It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”

“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.

After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week. ”

1.Which of the following is true?

A. The young man went past the railway station.

B. The young man was working in the railway station.

C. The young man had just got off a train.

D. The young man was waiting for his friend there.

2.What do you think of the car driver?

A. He was a nice and clever man.            B. He was good at driving.

C. He was a dishonest person.               D. He liked to work very hard.

3.The driver felt very ____ when he saw the young man coming out of the railway station.

A. sorry          B. happy           C. proud           D. worried

4. From the passage we know that the young man__________.

A. didn’t want to stay in this city.

B. had been to the hotel several times.

C. knew clearly how far it was from the station to the hotel.

D. must be a stranger and didn’t know the city very well.

5.The driver took the passenger through many streets so as to_________.

A. make the young man happy

B. get more than twenty dollars.

C. let the young man think it was very far from the station to the hotel.

D. let the young man have a good look at the city.

 

A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．
Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．
“And now，ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever.”?
“And，ladies and gentlemen,” the man continued，“I'm not going to charge you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle. Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever.”?
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．
One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it?”
Then another person cried，“Yes，you look as if you're at least sixty years old．?
“Thank you，sir，thank you,” the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine.”?
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by, “Is that true？”?he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？”?
“Don't ask me,” the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years.”?
【小题1】What did the man sell at first at the fair？

A．a cure for colds

B．bottles

C．a cure for old age

D．a medicine that made people live forever

【小题2】How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？

A．one dollar a bottle

B．twenty-five dollars a bottle

C．ten dollars a bottle

D．fifty dollars a bottle

【小题3】What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？

A．仆人

B．朋友

C．同伴

D．助手

【小题4】What does this passage really mean？

A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive．

B．The man is not honest，and neither is his assistant．

C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy．

D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever．

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance (pocket money). The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly．
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration．Some children get a weekly allowance．Others get a monthly allowance．
In any case, parents should make clear what，if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money．At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this，they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget．Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance．
The object is to show young people that a budget demands a choice between spending and saving．Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs，like clothing or electronics．Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home．These jobs are a normal part of family life．
Paying children to do extra work around the house，however，can be useful．It can even provide an understanding of how a business works．
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money．They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want．Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice．You have to cut costs and plan for the future．Requiring children to save part of their allowances can also open the door to future saving and investing．Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance.
A saving account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest．
Compounding works by paying interest on interest．So，for example，one dollar invested at two per-cent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year．The second years，the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents，and so on．That may not seem like a lot．But over time it adds up．
【小题1】Giving an allowance, parents should consider all the following EXCEPT_______.

A．how much the child should get each time	B．whether the child has made a budget
C．where the money really goes	D．how often a child can get it

【小题2】The author of the passage holds the opinion that________.

A．what children learn by handling allowances may be beneficial in the future

B．children can learn to set up their own business with their allowances

C．keeping allowances in the bank is the best choice for children

D．it is not a good idea to pay children for housework at home

【小题3】The underlined words “compound interest” in the passage probably mean ________.

A．increasing curiosity to learn how to make more money

B．stronger power to hold one’s attention to saving money

C．money paid by the bank on your original money and the gain from it

D．the sum of money that you earn from keeping your money in the bank

【小题4】What is the best title for the passage?

A．Be Generous to Pay Your Children．	B．Be Wise to Avoid Financical Mistakes．
C．Saving Allowances Does Good to Children.	D．Allowances Help Children Learn about Money．

It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”

“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.

After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week.”

1.Which of the following is true?____________

A．The young man went past the railway station.

B．The young man was working in the railway station

C．The young man had just got off a train.

D．The you man was waiting for his friend there.

2. What do you think of the car driver?__________

A．He was a nice and clever man.	B．He liked to work very hard.
C．He was good at driving	D．He was not an honest person.

3.The driver felt very _________ when he saw the young man coming out of the railway station.

A．sad

B．sorry

C．happy

D．worried

4.From the passage we know that the young man__________.

A．knew clearly how far it was from the station to the hotel.

B．Had been to the hotel several times.

C．Didn’t want to stay in this city.

D．Must be a stranger and didn’t know the city very well.

 

完形填空(共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第36至第55小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

When I was young,my parents ran a snack bar in our small town.

One evening in early April,my mother told me to fill in at the snack bar   36   a worker who had the flu.I told her I would mess it up,  37  I had never worked at the bar before.I   38  

that instead of making money,I would end up owing it.

“You can do it,”said my mother.“   39   ,you won’t get much business until lunch.”

“But I’ll never remember the orders,and I’m no good ___40_ money.Please,Mom,don’t

    41   me.”

“Then I’ll help you,”she said.

I shrugged my shoulders.I thought my mother’s     42     was a bad one,but I      43     .

When I got to the bar the next day,I found my mother was   44   .Because the weather that day was rainy and cold,people wanted hot snacks and drinks.   45   ,I was really slow at taking the orders and making change.The line of people grew,and everybody seemed   46   .I was so nervous that my hands shook,and I    47   a cup into pieces.What a mess!Then my mother came to   48   me,and she also showed me how to make   49   .If someone gave me $5 for something that cost $3.25,I handed over   50   quarters and a dollar and said,“75 cents makes four dollars,plus one dollar makes five.”Things went more   51   after that.

By the end of the day,I could remember orders,   52   the bill,and make change quickly with a smile.I was even a little   53   when the sun came out and dried up business.My mother said she was proud of me,and when she   54   that I work at the snack bar again next year,I did not even shrug.I was too busy   55   the restaurant I would open one day.

36.A.to                        B.for                     C.after                         D.over

37.A.because                B.though               C.until                         D.while

38.A.promised                     B.noticed               C.worried                     D.hoped

39.A.Therefore             B.However            C.Besides                     D.Yet

40.A.of                        B.on                            C.about                        D.with

41.A.blame                   B.fool                   C.frighten                     D.make

42.A.idea                            B.bar                    C.day                           D.answer

43.A.guessed                B.obeyed               C.begged                      D.admitted

44.A.angry                   B.sad                    C.wrong                       D.ashamed

45.A.At least                B.At last                C.At most                     D.At first

46.A.surprised                     B.impolite             C.pleased                      D.impatient

47.A.damaged               B.destroyed           C.broke                        D.ruined

48.A.scold                    B.help                   C.beat                          D.save

49.A.money                  B.lunch                 C.coffee                       D.change

50.A.two                      B.three                  C.four                          D.five

51.A.smoothly                     B.fairly                 C.simply                      D.conveniently

52.A.turn in                  B.count out            C.take over                   D.add up

53.A.discouraged          B.disturbed            C.disappointed              D.distrusted

54.A.thought                B.stated                 C.announced                 D.suggested

55.A.imagining             B.preparing           C.examining                 D.describing