Things of Value

Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.

We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.

Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.

The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.

The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.

Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.

It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

1.                A．answer         B．task            C．chance   D．call

2.                A．packed         B．bought         C．searched D．sold

3.                A．worry          B．think           C．care D．doubt

4.                A．mark           B．sign            C．living D．plan

5.                A．albums         B．ceilings         C．windows  D．walls

6.                A．left            B．remained       C．burnt D．unmoved

7.                A．connection      B．present         C．symbol   D．treasure

8.                A．forgot          B．agreed         C．learned   D．refused

9.                A．quality         B．taste           C．sense    D．value

10.               A．knocking out     B．leaving behind   C．giving away D．picking out

11.               A．even though     B．unless          C．but   D．or

12.               A．contained       B．included        C．represented    D．gathered

13.               A．idea           B．lie             C．right  D．story

14.               A．sounds         B．speeds         C．voices D．feelings

15.               A．once          B．never          C．seldom    D．finally

16.               A．spared         B．returned       C．stopped   D．found

17.               A．at last          B．in return        C．in another way  D．at most

18.               A．curiously       B．accidentally     C．coldly D．wisely

19.               A．knew          B．promised       C．announced D．thanked

20.               A．affects         B．matters         C．helps D．desires

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．

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

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

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

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．

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. Parents often give their children an amount of money that they may spend as they wish. The purpose is to let the children learn from experience at an early age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
A child may receive an allowance each week or each month. The amount is not so important.  But parents should make clear what 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 should not offer more money until the next allowance is to be given.
Older children may be responsible enough to budget larger costs like those for clothing. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving.
Many people who have written on the subject 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 home, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to organizations. 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 allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer free savings accounts for young people with small amounts of money.
【小题1】The functions of allowances given to children are the following EXCEPT ______.

A．Children should save part of their allowance.

B．Don’t pay your child for work around the home.

C．Allowance helps teach children early about money.

D． Parents should allow children to spend money as they wish.

A．Children are advised to buy anything they wish to with the allowance.

B．Parents should offer children more money if they spend all of their allowance soon after they get it.

C．It can be useful to pay children to do extra work around the home.

D．It is unnecessary for the children to save part of the allowance.

  Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience 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 choices 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 allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A savings 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 percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, 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.
77.For children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.　　
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends　　
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves　　
C. save money like their parents or other adults　　
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
78．Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.　　
A. meet children’s basic need for life       
B. give control over their children　　
C. see whether they have financial mistakes  
D. help children learn how to manage money
79.If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.　　
A. can experience three things related to money　　
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice　　
C. will do more work around the house　　
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
80. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Be Generous to Pay Your Children
B. Be Wise to Avoid Financial Mistakes
C. Saving Allowances Does Good to Children
D. Allowances Help Children Learn about Money

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．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