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.

“Mark Twain” was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835～1910) when he wrote books.His father was a lawyer，but a poor one，who lived in Florida，Missouri.The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching.He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met.His father died when he was very young，and then there was even less money than before.

Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great Mississippi River，and he did this himself at one time (1857).

Where did he find the name “Mark Twain”？ It came from the great river itself.It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships.When a man called “By the mark twain！” he meant that the river was “two marks deep” there，that is to say，six feet deep ( “Twain” is an old form of the word “Two”.) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young，and he used them as a pen name all his life.

During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds，and this helped him a great deal when he started to write.But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861.Many of the great ships on the river stopped work.Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother，who was at that time Governor of Nevada.There，near the town of Carson，Samuel became a gold miner，but he never made much money at the time.He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him.He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada，and this seemed more hopeful.He found that he could write.

He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy.In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon，and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing.Among his books is his own story (1908).

He is now always known as Mark Twain，and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens.He traveled in America and in England，and went to Oxford in 1907.He was one of the great American writers of the time，and could make his readers laugh—a thing which few writers can do.He died in 1910.

1.“Mark Twain” was         .

A.a famous American writer

B.name of a book

C.a great river in America

D.a large ship

2.As a child，Samuel did not get much education because         .

A.his father died too early

B.the family was very poor

C.he disliked school very much

D.he could learn what he liked from the people he met

3.What gave him a great deal when he started writing?

A.His poor childhood.

B.The Mississippi River.

C.All kinds of travelers he met.

D.His brother.

4.We can infer（推断）from the passage that         .

A.Samuel loved writing from his early age

B.Samuel did not love writing at the beginning

C.his writings to the newspaper were successful

D.his brother encouraged him to write more

5.According to the writer of the passage，a good writer could         .

A.write a lot for his readers

B.make a lot of money for his family

C.cause his readers to laugh

D.travel everywhere he wanted

Today, we talk to an up-and-coming (有前途的) erhu player, Lee Hang, from Hong Kong. He’ll play with the Hong Kong Orchestra (管弦乐队) next Sunday in a special concert by young Chinese musicians.

Interviewer: Thank you for talking to us, Lee. You must be very excited.

Lee: Yes, I am. This is the first time that I’ve played with such a famous orchestra and in front of so many people. They’re expecting about 4,000 people.

Interviewer: Does that scare you?

Lee: To be honest, yes. I haven’t slept much in the last few days. But my teacher told me I wouldn’t take it seriously enough if I wasn’t scared. That helped a lot.

Interviewer: Tell me about why you started playing the erhu.

Lee: My parents took me to piano and violin lessons. I quite liked them but they had to force me to go sometimes. One night, I saw a documentary about Yo Yo Ma, the famous Chinese American cello(大提琴) player. He talked about his love of Chinese instruments and we should follow our interests. I always enjoyed listening to Chinese instruments like the erhu and guzheng. That inspired me to learn the erhu. My parents were glad that I was playing something I actually liked.

Interviewer: What do your friends think of you playing a Chinese instrument?

Lee: Well, a lot of my classmates think playing things like the erhu isn’t cool. I don’t care. It makes me happy. I got a letter from Yo Yo, saying how much he admired me and that he’d like to meet me next time when he’s in Hong Kong. They thought that was pretty cool!

Interviewer: And what does the future hold for you?

Lee: I’d like to study music in a university in China then hopefully play in orchestras. My ambition is to bring the beautiful sound of the erhu to all the corners of the world.

Interviewer: Well, if anyone can, it’s you. Thanks for talking to me, Lee. Good luck.

Lee: Thanks.

What will Lee Hang do next Sunday?

A. He will have an interview. 

B. He will talk to a newspaper reporter.

C. He will play a Chinese musical instrument at a concert.

D. He will study in a university in China.

Lee _______ because of the concert.

A. hasn’t been sleeping well    B. hasn’t been sleeping 

C. will meet 4000 people       D. has been afraid of his teacher

Lee started playing the erhu ________ a film about Yo Yo Ma.

A. before seeing   B. while seeing   C. after seeing    D. to copy

Lee likes playing the erhu _______ the piano and violin.

A. less than   B. as much as   C. more than    D. because his parents like

Lee’s friends thought _______ was great.

A. getting a letter from a famous musician     B. writing a letter to a famous musician

C. playing Chinese musical instruments       D. seeing Yo Yo Ma in Hong Kong

附加题：阅读理解（共5小题；每小题3分，满分15分。把答案涂到答题卡上）
The pen is more powerful than the sword（利剑）. There have been many writers who use their pens to write things that were wrong.  Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them.
She was born in the U. S. A. in 1811. One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race. The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won.
This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin. There was a time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery. Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting, if only to show how a warm-hearted writer can arouse people's sympathies. The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor seen a slave. The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent the true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were widely excited over it, and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free.
61. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe became famous for__________.
A. one of her books           B. she was a very heartedly person
C. she was a kind wife         D. she worked for the war
62. How old was Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe when her world famous book was published?
A. About sixty years old.      B. Over fifty years old.
C. In her forties.             D. Around twenty years old.
63. What do we learn about Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe from the passage?
A. Before the civil war she had been a slave.
B. Before the civil war she had lived in the north of America.
C. She had a good school education.
D. She was better at writing than swinging a sword.
64. Why could Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's book cause a civil war in America? Because_______.
A. she disclosed(揭露) the terrible wrongs done to the slaves in the Southern States
B. she wrote so well that the Americans loved her very much
C. the Americans were too excited when they reads the book
D. the Southern Americans hated the book, while the Northern Americans liked it
65. What can we learn from the passage?
A. No war can be won without such a book as Uncle Tom's Cabin.
B. We must understand the importance of literature and art.
C. We needn't use weapons to fight things that are wrong.
D. A writer is more helpful in war than a soldier.

Queen Victoria was monarch of Great Britain from 1837 until her death in 1901. This period is often called the Victorian Age.

Queen Victoria was a stern and serious woman. One reason she was so serious was that she had suffered a  great loss. When she was twenty years old, she married a German prince named Albert. Victoria and Albert were deeply in love, and their marriage was extremely happy. In 1861, after they had been married for twenty-one years, Albert died, leaving Queen Victoria heartbroken. For the rest of her life, the lonely Victoria mourned his loss. It was customary in those days for a widow to dress in black for a short time after the death of her husband. But Queen Victoria dressed in black for forty years. And for forty years, as another sigh of her grief, she wrote her letters white paper edged in black.

Even before Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was known as a very serious woman. She had a strong sense of duty and worked very hard at all her tasks. In her diary she wrote, “I love to be employed; I hate to be idle.” She never forgot that she was Britain’s queen and always acted with great dignity. Victoria had high ideals and moral standards that sometimes made her seem stuffy. She was also very sure of herself. She always thought that she was right, and she expected everyone to agree with her.

Which of the following statements about Queen Victoria  is NOT true?

She had great confidence in herself.

She ruled Great Britain for sixty-four years.

She enjoyed her marriage to a German prince.

She became a serious woman after her beloved husband died.

Queen Victoria wrote her letters on white paper edged in black because______

she was a very serious woman.

black was her favorite color.

that was one way to show her feeling of sadness.

it was a custom among monarchs of Great Britain.

All of the following characteristics except ______ can be used to properly describe Queen Victoria.

A. moral       B. lonely      C. workaholic( 工作狂)   D. compromising (妥协)