Did you make financial decisions last New Year’s Eve? Did they fall by the wayside? If so, you are not alone. 1..
▲Make a smart budget
Did you plan to make a budget and fail to do so? This is a perfect time to start, as you are heading into the new year. You may be able to stop yourself from overspending if you realize how overextended you are. If you’ve taken no other financial steps this year, start by setting a realistic budget. 2..
▲Control your spending
Even if you had a budget, were you able to stick to it? 3.. Use it as a psychological advantage－you have less to spend so you need to shop harder for bargains and research prices. Impulse buying (即兴购买) will be less likely to attract you and your spending should be more focused as a result.
▲4.
You had a savings goal, didn’t you? If you didn’t have a specific goal, it may be why your savings effort failed. Set a smaller savings goal now, and use that to build a larger savings goal for the upcoming year. Make sure that you equate（使等同）your savings with a specific goal.
▲Reduce your debt
Debt reduction is an important goal, especially in the case of high-interest debt such as credit cards. It’s easy to get into an unrecoverable increase of debt if you have no plan to keep debt in check. It is a longer-term goal, but one you need to start right away. 5.. That may be a tall task, which is all the more reason to start immediately.
A. Increase your savings
B. Have a clear goal for your debt
C. You will go on with your new decisions
D. Most other financial improvements will follow
E. Start small by setting a spending budget for your shopping
F. But this year, you can make some progress on your financial goals
G. Attack the debt with the highest interest rate, and control your spending
It has been discovered that after the age of sixteen, the number of our brain cells begins to decrease at a speed of several million a year. They simply die off. In certain types of activity, the human brain is at its highest point in the early twenties, when it has collected enough information to be able to use the vast number of cells freely in the most effective way. Pure mathematics is one of the fields in which this happens, and we know that Albert Einstein made all his world-shaking discoveries between the age of about 20 and 25, and spent the rest of his life tidying them up and arranging them.
But in certain other types of activity (of which being an author is perhaps one), experience is more important than sharpness of brain, and there one usually finds that a person reaches his or her peak much later in life.
Besides sharpness of brain and experience, here is another thing that is very important, and that is wisdom. One can have a very quick, inventive brain and plenty of experience, but if one uses these foolishly, one harms both oneself and others. Wisdom does not always come with age ——there are plenty of foolish middle-aged people about ——but the average person tends to learn wisdom as he gets older, usually by making painful of embarrassing mistakes. Leaning to be wise is basically learning what is not possible ； and what is possible but so difficult that it is not worth all the trouble one has to go through to get there. Mostly, it is learning about human nature ； how real people behave and react, as against how one would like them to behave and react. One can read and hear lot of idealistic stuff about how to make the world a better place, which would be found if it was based on an accurate observation of human nature, but which is basically a waste of time because it is not.
1.According to the writer, the great discoveries made by Albert Einstein were mainly a result in .
A.years of hard work B.sharpness of the brain
C.rich experience D.his deep understanding of the nature
2.Some people achieve success much later in life because .
A.their work often requires much experience
B.they do not have a chance to show their talents
C.they have to learn lessons from failures
D.they fail to realize earlier the importance of hard work
3.The importance of wisdom lies in the fact that .
A.it helps to avoid various mistakes
B.it contributes to one's creativity
C.it encourages one to go forward in face of difficulty
D.it provides the right direction of efforts
4.The writer came to believe that .
A.it is always a waste of time to make plans about the future
B.it is human nature to make attempts on what looks impossible
C.one should always challenge the impossible to push the society forward
D.one has to use wisdom in deciding what is the best thing to do
It seems that the Englishmen just cannot live without sports of some kind. A famous French humorist once said that this is because the English insist on behaving like children all their lives. Wherever you go in this country, you will see both children and grown-ups knocking a ball about with a stick or something, as if in Britain men shall always remain boys and women girls! Still, it can never be bad to get exercise, can it?
Taking all amateur(业余)and professional sports in Britain into consideration, there can be no doubt that football is at the top of the list. It is called soccer in the United States. The game originated(起源于)in Britain and was played in the Middle Ages or even earlier, though as an organized game, or “association football”, it dates only from the beginning of the 19th century.
The next is rugby, which is called “football” in the United States. It is a kind of football played by two teams of fifteen players than eleven. In rugby, an oval-shaped ball is used which can be handled as well as kicked. It is a pretty rough game.
In summer, cricket is the most popular sport. In fact, it has sometimes been called the English national game. Most foreigners find the game rather slow or even boring, but it enjoys great popularity among the British.
Tennis rates high on the list, too. It was introduced into England from France in the 15th century, but it was from England that it spread to practically every country in the world.
Table tennis, or “ping-pong”, surely is not played on a great scale as it is in China or Japan. Basketball and volleyball were introduced into Britain during the late 19th century from America and are gaining popularity. Horse-back riding, swimming, rowing and golf all attract a lot of people.
1.The main purpose of Paragraph l is to tell us that the English__________.
A.are all sports lovers B.behave like children
C.like to kick a ball around D.can remain young all their lives
2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about football and rugby?
A.They differ in the shape of the ball. B.They are played by different numbers of players.
C.They both can be handled. D.They both can be kicked.
3.The game that was never played in Britain until the late 19th century is__________.
A.basketball B.tennis C.rugby D.football
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.The Most Popular Sports B.The English Sports
C.History of Sports D.Sports in Britain
A ten-year-old boy from Howell, Michigan is being praised as a hero thanks to his persistence (坚持) that led to saving the life of an elderly neighbor. The event happened late in an evening when Danny DiPietro was being driven home from hockey practice by his mom.
That’s when the young boy noticed an open garage (车库) and a figure that he believed was a dog outside an apartment building near his house. Given the freezing weather, the young boy got a feeling that something was not right. But instead of dismissing it like most kids at his age, he insisted that his mother, Dawn, find out what was going on. Dawn tried to make Danny believe that no one would leave a dog out in such cold weather, but he refused to take no for an answer.
Dawn finally gave in and decided to drive to the area with the family dog and see if there was any truth in Danny’ s hunch (直觉). Sure enough, as she got closer to the apartment building she noticed a garage that was wide open and someone waving madly for help. Upon getting there, she realized that it was not a dog the young boy had seen, but Kathleen St. Onge. The 80-year-old woman had fallen down on some ice in front of her garage and had been lying there for two hours, unable to get up.
Dawn rushed home to get her husband to help and called 911. The two then returned with some blankets to cover Ms. St. Onge, while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Though still in hospital, the elderly woman is recovering well and forever grateful to Danny for following his hunch!
1.When seeing a figure in front of an open garage, Danny ________.
A.recognized it was an old woman
B.thought it was a homeless dog
C.realized something was wrong
D.believed it was nothing important
2.When Dawn got closer to the garage, she ________.
A.noticed the dog had gone away
B.knew Danny’s hunch was wrong
C.found an old lady waving for help
D.felt something must have been stolen
3.Which of the following can best describe Danny?
A.Brave and patient.
B.Friendly and honest.
C.Considerate and positive.
D.Persistent and warm-hearted.
4.What could be the best title for the passage?
A.Always Follow Your Hunch
B.Be Ready to Help Save the Elderly
C.An unknown Hero Brings Love and Hope
D.A 10-year-old Boy Saved His Elderly Neighbor’s Life
Community Affairs
* Open Plans---Fixing the Great Mistake
6:00 pm, Center for Architecture, Tafel Hall 536 LaGuardia Place, Manhattan
Advocating for livable streets and alternative transportation, Mark Gorton explores the history of transportation in New York with a focus on how urban planning policies that prioritize (优先考虑)the automobile have affected many other aspects of life in the city.
Admission: $10
For more information, please call 212-945-0505 or visit www.streb.org.
*River to River Festival---Extraordinary Moves: STREB Human Fountain
6:00 pm, 200 Vesey Street, Manhattan
Inspired by the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, Human Fountain involves performers jumping from as high as 30 feet from an open honeycomb structure in order to create cascades (人工瀑布)of airborne liquid muscle. The outcome is a mixture of slam dancing, amazing human flight, and wild action sport, which captures kids, adults and the general public’s hearts, minds and bodies.
Admission: FREE
For more information, please call 212-945-0505 or visit www. streb.org.
*Scandinavia House---Nordic Summer Jam
6:30 pm, 58 Park Avenue, Manhattan
Contemporary singer and songwriter Anders Holst’s music shows roots in jazz, soul and European pop music.
Admission: $10
For more information, please call 212-847-9740 or visit www.scandinaviahouse.org
*Hot Festival---Tickets to Manhood
7:30 pm, Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street , Manhattan
What makes a man today? How do boys grow into men? Through humorous, touching stories, a glimpse is offered into the events that turn boys into men. Performed by Douglas Allen, Maximiliano Balduzzi, Spencer Scott Barros, Gerard Joseph and James Scruggs.
Admission: $15 in advance; $18 at door.
For more information, please call 212-219-0736 or visit www.hotfestival.org
1.Which of the following focuses on music?
A.Open Plans
B.Hot Festival
C.Scandinavia House
D.River to River Festival
2.If John wants to take part in an activity for free, he should _____________.
A.call 212-945-0505
B.call 212-219-0736
C.visit www.scandinaviahouse.org
D.visit www.hotfestival.org
3.Who makes explorations of the transportation’s history in New York?
A.Anders Holst
B.Mark Gorton
C.Douglas Allen
D.Gerard Joseph
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.How long have Earth Boxes been in market?
A.About 15 years. B.About 25 years. C.About 30 years.
2.What can Earth Boxes be used to do in poor countries?
A.Solve hunger problems.
B.Improve soil conditions.
C.Teach students science.
3.What is the advantage of Earth Boxes?
A.Saving much space.
B.Purifying much water.
C.Making crops grow fast.
4.Why are Earth Boxes used in middle school?
A.To learn math well.
B.To grow vegetables.
C.To do some experiments.
