More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.
The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with$3 million or more in possessions. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their possessions to their children”.
The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have not chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are,and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in three parents said they had never thought to do it.
They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely,make bad decisions and even become a target for attractive women who use their looks to get money from rich men.
Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance(遗产)they plan to leave them.
“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck,president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management of the Bank of America. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”
The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(基金会),and not to his children.
“ We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive effect,” he said.
Of his plans for his children , Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”
1.We can learn from the passage that .
A.rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance |
B.rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US |
C.American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth |
D.poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents |
2.According to the survey, most rich Americans .
A.think they owe their children nothing |
B.think it best to give their money back to society |
C.doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth |
D.are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth |
3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to .
A.responsible children |
B.Bill Gates and his wife |
C.first-generation rich |
D.rich parents |
4.From the last paragraph,we can see that Bill Gates wants to show .
A.the trend of leaving no inheritance to children |
B.the positive effect of charity on society |
C.the way of giving back to society |
D.the importance of independence for children |
An 8-year-old girl was dragged about 900 feet by a school bus today in Livingston County.
According to State Police, the incident occurred about 2:40 pm on State Route 436 in the town of Ossian after three sisters were dropped off the bus.
As the last sister was leaving the bus, driver John Coley, 62 , of Wayland, Steuben County, told the police that he was not paying attention when he closed the door and trapped her backpack inside. Coley then continued 900 feet before he realized the girl was being dragged, State Police said.
The girl was hurt and was transported to Nicholas H Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville,Livingston County, by Dansville Ambulance.
Another 8-year-old child on the bus said he hit his head on the seat in front of him when the bus came to a sudden stop, causing an earache.
●Conservation staff in New Zealand have put down 33 stranded(搁浅的)whales after several attempts to refloat them failed.
The whales were shot on Farewell Spit on the South Island. Department of Conservation area manager John Mason says staff and hundreds of volunteers had tried all week to get the whales refloated.
He says they thought they were successful on Wednesday when they got the whales into deep water——but were saddened on Thursday to find that they had swum back ashore. He says the condition of the whales had significantly become worse.
As well as the 33 whales that were shot,36 had died naturally since Monday and 17 were successfully refloated. 13 remain unknown.
1.The last sister was dragged by the bus because______________.
A.she stood too close to the bus when getting off |
B.the bus driver stopped the bus suddenly |
C.something was wrong with the bus door |
D.her backpack was stuck in the closed door |
2.It can be inferred from the first news that______________.
A.three sisters were dragged about 900 feet by a school bus |
B.the driver stopped the bus immediately he realized his mistake |
C.two children were hurt and sent to hospital |
D.a boy was hurt when the bus started suddenly |
3.How many whales were trapped ashore in total?
A.33. |
B.36. |
C.99. |
D.13. |
4.The 33 refloated whales returned ashore on______________.
A.Monday |
B.Tuesday |
C.Wednesday |
D.Thursday |
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied,“But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’ m sorry,” said the HR manager.“If you don’t have an e-mail,that means , you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10 kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers(销售商) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker(经纪人)and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously,“You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?" The man thought for a while and replied,“Yes,I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
1.The underlined word “tripled” can be replaced by .
A.became large |
B.became 3 times |
C.increased quickly |
D.decreased quickly |
2.According to the passage,which of the following is TRUE?
A.The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world. |
B.The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview. |
C.He started his career by selling tomatoes in the Supermarket. |
D.Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft. |
3.The man can be described as .
A.helpful and considerate |
B.positive and generous |
C.smart and hardworking |
D.stubborn and unselfish |
4. Which proverb can best describe the story?
A.Misfortune may be an actual blessing. |
B.Where there is a will, there is a way. |
C.Accidents will happen. |
D.No pains, no gains. |
One man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her. He waited 36 for 15 minutes. Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more. After that, he became 37 . When he saw a photograph booth (照相亭) nearby, he had 38 . He wore the most unhappy expression he could manage, which was not 39 in the situation. In a few moments, he was holding four small photos that 40 even him.
He wrote his wife’s name on the back of the photos and handed them to a 41 behind the desk in the booth. “ 42 you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, obviously 43 someone, would you please give her this?” he said. He then 44 his office in Morrison Building, 45 that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then the four photos must be a good 46 ! He sat down with a smile.
His wife 47 those pictures. She carries them in her purse now and shows them to anyone who asks if she is married.
How are you with 48 ? One person calls it “wait training.” It seems that there is always something we are 49 . We wait on traffic and we wait in lines. We wait to hear about a new job. We wait to complete school. We wait for someone to change his or her mind.
Patience is an important 50 of a happy and rewarding life. 51 , some things are worth waiting for. 52 presents many opportunities for wait training.
We can hate waiting, 53 it or even get good at it! But one thing is 54 --- we cannot avoid it. How is your 55 coming along?
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— Little Tom broke a window in our class.
— I would rather he that.
A.hadn’t done |
B.didn’t do |
C.hasn’t done |
D.not do |
After graduation I’d like to find a job _______ I can use what I have learnt at school.
A.whose |
B.which |
C.where |
D.that |