Money management should be easy, right? You earn money. Then you use it to pay bills and taxes, donate some if you can and save some. I have paid out more than I earned in the past. I have been stingy occasionally and been sorry later. My biggest regret about money, however, is regarding savings. When I was 30 years old, I started saving money. Finally, I had a well-paid job with a salary that would grow with time and seniority. I purchased my home and moved in. The next logical step was to save money. So I did. In one year I put away $5,000. My goal was to build another $5,000 and start investing . I was pleased with my progress. Unfortunately, life stepped in. A family member became disabled and needed financial assistance. I could not seem to control my spending, and my checking account ran dry. My credit card bills rose. I carry no regret to any necessities that I bought for my family. However, as I look back, I realize that I did not research enough about balancing my budget before spending my savings account. I used the money to buy fast food just for convenience. I would go to the store for food when my cupboards were still not empty, because I wanted something special. I bought convenient items to save time, not considering that I was wasting money. I should have given up the name brand paper towels and used more dish rags. My $5,000 was gone quickly. That was just over 10 years ago. If I had kept the savings and restarted my savings after the emergency, I might have doubled that $5,000 by now. When I am a senior, I will still regret that $5,000. My credit card debt will be paid back soon. I will be as wise in my charity donations as possible. But I shall always mourn my savings account. What lesson can we learn from this text? A) We should balance our budget. B) We should try to find a well-paid job. C) We should try our best to save more money. D) We should be as wise in our donations as possible.
A
Parents often think that time spent with their kids will gradually decrease in adolescence. But a new study suggests that while teens try to avoid spending a lot of time together with their parents, private parent-child meetings may actually increase in their early adolescent years. And that may raise a teenager's self-esteem and social confidence, especially if it is the time that spent with Dad, the researchers added. The researchers created a long-term study in which they invited families in 16 school districts in central Pennsylvania to participate. In each family, a teenager, a younger sibling , their mother and their father were interviewed at home and then asked about their activities and self-worth five times over a period of seven years. The study authors were surprised to discover that when fathers spent more time alone with their teenagers, the kids reported they felt better about themselves. Something about the father's role in the family seemed to improve self-esteem among the teenagers in the study, said study co-author Susan McHale, a professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University. "Time with Dad often involves joking, teasing, and other playful interactions. Fathers, compared to mothers, were more involved in leisure activities and had more peer-like interactions with their children, which is crucial for youth social development," the study showed. But Marta Flaum, a psychologist in Chappaqua, New York, said, "How these findings reflect the real world is a real question. The sample in the study is so small and so unrepresentative of most families in the country today that I'm not sure how much we can generalize from it. In my community in Westchester County, I don't see parents and teenagers spend much time together at all. Parents are often working so hard and have less time to be together with their kids." However, Flaum encourages parents to make time for their kids no matter how much work they have to do. "Research like this reminds us of how important _ is. The time we... Where is the passage most likely to be taken from? A) Science magazine. B) A news report. C) A research plan. D) An advertisement.
B
Q: Every successful independence movement needs a leader. The leader of the Indian independence movement was Mohandas Gandhi. He was born into a Hindu family. As a young man, Gandhi studied law in London. The Hindu leaders had threatened to punish him. But he went to London anyhow. Gandhi believed in fighting without weapons or force. He called his method non-violence . He would simply disobey any unfair law or policy. He was willing to be punished for his actions. Gandhi thought that the law would be changed if enough people protested in this way. It would show how strongly the people felt about his beliefs. Gandhi wanted all Indians to understand the independence movement. He walked barefoot through the villages, speaking to all people. Many people loved and understood Gandhi. His movement grew. The British flag came down in 1947. The Indian people honored Gandhi with the title Mahatma, which means "Great soul". Gandhi was an unusual kind of leader. He promised never to make money for himself. He always wore simple clothes and sandals. He was shot and killed in 1948. At his death, he owned little more than a few clothes, his eyeglasses, a book, and his rice bowl. What method did Gandhi use in leading his people to fight against the British rule of India? A) Armed struggle. B) Violence. C) Non-violence. D) Fighting.
A: C
Q: Mark felt that it was time for him, to take part in his community, so he went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area' s city councilwoman was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was decreasing. The neighborhood faced many problems. Mark looked at the charts taped to the walls. There are charts for parking problems, crime, and for problems in vacant buildings. People were supposed to suggest solutions to the councilwoman. It was too much for Mark. "The problems are too big," he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, "I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I could do would make a difference here." Mark thought some more on his way to the bus stop. "People should just take care of themselves, "he decided. "That' s enough to do. I can' t take on all the problems of the world." As he neared the bus stop, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery bag and a baby. She was trying to unlock her car, but she didn't have a free hand. As Mark got closer, her other child, a little boy, suddenly _ into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted and the groceries started to fall out. Mark ran to take the boy's arm and led him back to his mother. Then he picked up the groceries while the woman smiled in relief. "Thanks! "she said. "You've got great timing!" "Just being neighborly," Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the walls of the bus. On one of them was "Small acts of kindness add up. "Mark smiled and thought, "Maybe that's a good place to start." In Mark's opinion, _ . A) nobody was so able as to solve the problems B) he was not in the position to solve such problems C) many people were too selfish to think about others D) he already had more than enough work to do
A: B