One day in my class，Maria shared her feelings about money，“Money worries me．I think I want to live without money because I hate it．I HATE MONEY．”We were all touched by Maria's words as they reminded us of the spiritual burdens that money managing can bring to us．After class I offered to help Maria deal with her financial problems．She hesitated to accept my offer，and I could see from the expression on her face that she was afraid of what it might involve．I quickly promised her that I wouldn't make her do more than she was able to．I told her frankly that I didn't enjoy managing my money any more than she did hers and wouldn't burden her with guilt，judgments，or impossible tasks．All I would ask her to do was to let me help her look at her fears and try to make some sense of them．

       Maria still resisted my offer，and I can remember the excuses she gave me as they were the repeated complaints I had heard from so many people．“I'll never understand money，”she said．“My facts are meaningless．”“I don't deserve to have money．”“I never have enough．”“I have too little to manage．”“My financial position isn't worth looking at．”and the most devastating one of all，“I just can't do it．”

       Going home that day，I couldn't get Maria out of my mind：her attitude conveyed the same negativity and  fear that I believed annoyed many people．I was sure it was this attitude that prevented people from managing their money effectively．My counseling（咨询）has taught me that these anxieties are inseparably connected to our self­doubts and fear for survival．Many of us are terrified of handling our money because we don't believe we can do it well，and to do it wrong would put our very existence at risk．

       On a deeper level we know that money is not the source of life，but sense of worth drives us to act as if it were．It locks us up in self­doubts and prevents us from tapping into the true source of our management power，our spirit．

56．The underlined word“devastating”in Paragraph 2 probably means ________．

       A．convincing          B．interesting               C．shocking           D．valuable

57．Maria's words moved the author and others because they were ________．

       A．in the same financial trouble                         B．in the same financial condition

       C．of the same family background                    D．of the same feeling over the issue

58．As for money managing，the author intended to tell Maria how to ________．

       A．overcome her fears                                     B．make wise decisions

       C．avoid making mistakes                                D．learn the necessary skills

59．Maria wouldn't take the author's offer of help for fear of________．

       A．being forced to share her money with others

       B．having to do something beyond her reach

       C．being found guilty of making impossible errors

       D．showing her judgment about money

60．According to the author，people's anxieties about managing money result from their understanding of money as the only source of ________．

       A．life                       B．values                   C．spirit                   D．power

There are still many things that Peter Cooke would like to try his hand at — paper-making and feather-work are on his list. For the moment, though, he will stick to the skill that he has been delighted to make perfect over the past ten years: making delicate and unusual objects out of shells.

As he leads me round his apartment showing me his work, he points to a pair of shell-covered ornaments(装饰品) above a fireplace. “I shan’t be at all bothered if people don’t buy them because I have got so used to them, and to me they’re lovely. I never meant to sell my work commercially. Some friends came to see me about five years ago and said, ‘You must have an exhibition — people ought to see these. We’ll talk to a man who owns an art gallery’”. The result was an exhibition in London, at which 70 per cent of the objects were sold. His second exhibition opened at the gallery yesterday. Considering the enormous prices the pieces command —around ￡2,000 for the ornaments — an empty space above the fireplace would seem a small sacrifice for Cooke to make.

There are 86 pieces in the exhibition, with prices starting at￡225 for a shell-flower in a crystal vase. Cooke insists that he has nothing to do with the prices and is cheerily open about their level: he claims there is nobody else in the world who produces work like his, and, as the gallery-owner told him, “Well, you’re going to stop one day and everybody will want your pieces because there won’t be any more.”

“I do wish, though,” says Cooke, “that I’d taken this up a lot earlier, because then I would have been able to produce really wonderful things — at least the potential would have been there. Although the ideas are still there and I’m doing the best I can now, I’m more limited physically than I was when I started.” Still, the work that he has managed to produce is a long way from the common shell constructions that can be found in seaside shops. “I have a miniature(微型的) mind,” he says, and this has resulted in boxes covered in thousands of tiny shells, little shaded pictures made from shells and baskets of astonishingly realistic flowers.?

Cooke’s quest(追求) for beautiful, and especially tiny, shells has taken him further than his Norfolk shore: to France, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines, to name but a few of the beaches where he has lain on his stomach and looked for beauties to bring home. He is insistent that he only collects dead shells and defends himself against people who write him letters accusing him of stripping the world’s beaches. “When I am collecting shells, I hear people’s great fat feet crunching(嘎吱嘎吱地踩) them up far faster than I can collect them; and the ones that are left, the sea breaks up. I would not dream of collecting shells with living creatures in them or diving for them, but once their occupants have left, why should I not collect them?” If one bases this argument on the amount of luggage that can be carried home by one man, the beauty of whose work is often greater than its natural parts, it becomes very convincing indeed.

What does the reader learn about Peter Cooke in the first paragraph?

A. He has produced hand-made objects in different materials.?

B. He hopes to work with other materials in the future.?

C. He has written about his love of making shell objects.?

D. He was praised for his shell objects many years ago. 

When mentioning the cost of his shell objects, Cooke ____.

       A. cleverly changes the subject.

       B. defends the prices charged for his work.

       C. says he has no idea why the level is so high.

       D. notes that his work will not always be so popular.

The “small sacrifice” in Paragraph 2 refers to _________.?

A. the loss of Cooke’s ornaments?          B. the display of Cooke’s ornaments?

C. the cost of keeping Cooke’s ornaments    D. the space required to store Cooke’s ornaments

What does Cooke regret about his work?

A. He is not as famous as he should have been.?B. He makes less money than he should make.

C. He is less imaginative than he used to be.?    D. He is not as skillful as he used to be. ?

What does the reader learn about Cooke's shell-collecting activities?

A. Not everyone approves of what he does.

B. Other methods might make his work easier.

C. Other tourists get in the way of his collecting.

D. Not all shells are the right size and shape for his work

There are still many things that Peter Cooke would like to try his hand at — paper-making and feather-work are on his list. For the moment, though, he will stick to the skill that he has been delighted to make perfect over the past ten years: making delicate and unusual objects out of shells.

As he leads me round his apartment showing me his work, he points to a pair of shell-covered ornaments(装饰品) above a fireplace. “I shan’t be at all bothered if people don’t buy them because I have got so used to them, and to me they’re lovely. I never meant to sell my work commercially. Some friends came to see me about five years ago and said, ‘You must have an exhibition — people ought to see these. We’ll talk to a man who owns an art gallery’”. The result was an exhibition in London, at which 70 per cent of the objects were sold. His second exhibition opened at the gallery yesterday. Considering the enormous prices the pieces command —around ￡2,000 for the ornaments — an empty space above the fireplace would seem a small sacrifice for Cooke to make.

There are 86 pieces in the exhibition, with prices starting at￡225 for a shell-flower in a crystal vase. Cooke insists that he has nothing to do with the prices and is cheerily open about their level: he claims there is nobody else in the world who produces work like his, and, as the gallery-owner told him, “Well, you’re going to stop one day and everybody will want your pieces because there won’t be any more.”

“I do wish, though,” says Cooke, “that I’d taken this up a lot earlier, because then I would have been able to produce really wonderful things — at least the potential would have been there. Although the ideas are still there and I’m doing the best I can now, I’m more limited physically than I was when I started.” Still, the work that he has managed to produce is a long way from the common shell constructions that can be found in seaside shops. “I have a miniature(微型的) mind,” he says, and this has resulted in boxes covered in thousands of tiny shells, little shaded pictures made from shells and baskets of astonishingly realistic flowers.?

Cooke’s quest(追求) for beautiful, and especially tiny, shells has taken him further than his Norfolk shore: to France, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines, to name but a few of the beaches where he has lain on his stomach and looked for beauties to bring home. He is insistent that he only collects dead shells and defends himself against people who write him letters accusing him of stripping the world’s beaches. “When I am collecting shells, I hear people’s great fat feet crunching(嘎吱嘎吱地踩) them up far faster than I can collect them; and the ones that are left, the sea breaks up. I would not dream of collecting shells with living creatures in them or diving for them, but once their occupants have left, why should I not collect them?” If one bases this argument on the amount of luggage that can be carried home by one man, the beauty of whose work is often greater than its natural parts, it becomes very convincing indeed.

1.What does the reader learn about Peter Cooke in the first paragraph?

A. He has produced hand-made objects in different materials.?

B. He hopes to work with other materials in the future.?

C. He has written about his love of making shell objects.?

D. He was praised for his shell objects many years ago. 

2.When mentioning the cost of his shell objects, Cooke ____.

         A. cleverly changes the subject.

         B. defends the prices charged for his work.

         C. says he has no idea why the level is so high.

         D. notes that his work will not always be so popular.

3.The “small sacrifice” in Paragraph 2 refers to _________.?

A. the loss of Cooke’s ornaments?            B. the display of Cooke’s ornaments?

C. the cost of keeping Cooke’s ornaments      D. the space required to store Cooke’s ornaments

4.What does Cooke regret about his work?

A. He is not as famous as he should have been.?B. He makes less money than he should make.

C. He is less imaginative than he used to be.?      D. He is not as skillful as he used to be. ?

5.What does the reader learn about Cooke's shell-collecting activities?

A. Not everyone approves of what he does.

B. Other methods might make his work easier.

C. Other tourists get in the way of his collecting.

D. Not all shells are the right size and shape for his work