E  
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

In the very early 　1800’　s, a young boy about 14 years old named John lived in an orphanage (孤儿院) in Old England along with several other children. Orphan meant unwanted and unloved.

Christmas was the one day of the year when the children didn’t work and received a gift, an orange. Usually they tried to taste and preserve it for so long that it often rotted before they ever peeled(剥开)it to enjoy the sweet juice. Many thought were expressed as Christmas time approached. The children would say, “I will keep mine the longest.” John usually slept with his next to his pillow. This year John was overjoyed by the Christmas season. He was becoming a man and stronger and soon he would be old enough to leave. He would save his orange until his birthday in July.

Christmas day finally came. The children were so excited as they entered the big dining hall. Immediately the master shouted, “John, leave the hall and there will be no orange for you this year.” John’s heart broke violently wide open. He turned and went swiftly back to the cold room. Then he heard the door open and each of the children entered. Little Elizabeth with her hair falling over her shoulders, a smile on her face, and tears in her eyes held out a piece of rag to John. “Here John,” she said, “this is for you.” As he lifted back the edges of the rag he saw a big juicy orange all peeled and quartered and then he realized what they had done.

John never forgot the sharing, love and personal sacrifice his friends had shown him that Christmas day. In memory of that day every year he would send oranges all over the world to children everywhere.

1. The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that ______.

   A. John lived in the early 　1800’　s          B. John’s parents had died

   C. John lived a hard life in an orphanage   D. John lived with several other children　　

2. These children would be happiest when ______.

   A. they got the special gift                 B. they preserved it very long

   C. they finally enjoyed the sweet juice       D. they entered the dining hall

3. What would overjoy John most the next year according to the second paragraph?

   A. He placed his orange next to his pillow.

   B. He would eat his orange on his birthday.

   C. He wouldn’t get his special gift.

   D. He would stay in the orphanage for another year

4. According to the text, where did John’s orange come from this year?

   A. It was made up of what these children donated.

   B. His master gave him a whole one again.

   C. These children bought him one.

   D. Little Elizabeth donated hers to John.

5. What can be inferred from the text?

   A. John had expected he wouldn’t get the gift this year.

   B. John knew why he didn’t get the gift this year.

   C. John felt ashamed for not getting the special gift.

   D. The story teaches us to learn to share with others.

第二节：完型填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36--55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出一个最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!
My wife called, “How long will you be with that   36 ? Will you come here and make your dear daughter eat her food?” I threw the paper away and rushed to the   37  . My daughter, Sindu, sat there,   38  welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a big bowl of rice.
　  I   39  the bowl. “Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this rice?”
　　Sindu wiped her tears. “Ok, Dad. I will eat — not just a few mouthfuls,   40  the whole lot of this. But …You should…” Sindu hesitated. “Dad, if I eat this  41  rice, will you give me   42  I ask for?”
　　“Promise”. I   43  the pink soft hand of my daughter with mine. Now I became a bit   44   . “Sindu, dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such   45  items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now.”
　 Slowly and   46 , she finished eating the whole quantity. After that, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with   47  . “Dad, I want to have my head shaved off(剃掉), this Sunday!”was her   48 .
On Monday morning, I  49  her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and   50  . I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy, who just got out of a car, shouted, “Sindu, please wait for me!' What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.
“Sir, your daughter Sindu is   51  indeed!” Without introducing herself, a lady standing beside me continued, “that boy is my son Harish. He is suffering from a disease. He lost all his   52  due to the side effects of the treatment. He   53   to come back to school fearing the unintentional but   54  teasing（取笑）of the schoolmates. Sindu visited him last week, and promised him that she would take care of the teasing issue. But, I   55   imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!”
36. A. bowl         B. newspaper              C. daughter            D. food
37. A. scene            B. kitchen              C. bedroom          D. study
38. A. surprise          B. anger                  C. tears                      D. smiles
39. A. took away        B. picked up            C. put aside          D. put down
40. A. and             B. so                   C. or                 D. but
41. A. delicious       B. terrible              C. entire                     D. wonderful
42. A. whatever         B. wherever             C. whichever             D. whenever
43. A. moved          B. hit                   C. covered               D. put
44. A. nervous          B. anxious               C. excited                D. confused
45. A. valuable             B. useful                C. wonderful        D. expensive
46. A. happily          B. excitedly          C. painfully         D. quietly
47. A. expectation       B. confidence            C. worry            D. curiosity
48. A. message         B. demand                C. note                D. sign
49. A. sent          B. helped             C. dropped               D. collected
50. A. shouted          B. smiled             C. waved            D. nodded
51. A. beautiful       B. lovely             C. faithful               D. great
52. A. friends        B. hair                C. hope               D. face
53. A. refused          B. wished                    C. intended               D. disliked   
54. A. kind                B. cruel                  C. harmless               D. rough
55. A. hardly           B. ever                   C. never                 D. nearly

Well before the 15th century, an Anglo-Saxon custom required that a prospective bridegroom break some highly valued personal belonging. Half of the broken token was held by the father of the bride and the other half by the groom. A wealthy man was expected to split a piece of gold or silver.
The earliest engagement rings were also used as wedding rings, serving to seal an act of sale which transformed ownership of a daughter from father to husband. Such rings were usually of solid gold to prove the groom’s worth.
For Roman Catholics, the engagement ring became a required statement of Nuptial intent（结婚意向）, as decreed by Pope Nicholas I in 860 A.D. The engagement ring was to be of valued metal, preferably gold, which for the husband-to-be represented a financial sacrifice.
Signifying enduring love, and chosen for its durability, the diamond was chosen for the engagement ring. The diamond’s fire is also associated with “love’s clear flame,” given by Medieval Italians because of their belief that the diamond was created from the flames of love.
The Venetians were the first to discover that the diamond is one of the hardest, most enduring substances in nature, and fine cutting and polishing releases the brilliance. Rarity and cost limited their rapid proliferation（急增） throughout Europe but their intrinsic（内在的） appeal guaranteed them a future. By the 17th century, the diamond ring had become the most sought after statement of European engagement.　　
1. Who kept the two halves of the engagement rings before marriage?
A. The bride’s father and the bridegroom’s mother.
B. The bride’s mother and the bridegroom.
C. The bride and the bridegroom.
D. The bridegroom and the bride’s father,
2. What’s TRUE about the early Anglo-Saxon custom before the 15th century ?
A. A will-be bridegroom should beat all his valuable belongings.
B. Every will-be bride should split a piece of gold.
C. The engagement rings were also used to prove the groom’s worth.
D. A rich bride should break one of her most valuable personal belongs.
3. Pope Nicholas made the engagement ring a required statement of nuptial intent ______.
A. in the 15th century           B. over 1,000 years ago
C .in the 1860s                D. by the 17th century
4. What kind of engagement ring has been the most popular one in Europe ?
A. Rings made of gold         B. Rings made of silver
C. Rings made of diamond       D. Rings made of an unknown substance in nature.