If you live in the United States, the law says you can’t have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you can work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can’t earn (赚) your own money? Of course not! Kids who are between the ages of 10 and 13 can earn money by doing lots of things.

Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people’s yards. Lena, 13, makes money by knitting (织) dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors, and Reisa said she had started taking art classes and showing her work to people. People have asked her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine, 13, writes articles for different magazines!

Earning is learning. By working to earn your own money, you are learning the skills you will need to succeed in life. These skills can include things like getting along with others, using technology (技术) and using your time. Some people think that asking for money is a lot easier than earning it; however, when you make your own money, you don’t have to depend on someone else. The five dollars that you earn will probably make you feel a lot better in your hand than the twenty dollars you ask for.

1.Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of _________ in the USA.

A. 17                 B. 14                 C. 13                         D. 10

2.If you are 15 years old, you can’t work _________.

A. after school        B. on weekends       C. during summer  D. on weekdays

3.Reisa makes money by _________.

A. cleaning up other people’s yards

B. drawing pictures for others

C. writing articles for different magazines

D. knitting dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors

4.According to the passage, which of the following is Not True?

A. You are learning how to succeed by working in your teens.[

B. Kids are encouraged to live independently in the USA.

C. Earning one’s money is better than asking for money from others.

D. Kids don’t need to get along with others when making money.

5.From the passage we know that _________.

A. parents won’t let their children earn their own money

B. it’s hard for kids under 14 years old to earn money in the USA

C. kids can learn skills if they try to earn money on their own

D. if kids try to earn money, they won’t have enough time to study

When Amy wrote her first novel in secondary school, she never imagined that she would become a writer one day. Like many 16  writers on the Internet, the  17  woman got into this online world accidentally(偶然地).

Three years ago, Amy worked in a medical industry. Her job kept her busy for six months and left her almost  18  to do for the rest of the year. To fill the time, she started writing  19  on the Internet. Her first novel was about her neighbours and their life 20  she is familiar with.

Amy has been interested in writing  21  she was a child. At first, she just wanted to share her novels  22  people she knew. Then one day an editor of a famous website emailed her, asking her 23  she would like to sell the electronic copyright(授权) of one of her novels. She  24  immediately and the novel was moved to the VIP section of the website. She got $ 1,500 for that.

Now Amy is a full-time  25  . So far her eight novels have come out online, and five of them  26  .

“The Internet made me famous and brought me  27  ,” she said. “I earn much more money now— about $60,000 a year. I am 28  with my career, but there is one problem — that my talent might run out after five years and I’ll have to  29  to work in the medical industry.”

“ Before that day comes, I’ll keep  30  for the readers with my light and close-to-everyday-life writing style,” said Amy with a smile.

16. A. other            B. others           C. another          D. the other

17. A. 28-year-old      B. 28-years-old         C. 28 years old     D. 28-year old

18. A. something        B. anything             C. everything  D. nothing

19. A. reports          B. novels           C. diaries          D. plays

20. A. who              B. which            C. that             D. whom

21. A. when             B. while            C. since        D. until

22. A. about            B. of               C. to           D. with

23. A. that             B. if                   C. why              D. how often

24. A. agreed       B. disagreed            C. refused          D. left

25. A. housewife        B. editor           C. saleswoman  D. writer

26. A. will print       B. were printing        C. printed          D. were printed

27. A. success          B. succeed              C. successful  D. successfully

28. A. unhappy          B. angry            C. satisfied        D. proud

29. A. come         B. go               C. return       D. get

30. A. to write         B. writing              C. write        D. written

Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw a boy in front of him. He had dropped all of the books he was   16 , along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman (随身听).
Mark stopped and helped the boy pick the things up.   17  they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark   18  that the boy’s name was Bill. He loved computer games, basketball, music and history,   19  he was having trouble with some of his   20  in school.
They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was   21  in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed   22  with a few laughs and some small talk, then Mark went home.
They continued to   23  each other at school, had lunch together once or twice a week, and then they   24  finished middle school. Three weeks before they left school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had first   25 . “Did you ever wonder   26  I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill.
“You see, I cleaned out my locker (锁柜) because I didn’t want to leave   27  for anyone else. I was going home to kill myself. But after we   28  some time together talking and laughing, I   29  that if I killed myself, I would have missed many good times. So you see, Mark, when you   30  those books that day, you actually saved my life.”

0ur village carpenter(木匠)，John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife.  He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two window.  When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill( 账单) for his job.
My wife said to me quietly, “That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said in a loud voice, “It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it?” “I’ll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said.  John laughed and gave me his bill for the work.  I read:
One dining table                 10^th November, 2011
Cost of wood                    $ 17:00
Paint                           $1. 50
Work, 8 hours($1 an hour)          $8. 00
Total                           $36. 50
When I was looking at the bill, John said,” It’s been a fine day, hasn’t it? Quite sunny. ”
“Yes,” I said.  “I’m glad it’s only the 10^th of November. ”
“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”
“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30^th, won’t they, John?”
John looked hard at me for half a minute.  Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.
“If it’s not too much trouble, John,” I said,“Please add(加) it up again, You can forget the date-------”
I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it.
【小题1】Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?