单项选择题
Personal Finance
When it comes to our finances, each of us has our own individual approach. Some of us are savers, some are spenders, and others are some-where in between. This continuum is a paradigm that our popular culture uses to frame differences in the way people approach money.
I believe that the way we approach our finances goes beyond that particular behavioral characteristic. In reality, I think our approach to finances can be viewed in more of a multi-dimensional setting, where money has a different role in our lives. For some, money means survival, plain and simple. For others, money is something that is a part of their lives but rarely on their mind, regardless of the role it actually plays. For yet others, money is an obsession, as accumulation indicates achievement. Some people view money as a defensive resource to protect against future setbacks. Some people want money to provide a good home, to contribute to the ability to have certain hobbies, or to provide something to future generations and so on. Sometimes the same person may view money differently in different situations. The bottom line is that we each have our own relationship with money, and our own conscious and subconscious needs for money, rooted in our value systems.
This is an area of personal finance that has interested me for a while. Why do people behave the way they do with respect to their money? What's driving this behavior? Of course, a starting point for anybody is to consider how you personally view things. Taking an introspective approach，I have spent time figuring out my own take on money，and the role it plays in my life. What I have determined is that for me，it fits into a framework that includes the following elements：health, wealth, and relationships. These are linked together as a part of a system. They're all connected, and to the extent one is strengthened, the others will be strengthened as well. If one is weakened, the others will be weakened as well. So to me, money is a part of the wealth aspect of HWR. Beyond basic survival, money gives you the opportunity to live a healthier life, with the time and means to have more positive relationships. One thing I want to make clear is that I am not saying that money buys friends. Well, it could, but those aren't true friends. What I am saying is that the more money you have ,on balance, the less stressed you are about it, and the more time you have to do other things, such as cultivate true, genuine relationships that aren’t based on money. Money is but a component in the system.
单项选择题
As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, and rooms to be cleaned. Parents are ___1___ with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real ___2___. On Christmas Eve, young children find the excitement almost unbearable. They are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to stay up late so that they will not miss the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie awake for a long time, hoping to get a short ___3___ at Father Christmas.
Last Christmas, my wife and I successfully hid a few large presents in the storeroom. I ___4___ the moment when my son, Jimmy, would ask me where that new bike had come from, but ___5___ he did not see it.
On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly ___6___ when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began filling stockings. Then I pushed in the ___7___ I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get much sleep that night, for the children were ___8___ to get up early. At about five o’clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children’s room — they were shouting excitedly! Before I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came riding into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary, followed close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived. He moved ___9___ the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke us up ___10___. The day had really begun with a band!
单项选择题
Moderate Earthquake Strikes England
A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007, toppling chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without power in Kent County. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.
"It felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride," said the woman.
The British Geological Survey said the 4. 3-magnitude quake struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel, about 8.5 miles south of Dover and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.
Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the tremor had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.
"I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me." said Hendrick van Eck, 27, of Canterbury about 60 miles southeast of London. "I then heard the sound of cracking, and it was getting heavier and heavier. It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down."
There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year, but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham.
The country's strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. British Geological Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest earthquakes ever to strike Britain, including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France. Musson predicted that it was only a matter of time before another earthquake struck this part of England. However, people should not be scared too much by this prediction, Musson said, as the modern earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate and reduce damage to the minimum.
单项选择题
300 Hurdles
Now comes the first hurdle. __1__ We all make it over this hurdle with ease. This symbolizes.
Those obstacles in life that we struggle to get over, but we always manage to do so. You can look at that hurdle in two ways: "I can’t make it over, I’m too tired" or "I am one more hurdle closer to finishing this race". This is an example of taking a negative situation and seeing something positive in it.
The next part of the race is every hurdle between the first and last one. __2__ This happens a lot in life too. There may be a situation that arises where you feel as though you can’t make it and all you can think about is giving up. You may fall over that "hurdle" or struggle getting over it, but somehow you find it in yourself to jump over it and move on with the race.
Next is that last 100m of the race. You feel as though you just want to say, "No I can't do this." __3__.
Now lastly is the last hurdle. This hurdle is the toughest out of all of them. In life we find ourselves falling and falling, and maybe getting too lost in our problems that we fell like have been though enough and there’s no hope. __4__ It's one step close to the end of the race.
Once you finish, you look back on it and you realize that you made it not by leaping, but step by step. "Yard by yard, life is very hard. But inch by inch, life can be a cinch."__5__.
单项选择题
Income
Income may be national income and personal income. Whereas national income is defined as the total earned income of all the factors of production-namely, profits, interest, rent, wages, and other compensation for labor, personal income may be defined as total money income received by individuals before personal taxes are paid. National income does not equal GNP (Gross National Product) because the factors of production do not receive payment for either capital consumption allowances or indirect business taxes, both of which are included in GNP. The money put aside for capital consumption is for replacement and thus is not counted as income. Indirect taxes include sales taxes, property taxes , and excise taxes that are paid by businesses directly to the government and so reduce the income left to pay for the factors of production. Three-fourths of national income goes for wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation to employees.
Whereas national income shows the income that the factors of production earn, personal income measures the income that individuals or households receive. Corporation profits are included in national income because they are earned. Out of these profits, however, corporation profit taxes must be paid to the government, and some money must be put into the business for expansion. Only that part of profits distributed as dividends goes to the individual; therefore, out of corporation profits only dividends count as personal income. The factors of production earn money for social security and unemployment insurance contributions, but this money goes to government (which is not a factor of production), not to individuals. It is therefore part of national income but not part of personal income.
On the other hand, money received by individuals when they collect social security or unemployment compensation is not money earned but money received. Interest received on government bonds is also in this category, because much of the money received from the sale of bonds went to pay for war production and that production no longer furnishes a service to the economy.
The money people receive as personal income may be either spent or saved. However, not all spending is completely voluntary. A significant portion of our income goes to pay personal taxes. Most workers never receive the money they pay in personal taxes, because it is withheld from their paychecks. The money that individuals are left with after they have met their tax obligations is disposable personal income. Disposable income can be divided between personal consumption expenditures and personal savings. It is important to remember that personal saving is what is left after spending.
