Wealth starts with a goal and saving a dollar at a time.Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略).There are lessons in that timehonoured coinsavings container.
Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps.If you wished to climb a 12，000foot 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 aftertax，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，yes，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 orangecoloured 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.
41.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.
42.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.
43.What does the underlined word “something”(Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?
A.Money. B.Gifts.
C.Financial success. D.Good luck.
44.The piggy bank originally was ________.
A.a potter’s instrument
B.a cheap clay container
C.an animalshaped dish
D.a piglike toy for children
45.The last paragraph talks about ________.
A.the seriousness of educating children
B.the enjoyment of taking a great trip
C.the importance of managing money
D.the difficulty of starting a business
【要点综述】 财富的积累靠点滴。在文章中，作者提到了储蓄罐策略：设定一个长远的目标，但要点滴地逐渐去实现它。
41. D 推理判断题。从文章第一段的saving a dollar at a time和第二段的to baby steps，to collect the $15，000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day等细节中我们可以推断，储蓄罐策略就是要把大目标化小，积少成多。故选D项。
42. C 细节理解题。从文章第三段的“…if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it.”可知，作者父母给作者一个储蓄罐的目的是让他能够养成储蓄的习惯。故选C项。
43. A 词义指代题。从第三段的“…brings good luck and financial success. Ah, yes, but you have to put something in it.”知，此处的it是指代上文提到的储蓄罐，而要想有足够的资金，就必须要往储蓄罐中存钱，由此推断something指代money。故选A项。
44. B 细节理解题。从第四段的“Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orangecoloured clay (黏土)called ‘pygg’…”可以知道，储蓄罐最初来源于古代陶工做的廉价的陶土容器。故选B项。
45. C 段落大意题。最后一段的“Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings.”是本段的主题句，主要讲述了管理钱财的重要性，要认真严肃地对待。故选C项。
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.—Jeff Bezos
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2，300 per cent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately(最后地), I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And_I_suspected_I_would_always_be_haunted_by_a_decision_to_not_try_at_all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that c
hoice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.
16.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
A.His dream of being an inventor.
B.The support of his wife.
C.The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.
D.Millions of exciting titles.
17.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
A.The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.
B.He would be very excited if he tried it out.
C.He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.
D.The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him.
18.We can know from the passage that ________.
A.the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author
B.the author wanted someone else to try the idea
C.the author might not regret if he failed the idea
D.the author might go back to his boss if he failed
19.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Cleverness and kindness
B.The starting of Amazon
C.Following my passion
D.We are what we choose
【文章大意】 本文是一篇夹叙夹议的文章。天赋固然重要，然而后天的选择更重要，它决定了你会成为什么样的人、取得什么样的成就。
16.C 细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的“I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2，300 per cent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me.”可知，作者发现网络的广泛使用，从而激发了他创建网上书库的想法，故选C项。
17.A 句意理解题。根据倒数第二段的倒数第二句“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，作者并不后悔尝试，甚至失败。同样地，不尝试反而使作者后悔，故选A项。
18.C 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段的倒数第二句“I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.”可知，作者即使失败了也有可能不后悔，毕竟尝试过了，尽力了，故选C项。
19.D 主旨大意题。根据文章第一段“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. —Jeff Bezos”并结合对全文的整体理解，尤其是最后一句“For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.”可知，本文主要讲的是选择的重要性。选择成为什么样的人，我们就会成为什么样的人，故选D项。
Americans use many expressions with the word “dog”. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog’s life, describes a person who has an unhappy life.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. But mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.
Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.
16.A person who lives an unhappy life can be described as “________”.
A.becoming sick as a dog
B.leading a dog’s life
C.living in a dog-eat-dog world
D.working like a dog
17.The underlined word “mean” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “________”.
A.violent B.selfish
C. wild D.poor
18.What can we learn from the text?
A.Everyone can be successful if he lear
ns from the old.
B.It might be difficult for the young to learn new skills.
C.Junkyard dogs are careful in money arrangement.
D.Fierce persons aren’t so awful as their appearance sometimes.
19.To support his idea, the author develops the text mainly by ________.
A.listing reasons B.using idioms
C.giving examples D.making comparisons
【文章大意】 本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了美国语言中许多关于“狗”的有趣的表达方式。
16.B 细节理解题。 根据文章第一段的最后一句“The expression, to lead a dog’s life, describes a person who has an unhappy life.”并结合本题的题干，可知“过着狗一般的生活”表示“生活过得不快乐”，故选B项。
17.A 词义猜测题。根据第四段的倒数第三句“They bark or attack people who try to enter the property.”可知，该句是对画线词的解释说明。为了保护主人的财产，这种狗通常大叫或攻击那些想得到主人财产的人，由此可知这种狗很厉害，故选A项。
18.D 细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段的倒数第二句“However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad.”可知，有时看起来凶猛、有危险性的人实际上并非那么糟糕，故选D项。
19.C 推理判断题。结合全文的整体理解可知，作者主要是通过事例来解释每一条有关“狗”的习语的，故选C项。
So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake to do for children which only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading ability on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible.
Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also a public activity. It can be seen and observed.
Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public scrutiny.
If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable, what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest(探索) for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience to children.”
When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfil them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.
21.The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that ________.
A.it is one of the most difficult school courses
B.students spend endless hours in reading
C.reading tasks are assigned with little guidance
D.too much time is spent in teaching about reading
22.The teaching of reading will be successful if ______.
A.teachers can improve conditions at school for the students
B.teachers can enable students to develop their own ways of reading
C.teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading
D.teachers can make their teaching activities observable
23.The underlined word “scrutiny” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “________”.[来源:学.科.网Z.X.X.K]
A.inquiry B.observation
C.control D.suspicion
24.According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ________.
A.children become highly motivated
B.teacher and learner roles are interchangeable
C.teaching helps children in the search for knowledge
D.reading enriches children’s experience
25.The main idea of the passage is that ________.
A.teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read
B.teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible
C.reading ability is something acquired rather than taught
D.reading is more complicated than generally believed
【文章大意】 本文主要谈论教育问题。现行的教学中，大量的时间被用于教学生如何阅读。然而，阅读能力并不是通过老师讲授给学生的，而是学生自己通过努力得到的。
21.D 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading.”可知，太多的时间被用于教学生如何阅读，故选D。
22.B 细节理解题。根据最后一段“Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.”可知，教师只是起到一个创造情境的作用，如何学会阅读，需要学生自己探索适合自己的方法，故选B。
23.B 词义猜测题。根据第二和第三段中的“Teaching is also a public activity. It can be seen and observed. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public scrutiny.”可知，教学是一个公开的活动，而学习则属于私人活动，它在一个人的内心进行，学习的过程不是公开的，因此不能被观察，故选B。
24.A 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfil them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated.”可知，教师应该创造情境来激发学生的动力，这样做的话，学生会很容易掌握阅读技巧，故选A。
25.C 主旨大意题。根据第一段中的“…they will continue to undertake to do for children which only children can do for themselves…reading cannot be taught directly…”和最后一段中的“Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.”可知，阅读能力不是教会的，而是学生自己通过努力习得的，故选C。
