! Atlantis Style!

Our camp program adds interactive excitement to your child’s summer vacation. Children ages 3 to 14 discover the wonders of the sea environment through age – appropriate activities.

Pirate Snorkel Adventure

Yo-ho-ho, this is a whole lot of fun! Join us this summer for our interactive Pirate Snorkel Adventure and help Captain Poseidon locate missing treasure. While searching our lake, don’t miss tropical fish from all around the world. When you’re done, you’ll walk away with some booty （战利品） of your own – a ＄2.00 game card and a pirate eye patch (海盗眼罩)  featuring our very own Jolly Poseidon!

Smooth Sailing: Taste Long Island Wine Cruise Now Accepting Reservations!

Experience the magic of Taste Long Island, a Saturday evening wine and cheese cruise aboard the Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat. Featuring local wines, this adventure along the Peconic River is a relaxing way to enjoy both beautiful scenery and fine wines. Guests 21 and older only. Members and Green Key Cardholders enjoy 25％ off.

1. If you attend Atlantis Marine World’s Trainer Program, you can _____.

A. watch the performance of sea lions.      B. learn how to paint sea lions.

C. get a chance to kiss sea lions.           D. help prepare a seal exhibit.

2. The activities in Summer Adventure Days are divided according to ____.

A. children’s hobby.                     B. children’s age.

C. the price.                           D. the type of sea animals

3. In which activity will you get something as a reward?

A. Atlantis Marine World’s Trainer Program. B. Summer Adventure Days.

C. Pirate Snorkel Adventure.              D. Smooth Sailing.

4.What is special about Smooth Sailing?

A. Guests under 21 cannot be accepted.

B. It provides famous wines from all over the world.

C. Guests usually get a discount.

D. It doesn’t accept bookings.

 

A 10-year-old boy fatally shot his father Friday, striking him several times as he sat in the front seat of a SUV to pick up the boy from his mother’s home for a weekend visit.
The incident happened about 3:45 p.m. on a cul-de-sac (死胡同)in the 1700 block of Cedar Cove Court, said Sgt. B. E. Williams of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.
An investigation found that Rick James Lohstroh, 41, was shot by his son, who was sitting in the back seat of the man’s Toyota 4-Runner, said Sgt. B. E. Williams of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. The shooting took place outside the home of Lohstroh’s ex-wife, where the boy lives with his mother and a 7-year-old brother.
“We’re not certain of anything until we finish our investigation,” Williams said. “The information we have at this time is that the 10-year-old did fire the weapon.”
The mother and the 7-year-old were inside the house when the shooting occurred, said Williams.
Williams said the gun belonged to the boy’s mother. After firing shots through the back seat, the boy exited(退出) the back of the vehicle and continued to fire at the car.
The man died on the way to Memorial Herman Hospital. Lohstroh was a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The man and woman shared custody（监护）of the children. Williams said the mother and the boy were still in the home talking to investigators Friday night.
Neighbors described the family as being quiet and keeping to themselves.
Justin Gray, 17, was walking in the neighborhood when he heard gunshots. “We’ve had a suicide（自杀）in this neighborhood once, but never anything like this,” Gray said.
【小题1】 The best title for the news should be         .

A．A Boy Shot His Father	B．Shooting Kill a Father
C．An Unbelievable Tragedy	D．A Ten-Year-Old Boy’s Cruelty

【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the news?

A．The father is not responsible for the boy.

B．The family don’t like associating with their neighbours.

C．The boy lives with Rick James Lohstroh.

D．The boy has no brothers or sisters.

【小题3】What can we infer from the report?

A．The tragedy happened because the boy had seen too many films showing violence.

B．The boy killed his father after he quarreled with his father.

C．Such things often occurred in this neighbourhood.

D．The boy’s parents got divorced (离婚).

【小题4】The reason why the boy shot his father      .

A．is clear

B．can’t be made out

C．is not known

D．is quite simple