Do you think it is ever a good idea for a teenager to have a credit card?
My kids watch closely as I swipe the card through the register．They’ve seen me do it hundreds, thousands of times．Cool．They are itching to swipe it through the machine themselves． When we walk out of the store with our groceries or pet food, or whatever, it’s almost as though money has not changed hands, painless, easy．
So it shouldn’t be shocking to discover that teenagers are becoming card carrying consumers in their own right．The question is, should they?
While some argue it’s best to teach kids how to use a credit card while still living under the family roof, not everyone agrees． Dave Ramsey, financial expert says getting a credit card for your teenager is actually, “an excellent way to teach him or her to be financially irresponsible．”
Now parents are required to co-sign on credit cards for children under 21．“If their name is on the credit card, then the parent may say, ‘Hey, my name is on this．Don’t get me into trouble,” says Mary Beth Pinto, a marketing professor．“When parents were the co-obligors（共同借贷人），the children caused less debt．If the parents are the co-obligors, the tendency is that the parents were explaining how to use the cards．” Still, Pinto believes parents should start the process much earlier．“Yes, there has to be teaching going on and it has to start when they’re younger． You’re not going to get rid of credit cards．They are here to stay． You have to have them． You can’t fight progress,” Pinto said．
Ramsey, however, disagrees．“Throwing teens into a pool of （credit）sharks is a sure way to guarantee a life-time of heartache,” he said．“You can make online purchases and rent a car with a credit card．Of course, you must have money in your bank account before you can make a purchase with a credit card．But paying for things with money is what you are supposed to do．”
【小题1】The author mentioned her experience in Para 2 mainly to______．

A．prove the convenience of using credit cards

B．tell what impression credit cards leave on kids

C．give advice on using credit cards wisely

D．explain the pleasure credit cards bring to customers

Do you think it is ever a good idea for a teenager to have a credit card?

My kids watch closely as I swipe the card through the register．They’ve seen me do it hundreds, thousands of times．Cool．They are itching to swipe it through the machine themselves． When we walk out of the store with our groceries or pet food, or whatever, it’s almost as though money has not changed hands, painless, easy．

So it shouldn’t be shocking to discover that teenagers are becoming card carrying consumers in their own right．The question is, should they?

    While some argue it’s best to teach kids how to use a credit card while still living under the family roof, not everyone agrees． Dave Ramsey, financial expert says getting a credit card for your teenager is actually, “an excellent way to teach him or her to be financially irresponsible．”

Now parents are required to co-sign on credit cards for children under 21．“If their name is on the credit card, then the parent may say, ‘Hey, my name is on this．Don’t get me into trouble,” says Mary Beth Pinto, a marketing professor．“When parents were the co-obligors（共同借贷人），the children caused less debt．If the parents are the co-obligors, the tendency is that the parents were explaining how to use the cards．” Still, Pinto believes parents should start the process much earlier．“Yes, there has to be teaching going on and it has to start when they’re younger． You’re not going to get rid of credit cards．They are here to stay． You have to have them． You can’t fight progress,” Pinto said．

Ramsey, however, disagrees．“Throwing teens into a pool of （credit）sharks is a sure way to guarantee a life-time of heartache,” he said．“You can make online purchases and rent a car with a credit card．Of course, you must have money in your bank account before you can make a purchase with a credit card．But paying for things with money is what you are supposed to do．”

1.The author mentioned her experience in Para 2 mainly to______．

   A． prove the convenience of using credit cards

   B． tell what impression credit cards leave on kids

   C． give advice on using credit cards wisely

   D． explain the pleasure credit cards bring to customers

2.The underlined word in Para 2 can be replaced by __________．

   A． eager           B． afraid          C． embarrassed     D． thankful

3.What’s Ramsey’s attitude towards teens’ using credit cards?

   A． He feels it is worth a try               

    B． He is very supportive

   C． He is strongly against it                 

    D． He considers it as a pleasant experience

4.Pinto will most likely agree that __________．

   A． parents should let teens own their credit cards earlier

   B． you shouldn’t be in control of credit cards

   C． it is never good for anyone to get a credit card

    D． learning to use credit cards is practical

A new idea called “business at the speed of thought” is quite popular in our business world. It makes quick marketing progress, but it also presents a terribly dangerous way to run a company. Here’re the main points: The businesses today that will succeed are those able to jump around in high spirits. Chances must be seized immediately and decisions made quickly. Everyone needs more immediate answers, and the window of expected response to any questions has dropped from weeks to days even to hours.

The problem with this way of thinking is that too often such quickness comes at the expense of properly understanding the details of a situation. Sure, the networked society allows us to gather information within a short time, but does it really speed up our ability to make better decisions? How do you balance the need for speed with sharp and correct thinking? That’s the puzzler on the minds of a lot of people these days, including Future Shock author, Alvin Toffler, who studies the idea in our cover story. It’s also a subject of a new study by Kepner Tregoe. It reports that 77 percent of managers believe that during the past three years the number of decisions they made each workday has increased. But 85 percent of those same people say the time given to making those decisions has either decreased or stayed the same. Result: Speed kills. Different opinions are not shared. Other choices are dismissed too easily. Aims never seem to be clear. On the contrary, good records aren’t kept about how successful decisions are made. If your company really does well, the Kepner report suggests taking apart the decision-making process and figuring out what you did right. Study your successes, as well as your failures. Fast decision-making is a necessity sometimes-no question about that. But decisions are only as good as the brains that go into them. By that measure, many of today’s decisions are weak and could cut some companies off at the knees. Business may be keeping the quickness of thought, but it’s going to be torn to pieces if managers are not thinking with great care and patience.

1．The underlined word “window” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.

       A．a period of time (during which an activity can or must take place)

       B．means (of observing and learning about people)

       C．opening (in the wall or roof of a building, car)

       D．screen (on which a film is shown)

2．The Kepner report shows that _________.

       A．managers should make efforts to pay attention to the weaknesses of fast decision-making

       B．when mangers make a decision, they should make full use of their brains

       C．if mangers don’t think quickly, business may be torn to bits

       D．managers should make records of successful decisions

3．What is the author’s attitude towards quick decision-making?

       A．Quick decision-making has proved of great help in marketing.

       B．The fact of quick decision-making does business much good.

       C．Quick decision-making makes some managers work harder.

       D．The idea of quick decision-making has some disadvantages.

Americans think that travel is good for you. Some even think it can help to solve one of the coun??try ’ s worst problems ~: crime (犯罪）.

Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes is up and up. And many criminals (罪犯）are young. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all.

There are many young criminals in prison，but prison doesn ’ t change them. Six or seven in ten will go back to crime when they come out of prison.

One man ,Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger. This helped them grow into men. So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest. “ He takes young criminals on a long ,long journey with horses and wagons (马车）， 3,000 miles through seven states. They are on the road for more than a year.

The young people in Vision Quest all have bad problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance.

It's hard work on the road. The day starts before the sun comes up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before  but they love their horses. That love can help them to live a new life.

Not all the young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. Three or four in ten will one day be in prison again. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you. Even today, Americans still say, “ Go west, young men. ”

In the last paragraph “leave crime behind them" means    .

A. no longer do a crime B. leave people who do a crime

C. don't do all the crimes       D. leave criminals behind

Why is Bob Burton right?

A .Because he can help to solve crime.

B .Because three or four is better than six or seven.

C .Because the young criminals have a hard life on the road.

D .Because he can stop crime in the country.

Form the passage we may infer that   .

A .getting up before the sun rises can help out of crime

B .we can hardly find a person who has no love for anybody or anything

C .travelling can help all criminals out of prison

D .young people can do anything freely

     On “ Vision Quest"   .

A. young people have bad problems

B .young people grow tall very fast

C .young people often help their friends in time of danger

D .all of the above

Americans still say, "Go west, young men. ”because .

A .if they go west they can have a travel

B .in the west there is a prison

C .there they have to live a hard life to grow into men

D .prison doesn't change them

Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us, from earliest school days, have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.

“On the contrary, “says L. Giambra, an expert in psychology (心理学), “daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn't get done all the thinking it has to do during a normal day... You can't possibly do all your thinking with a conscious(有意识的)mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states of mind have silent dialogues. “

Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, “We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures. Day dreams really are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life. “

Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand. It's easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of handling(处理) them.

Daydreams cannot be predicted(预料); they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.

So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don't stop. Just pay attention to your dream. It may be more important than you think.

Daydreaming used to be considered      .

       A. very simple and direct             B. unimportant or even harmful

       C. a necessary part of thinking      D. the result of an unconscious mind

In what way are daydreams different from sleep dreams?

       A. Daydreams help us to handle more difficult situations.

       B. Daydreams are not so easy for us to control and direct.

       C. Daydreams are easier for us to understand.

       D. Daydreams help to develop an unconscious mind.

Professor Eric Klinger believes that      .

       A. we may study our experiences just through our daydreams

       B. daydreaming is one of the important ways that we recognize our lives

       C. our fears and longings in life are shown in our daydreams

       D. we should be able to tell our futures by having daydreams

The writer of the article thinks that      .

       A. daydreaming is more helpful than sleep dreams

       B. daydreaming with an unconscious mind will do good to health

       C. Professor Eric Klinger has a better idea than L. Giambra

       D. many artists and scientists are famous because they have daydreams

Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

       A. Daydreaming was once regarded as a cause of some mental illnesses. 

       B. Many well-known artists gained energy of creation from daydreams.

       C. Experts began to have a better understanding of daydreams in the late 1980s.

       D. Scientists believe that we can know daydreams before having them.