Question

    Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy ( 策 略 ). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.

Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. If you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day.  If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax,you will have your trip money.

When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it.  We  associate  piggy banks  with  children,  but  in  many countries,  the  little  containers  are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to put something in it.

Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters  ( 制 陶 工 ) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay (黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars. The Middle English word for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons  pronounced  pygg,  referring  to  the  clay,  as  “pug”,  eventually  the  two  words  changed  into  the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy.  As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.

Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money,  bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money --- college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely.

1.What is the piggy bank strategy?

A.Paying 1% income tax at a time.

B.Setting a goal before making a travel plan.

C.Aiming high even when doing small things.

D.Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.

2.Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?

A.To delight him with the latest fashion.

B.To encourage him to climb mountains.

C.To help him form the habit of saving.

D.To teach him English pronunciation.

3.What does then underlined word “something” (Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?

A.Money B.Gifts

C.Financial success D.Good luck

4.The piggy ban originally was _____.

A.a potter’s instrument B.a cheap clay container

C.an animal-shaped dish D.a pig-like toy for children

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。这篇短文给我们讲述的是小猪银行策略，即存钱罐定期地存钱，这样不仅可以让孩子养成攒钱的好习惯，对于成年人来说，为以后的生活定期地存钱也是很有意义的

1.细节理解题。本题是问“什么是小猪银行策略？”。根据短文第二段的意思可知，如果你想要什么东西，你可以定期地往你的小猪存钱罐里放入一些钱，直到你能攒够，去买你想要的东西。分析选项，A. Paying 1% income tax at a time. 一次缴纳1%的所得税；B. Setting a goal before making a travel plan. 在制定旅行计划之前设定一个目标；C. Aiming high even when doing small things.甚至是在做小事的时候也要高瞻远瞩；D. Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.定期存一点钱以备将来使用。由选项可知D项符合题意，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段的“When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it.”再结合最后一段。可知，作者的父母送给了他一个小猪存钱罐作为礼物，这样作者想要什么东西的话，就要自己慢慢存钱来买。所以这样就可以帮助他养成一个存钱的习惯。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据所划单词的最上面“When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it.”以及“Ah, but you have to put something in it.”和这一段的内容可知，有了存钱罐，你可以慢慢攒钱，买你想要的东西，当然，你必须得往里放钱。所以这里的something指的就是钱。故选A。

4.细节理解题。根据第四段的内容可知，很久以前，还没有现在的银行的时候，人们在家里攒钱，把一颗颗硬币放在一个用一种叫 “pygg,”橙色黏土制成的罐子里。当撒克逊人把代表粘土的单词“pygg”读成“pug”时，这两个词最终变成了相同的发音，听起来像“pig”或“piggy”。随着这个词与橙色粘土的联系越来越少，而更多地与动物联系在一起，一位聪明的陶工将一个pygg罐子做成了猪的形状，让孩子和大人都很高兴。存钱罐诞生了。后来慢慢演变成了现在的存钱罐。分析选项可知，B项符合题意，故选B。