In the current economic downturn, many American schools are adding a new subject to the curriculum（课程）; financial literacy. One program in Virginia even gets students out of the classroom for a day to learn how far their money will go in the real world.

What looks like a shopping mall is actually an educational field trip experience for a group of young people. Finance Park is a special facility where students apply what they have been taught in class about money management.

“They become, essentially, adults for the day,” says Alice Reilly, social studies coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools. “They are asked to develop a budget for 18 line items that you and I might have in our budget; things like utilities, insurance, groceries, housing.”

Each budget item is represented by a storefront where students collect an option sheet. Students must refer to a card that shows their income and their family size, when they choose what to buy. There’s also a stock ticker so students can keep track of shares in their portfolios（投资组合）.

The facility opened last year in Fairfax, Virginia. It is the fifteenth Finance Park built in the last decade by Junior Achievement USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing young people for financial success.

“Since the financial crisis, the demand for Finance Parks around the country has grown exponentially," says Ed Grenier, president of the Washington, DC chapter. "We have a number under way in the planning and building stages.”

Financial literacy has only recently become part of the regular curriculum in Fairfax County.“Some students, some teachers, some schools did it, but now it is much more systematic," Reilly says, "and it is much more consistent to ensure that all students get this background information.”

That is why every eighth grade student in Fairfax County will eventually spend a day here.Thirteen-year-old Sam says she has learned an important life lesson. “I didn’t know how expensive everything would be.”

Anthony, also 13, is looking forward to telling his parents what he learned. “I’ll probably tell them I want to stay a kid a little longer and take my time to become an adult.”

This isn’t the end of financial studies for Anthony and the other students here. Virginia is one of 13 states which requires students to take a financial education in high school in order to graduate.

1.What is the aim of this Finance Park?

A . To raise enough money for the secondary schools in Virginia.        

B. To enable students to apply money management knowledge to   practice.        

C. To provide students in Virginia with special chances for Advanced Placement.         

D. To direct students in Washington,D.C. to learn more about money management.

2.Who is expected to spend a whole day in the Finance Park?

A .Young people all over Virginia.        

B. Junior students in Washington,D.C.       

C. Eighth graders in Fairfax County.      

D. Eighth graders' parents in Virginia.

3.What can we learn from this passage?

A . Extra curriculum is necessary in secondary schools.       

B. Fairfax County Public Schools set a good example.

C. An organization helps youth in U.S. for financial success.        

D. Financial Literacy is very popular in Washington,D.C.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that _________________.

A . Alice Reilly developed a budget for 18 items in the Finance Park.       

B. ED Grenier was against building more finance parks in U.S.A.        

C. Sam did quite well in  managing his budge in the Finance Park.        

D. Anthony came to know that adult life wasn't as good as expected.

It’s a common belief that over time, pet owners start to look like their animals, and vice versa. Now conies the terrifying news that cats look up to their owners as role models and copy their behavior.

Next time you reach for your fridge, think twice. If Kitty is watching, she is likely to overeat as well.

What is your cat’s IQ?

In a new study from the University of Messina, it turns out that indoor cats who live closely to their owners “mirror” the lives of their caregivers. They sleep at the same time, eat at the same time,  and can even become more or less social depending on the behavior of their owners.

“Cats are intelligent animals with a long memory, ”Jane Brunt, the executive director of the CATalyst Council, told Discovery News. “They watch and learn from us, noting the patterns of our actions. as evidenced by knowing where their food is kept and what time to expect to be fed, how to open the cupboard door that’s been improperly closed, and where their feeding and toileting areas fife. ”Because cats copy our habits, if you spend a lot of time raiding(搜刮)the fridge, your cat will return to its food bowl for that midnight snack, too. According to the study, this explains why “human and cat overweight rates often seem to match. ”So. if you felt guilty about leaving your precious kitty at home while you go to work, now you call feel even worse：You fife making your cat fat!

There’s no word if drinking green tea and making sure you go to Yoga will benefit your cat, but based on the study. it sounds like sticking to a healthy eating and sleeping schedule is best for both of you.

There’s a lot we can learn from our cats in return. “When they sit on our laps softly purring with rhythmic breathing and half-closed eyes. the sense of peace and calm that comes over us is like a private 1esson in inner meditation. ”Brant said. Sure. But cats don’t have to sit in rush hour traffic for an hour a day or worry about their in-laws. They’re probably pretty good at remaining calm.

So, according to science。even though we assumed that cats were not close to us all these years, it turns out they fife in fact learning from us and looking up to us. Scary, huh?

1.According to the passage. which of the following is NOT true?

A．Cats can copy humans’ schedule.          B．Humans can learn from cats in some way.

C．Cats are smart and have fl long memory       D．Green tea and Yoga can benefit cats.

2.What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Humans’ keeping searching the fridge.

B．Cats’ going to their owners for food.

C．Cats’ copying humans’ habit of looking for food.

D．Humans’ leaving cats home while working.

3.What can we learn from our cats?

A．To remain calm.     B．To be able to copy.   C．To stay proud.      D．To look up to friends.

4.The best title for the passage could be ________.

A．Your Cat Can Bring You Pleasure            B．You Are Copying Your Cat

C．You Can Make Your Cat Social              D．Your Cat Is Copying Your Habit

 Derrius Quarles, 19, had an unhappy childhood. But the Chicago teen didn’t give up. He tried his best and won $1 million in college scholarships (奖学金)! Now Derrius is a successful college student with a bright future.

    When Derrius was 4, his father was killed. His mother couldn’t take care of him because of taking drugs. Derrius and his 9-year-old brother sometimes had to steal food to eat. Derrius felt different from other kids. In seventh grade, Derrius went to live in a foster home (寄养家庭). His foster parents weren’t nice to him. They told him that he’d never be anything in life.

    Derrius didn’t do his best in school. The summer after ninth grade, that changed. Derrius had signed up for a biology class. He didn’t go to class the first day. On the second day, he showed up late. His teacher took him outside. She told him he was smart, but that he was wasting his potential (潜力). The talk inspired him and he planned to prove that he could be anything if he worked hard enough.

    Adults at a summer program helped Derrius find out about scholarships he could earn to pay for college. In his senior year, Derrius filled out lots of applications. He told his friends, “You’re not going to see me for a long time.” Derrius’s hard work paid off. He won more than $1 million in scholarships! He has a lot to be proud of. But he’s most proud of helping others. Derrius gives speeches to teens, telling them how to find scholarships. In high school, Derrius got help buying a computer. He wanted to help others who needed them. Last year, he gave two laptops to high school students. There’s a lot of work in his future. Derrius doesn’t mind — hard work has got him where he is today. He knows it can take him anywhere.

1.From Paragraphs 2 and 3, we can learn that Derrius _____.

    A. always studied hard in school

    B. lived in the same foster home with his brother

    C. hated his parents very much

    D. was encouraged a lot by his biology teacher

2.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

A. great success    B. a scholarship

C. hard work        D. a computer

3. What kind of person do you think Derrius is?

A. Lazy but kind-hearted.

B. Selfish and naughty.

C. Confident but troublesome.

D. Determined and generous.

4.What does the author want to tell us?

    A. The way to win a scholarship to a college.

    B. The importance of family background.

    C. Never forget people who have helped you.

D. Hard work pays off sooner or later.

Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. "Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"

The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless （鲁莽的） or daring, the ride can be as thrilling （惊心动魄的） as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the armrests even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.

1.According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?

A．Advertisements on the billboards.           B．Films on television.

C．Buses on the road.                      D．Gas stations.

2.What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.

B．To persuade you to take a long bus trip.

C．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips

D．To describe the billboards along the road.

3.The writer of this passage would probably favor         .

A．bus drivers who aren’t reckless           B．driving alone

C．no billboards along the road               D．a television set on the bus

4.The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because           .

A．they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between

B．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun

C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses

D．both traveling and watching TV are not exciting.

5.The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .

A．comfortable       B．exciting           C．tiring             D．boring

A man was on the side of the road hitchhiking（搭便车）on a very dark night in the middle of a terrible rainstorm, with no cars on the road．The storm was so strong that the man could hardly see a few feet ahead of him．Suddenly, he saw a car come towards him and stop．The man, without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door and only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the steering wheel（方向盘）!

The car started to move very slowly. The man looked at the road and saw a curve （拐弯处）coming his way. Terrified, he started to pray, begging for his life. He had not come out of shock when, just before the car hit the curve, a hand suddenly appeared through the window and moved the wheel. The man, paralyzed with fear, watched how the hand appeared every time the car was drawing near a curve．Finally, although terrified, the man managed to open the door and jump out of the spooky （幽灵般的）car. Without looking back, the man ran through the storm all the way to the nearest town. In a state of complete horror, the man walked into a nearby bar and asked for two glasses of Scotch whisky.

Then, still shaking with fright, he started telling everybody in the bar about the horrible experience he just went through in the spooky car. Everyone in the bar listened in silence and became frightened, with hair standing on end, when they realized the man was telling the truth because he was crying and he was certainly not drunk!

About half an hour later, two other young men walked into the same bar and one said to the other, “Hey, there’s a stupid man who jumped into the car while we were pushing it!”

1.After he entered the car, the man found ____________.

A．it didn’t move at all.                    B．it moved very quickly.

C．there was no driver in it.                  D．someone was pushing it.

2.When the car was first drawing near a curve, the man _______________ .

A．felt very curious                        B．was extremely frightened

C．cried for help                          D．remained as calm as possible

3.According to the passage, what made the man’s experience believable?

A．His reasonable behavior.                  B．His vivid description.

C．His plain appearance.                    D．His honest attitude.

4.We can infer from the passage that ____________ .

A．it is unsafe for people to take a free ride

B．the man was telling a lie to his listeners

C．the car probably broke down on the way

D．the two young men were familiar with the man

5.As a whole , the story of the man can best be described as ______________ .

A．strange           B．puzzling           C．mysterious        D．funny