英语每日一练
Of all the lessons taught by the financial crisis, the most personal has been that Americans aren’t so good at money-management. We take out home loans we can’t afford. We run up sky-high credit-card debt. We don’t save nearly enough for retirement.
In response, supporters of financial-literacy education are moving with renewed enthusiasm. School districts in states such as New Jersey and Illinois are adding money-management courses to their curriculum . The Treasury and Education departments are sending lesson plans to high schools and encouraging students to compete in the National Financial Capability Challenge that begins in March.
Students with top scores on that exam will receive certificates -but chances for long-term benefits are slim. As it turns out, there is little evidence that traditional efforts to boost financial know-how help students make better decisions outside the classroom. Even as the financial-literacy movement has gained steam over the past decade, scores have been falling on tests that measure how well students learn about things such as budgeting, credit cards, insurance and investments. A recent survey of college students conducted for the Jump Start Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that students who’d had a personal-finance or money-management course in high school scored no better than those who hadn’t.
“We need to figure out how to do this the right way,” says Lewis Mendel, a professor at the University of Washington who after 15 years of studying financial-literacy programs has come to the conclusion that current methods don’t work. A growing number of researchers and educators agree that a more radical approach is needed. They advocate starting financial education a lot earlier than high school, putting real money and spending decisions into kids’ hands and talking openly about the emotions and social influences tied to how we spend.
Other initiatives are tacking such real-world issues as the commercial and social expensive brand-name shoes so badly? “It takes confidence to take a stand and to think differently,” says Jeroo Billimoria, founder of Aflatoun, a nonprofit whose curriculum, used in more than 30 countries, aims to help kids get a leg up in their financial lives.”“This goes beyond money and savings”.
1. The financial-literacy education is intended to________.
A. renew Americans’ enthusiasm about money-management
B. increase Americans’ awareness of the financial crisis
C. help Americans to overcome the financial crisis
D. enable Americans to manage money wisely
2. According to the author, the National Financial Capability Challenge will be_______.
A. ineffective
B. rewarding
C.costly
D. well-received
3. By saying that “the financial-literacy movement has gained steam”(Para .3), the author means that the movement______.
A. has received much criticism
B. has been regarded as imaginative
C. has been more and more popular
D. has gone through financial difficulties
4. Lewis Mandell suggests that we should figure out how to ________.
A. manage money in a more efficient way
B. carry out financial-literacy education properly
C. improve the social awareness of financial education
D. help students score better in money-management courses
5. Jeroo Billimoria is most likely to agree that commercial and social pressures make one’s purchasing decisions________.
A. acceptable
B. difficult
C. feasible
D. unwise
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正确答案
1. 【答案】D
【考点】细节理解
【解析】 金融知识教育的目的是什么?
从第一段以及第二段可分析出： 美国人不善于理财，因此学校增加了Money-management(财务管理)课程，目的是为了帮助美国人能够更加理智的管理自己的钱财。因此选D 项“可以帮助美国人更加理智的管理个人财务”。
【误项排除】A项“理财教育唤起了人们的热情”，是因果关系，不是教育的目的。B项，增加美国人对金融危机的意识，在文章中没有提及。C项“帮助美国人克服金融危机”，虽然金融危机在文章开头提到，但是根据文章的意思，人们应该从金融危机中吸取的教训是应该理智的管理个人钱财。
2. 【答案】A
【考点】细节理解
【解析】 作者如何看到全国金融能力考试?
根据文章第三段： students with top scores on that exam will receive certificates-but chances for long-term benefits are slim. 在测试中获得高分成绩的学生将获得证书，但是从长期的角度来看，从此课程学习中获利的机会却微乎其微。因此选A项“无效的”。
【误项排除】B 项“有收获的，有回报的”、 C项“成本很高的”、 D项“很受欢迎的”均与题意不符。
3. 【答案】 C
【考点】语义理解
【解析】 在第三段提及的：金融知识活动已经产生了根基， 作者认为这个活动是怎样的?
产生根基是指在群众中产生了一定的影响，指这种活动越来越流行起来。因此选C项“变得越来越流行”。
【误项排除】A项“收到很多批评”、B项“被认为是想象出来的”、D项“经历了很多财政困难”均与文章意思不符。
4.【答案】B
【考点】细节推断
【解析】 里维 斯曼迪尔建议我们要明确该怎么做?
根据第四段第一句：“We need to figure out how to do this the right way”, says Lewis Mandell. 原文中的this 根据前文可知， 指代的是the financial-literacy education. “the right way”指用正确的方法。因此选B项“用更加合适的方式来开展金融知识教育”。
【误项排除】因为文章的第三段主要讲各种的理财教育效果甚微，因此第四段开头，this 指金融知识教育，A项“用更有效的方式管理钱财”、C项“提高金融教育的社会意识度”、D项“帮助学生在财务管理课程中取得好成绩”与文章意思不符。
5. 【答案】D
【考点】细节推断
【解析】 捷路·比利莫利亚更倾向于同意商业及社会压力使人们的购买决定怎么样?
文章最后一段，主要分析了为什么人们会倾向于花很多的钱购买名牌产品，有些还超出了人们的购买能力。捷路·比利莫利亚给出的原因是：当处于某种社会地位或思维与众不同时， 购买者需要一定的信心。由此可以推断出D项“不够理智”。
【误项排除】A项“可接受的”、B项“困难的”、C项“可实用的”选项与题意不符。
