Envelope Budget
From McDonald's to Sonic, fast food had a bad effect on my waistline and my budget. It was nothing to run to a drive-through to pick up a cold drink or a quick bite to eat. It was so easy to use my card for a small purchase. For me, I got a lot of satisfaction from fast food.
One day I sat down and calculated that I was spending a surprising $40 a week on fast food. This was a lot of iced coffee and hamburgers! Instead of reducing my guilty pleasures, I decided to give myself a strong budget to reduce my consumption. Every Monday I placed an envelope with $20 in my purse. That was my fast food budget for the entire week. If there was anything left over at the end of the week, it was mine to save or spend. If I spent all of the money during the week, there were no more fast food stops that week.
The budget made me more mindful of my purchases. Instead of purchasing a large drink from Sonic, I would purchase a small. It was sill satisfying but not nearly as pricey. Instead of eating a whole meal, I would pick the part that I actually wanted. Many days, the thought of hanging onto the money for a special purpose meant more to me than the instant satisfaction of fast food. I never really felt unhappy because it was a conscious choice to spend or save with each purchase.
Envelope budget kept me honest. I had a clear idea how much money was spent each week on fast food purchases. I started to bring my lunches more often to save more money for the week. It was a fun challenge to see how much I could save every week.
Changing the way I spent on fast food not only helped my budget, but improved my weight. In the first month I was able to get rid of 5 pounds by simply changing the way I approached spending on fast food. Now I am more likely to bring my lunch than to buy it. I am not upset, but empowered to make positive choices to improve my life.
1.According to Paragraph 1, the author _____________.
A. was fond of fast food very much
B. had no time to cook for herself
C. lived with a small amount of money
D. got some benefits from using her card
2.The author set her envelope budget to _____________.
A. buy fast food at a good bargain
B. save money to buy more fast food
C. get rid of the habit of eating fast food
D. make fast food spending under control
3.We can infer from the last paragraph that _____________.
A. it is unusual to make some changes
B. the budget means a pressure on life
C. envelope budget is good for health
D. it is hard to enjoy a healthy lifestyle
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Why the author became addicted to fast food.
B. How envelope budget changed the author's life.
C. How fast food controlled the author's behavior.
D. Why the author took envelope budget seriously.
I am Henry Jekyll. I was born in the 1 800s. I inherited(继承) a large fortune, a healthy body and an excellent mind. I was naturally hard-working and soon I was very successful in my job. So the outside world saw a serious, hard-working, successful doctor. Behind this quiet character, however, was a wild, fun-loving, irresponsible young man. Both of them were me. They lived together in the same body.
“Was it possible," I wondered, “to find a drug that could give each side of my character its own separate face and body?"
After much thought and careful study I believed I had found the answer. I had read many scientific books and spent many hours in my laboratory, searching for the right mixture of chemicals to make my drug. At last I got everything ready.
Late one night, I mixed everything together and prepared my drug. I watched the smoke rising from the liquid as its color changed from red to purple and at last to green. Then, bravely, I drank every bitter drop.
I felt a violent sickness in my stomach and a terrible pain in all my bones. The room seemed to turn round and round and I trembled with fear. Then the fear and pain disappeared and a strange, sweet feeling took its place. Wild thoughts danced through my mind- the wild passions of an evil and cruel stranger. But inside myself I felt younger, lighter, more carefree than ever before. "If this is pure evil," I thought, “I like it.”
I stood there, enjoying these strange new thoughts and passions and suddenly realized that I was shorter. So I decided to go to my bedroom in my new body and take a look at myself in the mirror there. As I came into my room, I saw Edward Hyde for the first time.
At that time, the good side of my character was stronger than the evil side. Henry Jekyll had his faults, but he was mostly a good, kind man. I believe that is the reason why Edward Hyde was so much smaller than Henry Jekyll. But that was not the only difference between the two men. Henry Jekyll had a kind, open, honest face. But pure evil stared out of Edward Hyde's eyes. I felt no dislike, however. Indeed, I welcomed him. Edward Hyde was me, young and strong and full of life.
1.In others' eyes, the writer was _____________.
A. wild and successful B. fun-loving and responsible
C. serious and hard-working D. quiet and irresponsible
2.The writer wanted to find a drug to _____________.
A. discover the right mixture of chemicals
B. observe the change of the chemicals
C. create separate bodies for both sides
D. make himself smaller but stronger
3.From the passage we can learn that the writer _____________.
A. was satisfied with both of his bodies
B. preferred kind Henry to pure evil Edward
C. was very sick of the shorter Edward Hyde
D. felt quite delighted right after taking the drug
As a teenager, I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I worked hard at school, and sometimes looked after my younger sister. Still, I found myself regularly resisting the urge to______out at home with even the simplest things.
Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother ______ me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she'd rush to the nearby store and buy a week's worth of_______. Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back,_____for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you'd think I'd be very_____ to help her bring the groceries into the house._____ I wasn't. I generally just brought in an armload and left the______ for Mom as I ran to my room, shut the door, and started studying.
Don't get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt______about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my________ But I also realized that once I did change, there'd be no going back.________I took on more responsibility, my parents would start_______more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would ______ something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled (被宠坏的) child to a more_____caring and giving young man.
I'll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n)________to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the________I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning_______.Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and_______back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day!
Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the_______I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could ______on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.
Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest________ out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.
1.A. start B. cry C. help D. work
2.A. sent B. guided C. walked D. drove
3.A. fruits B. flowers C. groceries D. vegetables
4.A. fought B. paid C. applied D. planned
5.A. grateful B. nervous C. confident D. unwilling
6.A. So B. And C. Thus D. But
7.A. one B. other C. next D. rest
8.A. excited B. curious C. doubtful D. guilty
9.A. way B. world C. career D. shape
10.A. Once B. Though C. Unless D. Since
11.A. warning B. reminding C. expecting D. informing
12.A. mark B. tell C. express D. describe
13.A. energetic B. ambitious C. outgoing D. responsible
14.A. excuse B. decision C. statement D. appointment
15.A. duty B. lesson C. store D. holiday
16.A. shame B. anger C. delight D. pleasure
17.A. called B. looked C. headed D. handed
18.A. smarter B. better C. warmer D. stronger
19.A. live B. press C. focus D. count
20.A. make B. turn C. point D. bring
Directions: Write an English composition in 120 - 150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你是育新中学学生王明。你校正开展“绿色校园”主题活动，通过校英语报向全校学生征集有助于节能的建议。你决定向校报投稿，内容包括：
1. 你认为校园里还可以采取哪些措施来达到节能的目的 （1至2个措施）
2. 这些措施如果实施，可以带来怎样的好处。
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Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets.
1.所有在场的人都反对花这么多的钱买这幅画。（object）
2.他工作了一整天，没有吃任何东西，这使得他筋疲力尽。（which）
3.你们中有多少人将报名参加下周的校运动会？（sign）
4.听到H1N1的传播被有效控制的消息，政府决定奖励那些为社会做出巨大贡献的科学家。（measure）
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main points of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Getting up early has been regarded as a good habit since ancient times. Many years ago, people thought that if we went to bed early and get up early, we would be energetic the whole day. Nowadays, people still hold the same view. So, getting up early is of great importance to us all.
In fact, morning is the best time of a day. In the morning, the air is the freshest and people are usually in the best conditions. Many of us may have the experiences that we memorize some things more quickly and accurately in the morning than any other time of the day.
In addition, if we get up early and do some morning exercise or only take a short walk in the morning, without doubt we can build our bodies and become much healthier. That is why many people getting up early do physical exercise year after year.
Also, we will have enough time to make a plan and get ready for our work or study of the day if we get up early. However, if we get up late, we will probably have to do everything in a great hurry, making it in a mess.
Let us remember getting up early is a good habit and try our best to keep it. If we stick to getting up early every day, we will certainly benefit a lot from it.
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