An allowance is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.

       How large an allowance is appropriate? Experts say there is not a right amount. Actual amount differs from region to region, and from family to family.

       To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work up a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenses such as movies and snacks. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies. “If you make the child responsible for these bills,” says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, “he or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures (支出).”

       Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers’ can feel left out.

       It can be tough but avoid excusing your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $1.75 which was for bus fare and lunch. “If you lost your money,” Brooke’s mother told her, “you walk home.”

       One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store; then she called home for a ride. “Mom made me walk home,” recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. “At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson.”

       Experts advise that an allowance should not be tied directly to daily chores. Kids should help around the houses not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of a family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home, which can develop his or her initiative（积极性）.

1．What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．How to develop a child’s initiative.                                                  

B．How to work up an amount of pocket money.

C．How to teach a child to save money.                                               

D．How to teach a child about money.

2．It can be inferred from the passage that if a child is given an allowance, he or she may ______.

       A．spend all the money very soon                                                              

       B．be spoiled and finally ruined

       C．feel responsible and careful about money                                         

       D．lose the money and can’t return home

3．In Paragraph 4, which of the following do the words “his peers” refer to?

       A．His parents.                                         B．His friends.                   

       C．His teachers.                                       D．His financial experts

4．Why does the author mention Brooke Stephens?

       A．To explain that parents should be strict when children are developing good habits about money.

       B．To compare Stephens with other financial experts in the city.

       C．To question the opinion whether children should have pocket money.

       D．To suggest that pocket money is useless in developing a child’s sense of responsibility.

If you are training for a marathon, a proper plan for water intake is important. Of course, there’s the risk of dehydration（脱水）. But athletes now know they can also get into trouble by drinking too much. Too much water intake can lower levels of sodium（钠）in the blood. The death of a 28-year-old woman following the Boston Marathon caught the attention of many runners and led to new research.

       Experts advise long-distance runners to replace the liquids they sweat out. Their goal is to try to keep someone from not getting dehydrated by more than 2 percent of their body weight.

       One technique for deciding how much water you need is to get the exact numbers. Runners have to weight themselves before and after a run to determine how much water they’ve lost. If their weight drops by more than 2 percent, they have not drunk enough water.

       Hypoglycemia（低血糖）occurs when runners drink so much water that blood salt levels drop off. A study published last year tested 488 runners who completed the Boston Marathon and found 13 percent of them had dangerously low blood salt levels. The first sign that runners may notice is slightly swelling in the hands. They can’t get their rings off, and then they might feel sick. They may not remember where they are. In fact, most runners get enough salt to get back to normal levels by eating just one meal after a run. Contrary to the old advice that runners should drink as much as they can to prevent dehydration, the new research has shown that the body is a remarkable machine that actually tells you via thirst when you need water.

1．The author of this passage is primarily concerned with ______.

A．the signs and treatment for dehydration

B．the long distance runners who need help

       C．how to manage water intake during a marathon

       D．a 28-year-old woman who died after a Boston Marathon

2．Why do runners have to weigh themselves before and after a run?

       A．They can know the quantity of water they’ve lost during a run.

       B．They can improve their performance in a run.

       C．They can learn how much salt there is in the blood.

       D．They can decide what kind of water they should take during a run.

3．What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

       A．Taking much salt during a run can avoid swelling in the body.

       B．Either too much or too little of water intake is harmful.

       C．A rich meal is helpful to our performance in a run.

       D．We should take enough salt during a run.

4．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

       A．Too much water intake → blood sodium levels↓ → dehydration.

       B．No water intake → blood sodium levels↑→ Hypoglycemia.

       C．No water intake → blood salt levels ↓ → Hypoglycemia.

       D．Too much water intake → blood salt levels ↓ → Hypoglycemia.

Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are over concerned with their own appearance and actions. Worrisome thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds; what kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?

It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably. A person’s self-concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives. Shy people, who have low self-esteem（自尊）, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need faith that they are doing “the right thing”. Shy people are very sensitive to criticism. It makes them feel inferior（自卑）. They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise. A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one: “You’re just saying that to make me feel good, I know it’s not true.” It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful. Can shyness be completely got rid of, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination. It is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths, for example, not fair for them to label themselves inferior because they have to be realistic. Living on the impossible leads to a sense of inadequacy（不适当，不充足）. Each one of us has his or her own characteristics. We are interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and fulfilling life.

1．The first paragraph is mainly about ______.

A．the thoughts of shy people                    B．the cause of shyness

C．the effect of shyness on people             D．the questions in the minds of shy people

2．According to the writer, self-awareness is ______.

       A．harmful to people                                 B．a weak point of shy people

       C．the cause of unhappiness                      D．a good characteristics

3．What is the shy people’s reaction to praise?

       A．They are pleased by it                          B．They feel it is not true

       C．They are very sensitive to it                  D．They feel they are worthy of it

4．We can learn from the passage that shyness can ______.

       A．block our chances for a successful life 

       B．help us to live up to our full development

       C．enable us to understand ourselves better                                   

       D．have nothing to do with lack of self-esteem

上周，我们以“谁是你的偶像”为题，在2600名学生中进行了一次调查。以下是调查数据：

[写作内容]

根据以上数据，写一篇短文，包括以下内容：

1．调查时间、调查问题以及调查对象；

2．男女生在以明星为偶像方面的差异；

3．“父母”在男女生偶像中的排序差异；

4．男女生在以伟人为偶像方面的异同；

5．你的偶像及理由。

    [写作要求]

1．文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。

2．字数：100个词左右。

[评分标准]

句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯。

从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出其划线部分与所给单词划线部分读音相同的选项。

1．social               A．ancient            B．society             C．center              D．concert

2．question           A．station             B．suggestion        C．translation        D．national

3．safely               A．base                B．season             C．Asia                D．usual

4．hear                 A．nearly              B．search             C．bear                D．heart

5．change          A．machine        B．headache       C．technique      D．research

Li Hua’s handwriting is better than          in his class.

A．anyone else’s    B．anyone else      C．anyone’s   D．anyone’s else’s

Alice, together with two boys,          for having broken the rules.

A．punished          B．was punished          C．were punished         D．being punished

Betty is          honest girl. She is          of          best girls in her class.

A．a; an; the         B．the; an; a          C．an; one; the             D．one; an; the

I want to buy a car, but I can’t afford          .

A．one          B．it              C．that          D．this

A Tale of Two Cities is          a novel. It helps us to understand the history of that time.

A．less than          B．no more than           C．more than        D．not more than