According to a study by SallieMae, 84 percent of undergraduate students have credit cards, and by the time they are seniors, they have accumulated US＄4,100 in debt, on top of whatever student loans they may have taken out.

Credit cards are the most convenient form of payment, and they are aggressively marketed to college students. Reportedly, a typical college student carries 4.6 credit cards and US＄3,173 in credit card debt.

Credit cards seem to be a fact of life, not just student life. In the long term, using a credit card properly and paying off the balance can help establish a card history and increase your credit score, which will come in handy when you need an important loan, for a house or car, for example. Your credit score can affect even unrelated things like insurance rates. Credit cards also offer more protection for users than debit cards （借记卡）.Under federal law, the credit card holder is only responsible for the first US＄50 in fraudulent(欺诈的)purchases in cases of theft or loss. However, debit card users are responsible for the first US＄500.

SallieMae found some good news in the fact that two thirds of students had discussed credit issues with their parents, but 84 percent said they needed more information. Those who didn’t get any guidance were more likely to be surprised when they found out how much they owed.

While credit cards offer the easiest access to money, they make it easy to live outside your means. Less than a fifth of students surveyed paid off their balance every month, and carrying a balance brings finance charges, sometimes at a very high interest rates.

SallieMae found that almost 40 percent of students chose their first credit card based on direct mail, which is probably why students get credit card offers in the mail. But when the credit card offers flow in, be sure that you read the fine print. Offers of low or no interest rates can disappear, leaving you a debt that climbs beyond your ability to pay it off.

1. What does the first paragraph imply?

A. Most of the senior students are shocked to see how much they owed.

B. Students can only take out loans from credit cards.

C. Most of students’ loans come from credit cards.

D. Credit cards have a bad effect on college students.

2. The underlined part “come in handy” in the third paragraph probably means “_______”.

A. bring trouble          B. make mistakes       C. be important        D. be useful

3. According to SallieMae, what is the possible reason why students get so many credit card offers in the mail?

A. Many students’ first credit card is based on direct mail.

B. It costs the banks little to mail out credit cards.

C. Students don’t like to go to the bank to open a credit card account.

D. Banks have no other way to let students use their credit cards.

4.What is the theme of the third paragraph?

A. The advantages of using debit cards.

B. The similarities between credit cards and debit cards.

C. The advantages of using credit cards.

D. Credit cards are the most convenient form of payment.

Young people are definitely less courageous (勇敢的) than they were 30 years ago. Why is this? It’s because they are spoiled, and take for granted everything that they have or are given.

Thirty years ago, there wasn’t nearly as much blatant (公然的) disrespect for elders, peers, or other people in general. At that time, young people were taught that to get anything or get anywhere in life, they’d have to work for it and earn it.

If young people aren’t being taught the basics of respecting others, and aren’t being taught that they need to work to make a living, then where are they to learn courage?

Courage isn’t necessarily about risking your life, for whatever reason. It is about being able to face any kind of hardship, and to make decisions and face the consequences of those decisions.

Courage means being able to learn from hard times, and to take those lessons with you through life. It means having the resourcefulness (足智多谋) to find ways to deal with your problems yourself, and not being afraid to do so.

Too many young people now rely on parents, siblings, older relatives and others to get them through life. Too often they turn to these figures whenever they get into trouble, and expect to have their problems solved for them.

If we are to help our young people become more courageous, we should stop spoiling them, stop doing everything for them, and teach them the skills necessary to make basic life decisions on their own.

Once these basic principles are instilled (灌输) in our young people, I think we’ll find that they are more courageous than we could have dreamed, and more like the young people of thirty years ago than we had ever imagined.

It’s time to go back to older values and ideas, and to bring courage back into our young people and society.

“实行低碳经济”，“过低碳生活”，现在已经成为了人们关注的热门话题。最近，你们班的同学就这个话题展开了热烈的讨论。请你根据下表提供的信息，给21st century 写篇文章，报道你们班级的讨论情况。

注意：

对所给要点，逐一陈述，适当发挥，不要简单翻译。

字数150左右。开头已经写好，不计入总字数。

Nowadays, carrying out low carbon economy and living a low carbon life has been a hot topic. Recently our class had a heated discussion about it.

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What I’ve just got for Christmas is ________ attractive ipad, ______ present I have been longing for.

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

Engineering is ______ challenging course of study that requires ______ thorough understanding of mathematics and science.

A. the; a        B. a; the     C.不填；不填            D. a; a

Due to the policy of free highway fees on major holidays, too many passenger cars are trapped on the highways, causing heavy traffic jams, some even _______ for several hours.

A. held up        B. broken up       C. taken up      D. given up

We are seeking a prime minister, _____ who will devote himself to the interest of the country.

A. he            B. him          C. that            D. one

The look on Max’s face was ______ between puzzlement and anger.

A. everything    B. nothing C. something              D. anything

If you’re around people complaining others, ______ are that you will start to complain as well.

A.      reasons              B. attempts                 C. chances                  D. messages

Brendan hurriedly got to the airport, only ______ the plane had taken off.

A. to find            B. to finding       C. to be finding        D. to have found