Question

Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.

Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. I f you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.

When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to put something in it.

Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay(黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars.The Middle English word

for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.

Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money--- college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely.

1.What is the piggy bank strategy?

A. Paying 1% income tax at a time.

B. Setting a goal before making a travel plan.

C. Aiming high even when doing small things.

D. Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.

2.Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?

A. To delight him with the latest fashion.

B. To encourage him to climb mountains.

C. To help him form the habit of saving.

D. To teach him English pronunciation.

3.What does then underlined word “something”(Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?

A. Money B. Gifts

C. Financial success D. Good luck

4.The piggy ban originally was _________.

A. a potter’s instrument B. a cheap clay container

C. an animal-shaped dish D. a pig-like toy for children

5.The last paragraph talks about ________.

A. the seriousness of educating children

B. the enjoyment of taking a great trip

C. the importance of managing money

D. the difficulty of starting a business

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

5.C

【解析】

試題分析:

試題分析：本文是一篇記敘文。作者在文中給我們講述了小豬銀行策略，即用存錢罐定期地存錢，以達到積少成多的目的。作者認(rèn)為這樣不僅可以讓孩子養(yǎng)成攢錢的好習(xí)慣，而且對于成年人來說，為以后的生活定期地存錢也是很有意義的。

1.】D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段內(nèi)容可知，如果一個人想要什么東西，可以定期地往小豬存錢罐里放入一些錢，直到攢夠錢可以去買想要的東西，故選D。

2.】C推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段的內(nèi)容可知，作者的父母送給了他一個小豬存錢罐作為禮物，這樣作者想要什么東西的話，就要自己慢慢存錢來買。這樣就可以幫助他養(yǎng)成一個存錢的習(xí)慣，選C。

3.該詞所在的句子和這一段的內(nèi)容可知，有了存錢罐，人們就可以慢慢攢錢，買想要的東西，當(dāng)然，人們必須得往里放錢。所以這里的something指的就是錢，故選A。

4.內(nèi)容可知在還沒有現(xiàn)代銀行的時候，人們在家里攢錢，把一枚枚硬幣放在一個用黏土制成的罐子里，后來慢慢演變成了現(xiàn)在的存錢罐，故選B。

5.】C主旨大意題。根據(jù)最后一段的內(nèi)容可知，這一段講述的是我們用存錢罐攢錢的意義：不僅可以使孩子養(yǎng)成存錢的習(xí)慣，而且對于大人們來說，為以后的生活定期地存錢也是很有意義的，選C。

考點：考查社會文化類短文閱讀