Millions of families around the world have been giv?en a helping hand out of poverty by micro-credits. These very small loans, usually less than US $ 200, have ena?bled the very poorest people to set up or expand busines?ses and become self-sufficient.

The micro-credit movement started with Professor Muhammad Yunus, who founded the Grarneen Bank in Bangladesh. Professor Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, used his own money to set up a bank to benefit the poorest people in Bangladesh―families living on less than US $ 1 a day. There are now hundreds of organizations around the world following his blueprint to help people escape from poverty.

So how does the system work? Local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) make contact with families and offer loans, usually to women, to enable them to start or expand a business. These are very poor people who would not normally be able to get credit, but as no col?lateral (抵押品)is required they can get micro-credits. They pay back the loan on a weekly basis, over six months to a year.

A crucial aspect to the success of the micro-credit system is that receivers get local support. The MFIs educate local communities about ways to improve their

lives, and offer practical support as well as collecting weekly loans payments. They encourage people to help each other, so that the whole community can pull itself out of poverty. MFIs may also help with literacy and health problems.

Micro-credits are mainly given to women. Experi?ence has shown that women are more motivated to improve their children's lives and will spend the money they make on better nutrition and schooling for their children. This may be the first chance they've had to contribute financially to the family, and their status in the home and the local community is raised.

The micro-credit system is not charity. The payments are fixed-term loans and interest is charged. The costs of making such small loans, collecting them and giving personal support are high. This is reflected in the interest rates, which range from 15 to 35 per cent. Despite this, the repayment rate is very high, between 95 and 98 per cent, showing that micro-credit clients re?ally value this opportunity to leave poverty behind.

5.    Micro-credits are offered to the poorest people around the world in order to A.    make profits out of the poor

B.    support poor people out of poverty

C.    establish more micro-credit institutions

D.    promote the development of world economy

6.    Why are bank loans mainly made to women?

A.    Because they make more financial contribution to the family.

B.    Because they hold higher status in the home and community.

C.    Because they are more reliable and likely to repay the loan.

D.    Because they are more likely to spend the profits on their children.

7.    The high repayment rate of the loan suggests that

A.    people do hope to take advantage of the loan to get out of poverty

B.    it is easy to make money with the aid of micro?credits

C.    micro-credits are very popular with poor families

D.    most micro-credit clients keep their promises well

8.    The passage is most probably taken from the      

section of a magazine.

A. Health       B. Business

C. Finance      D. Education

One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like "I was wrong about that."  and it is even harder to say, "I was wrong? and you were right about that.

I had an experience recently with someone admit?ting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons (箱子).Then he related an incident and I began to remember clearly the incident he was describing.

I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly-grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place.

There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of cartons. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together, so I went to work.

The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting (examining) some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I was the criminal. He severely scolded me and wanted me to pay for all the broken eggs. I protes?ted my innocence and tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the inci?dent, obviously the manager did not.

1.    The author was       when he wrote this article.

A. about 8      B. about 18

C. about 23     D. about 15

2.    Who was to blame for knocking off the stacks of car?tons?

A. The author. B. The manager.

C. The woman.      D. The author's mother.

3.    When the manager scolded him the author   .

A.    was frightened and cried

B.    tried to explain

C.    did not say anything

D.    felt the manager was right

4.    It can be inferred that the author .

A.    regrets arguing with the manager for what he didn't do

B.    would like to tell people never to be fooled by an egg sale

C.    has forgiven the manager for what he did to him fifteen years ago

D.    expects the woman to say sorry to him for the mistake she made

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