Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.
Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.
People can be addicted to different things — for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions, i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy.
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.
Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(療法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments”. If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.  
【小題1】If you use charge accounts, ____.

A．you pay in cash	B．you pay with credit card
C．you pay less than you should	D．you pay more than you should

【小題2】Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that ____.

A．the things they buy are cheap

B．they believe they can balance their budgets

C．they get psychological satisfaction

D．they really need the things they buy

【小題3】Behavior therapy in this case aims at____.

A．helping businessmen to increase their business

B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less

C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy

D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain

【小題4】The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to ____.

A．different things	B．their addictions
C．charge accounts	D．their pleasures

【小題5】From the passage we can conclude that ____.

A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy

B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much

C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine

D．a(chǎn)ll businessmen understand well the psychology of customers

Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.

Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.

People can be addicted to different things — for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions, i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy.

There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.

It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.

Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(療法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments”. If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.  

1.If you use charge accounts, ____.

A．you pay in cash                         B．you pay with credit card

C．you pay less than you should               D．you pay more than you should

2.Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that ____.

A．the things they buy are cheap

B．they believe they can balance their budgets

C．they get psychological satisfaction

D．they really need the things they buy

3.Behavior therapy in this case aims at____.

A．helping businessmen to increase their business

B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less

C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy

D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain

4.The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to ____.

A．different things                         B．their addictions

C．charge accounts                        D．their pleasures

5.From the passage we can conclude that ____.

A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy

B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much

C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine

D．a(chǎn)ll businessmen understand well the psychology of customers

 

Someone asked me this week if I thought we really can have "at all". My immediate answer was "of course", but after thinking it over, I concluded that it depends on a lot of things. In my opinion, the answer of whether or not you can have "it all" has to vary from person to person because we are all so different, and everyone has a differing definition （定義）of "it all". In fact, I believe that even the same individual’s definition of "it all" varies over their life. Most babies believe they have "it all" when they are in the arms of their mommy enjoying a good meal. That’s all it takes! But, as that baby matures, their definitions become more complex, and finding "it all" becomes increasingly a private matter.

I have learned a lot of important life lessons during my search to have "it all". It began in Junior High School, when to have "it all" meant having my own room, getting HBO, and being on the "A" volleyball team at school. And, yes, I achieved those goals and had "it all". At least for a little while. Because the first lesson I learned about having "it all" is that as soon as you get "it all", you want more!

In High School, I thought I only needed one thing to have "it all". I wanted so badly to be a member of the Madrigal Singers, a famous choir sponsored by our school. I finally worked up the nerve to audition（試唱）, despite the fact that no one had ever told me I had a special singing talent of that my voice was unique. At least, until my audition, when the director of the choir had no problem telling me how LITTLE talent I had! When I didn’t make the choir, I learned that if my definition of having "it all" means having something that isn’t a god-given gift, I will always be defeated. If, however, I choose to pursue goals that fit with the talents I have, the chance to have "it all" is unlimited!

1．What is mainly discussed in the passage?

       A．How we can have "it all".

       B．Everyone has a differing definition of "it all".

       C．The author’s own experience in having "it all".

       D．Whether we can have "it all" depends on a lot of things.

2．What can we conclude from the second paragraph?

       A．People just can’t get satisfaction from having "it all".

       B．People can have "it all" only when all the goals are met.

       C．It is hard to get a permanent sense of having "it all".

       D．It is easy for the young to get a feeling of having "it all".

3．By his experience of audition for the choir, the author intends to tell us          .

       A．one shouldn’t be discouraged if one fails in having "it all".

       B．having "it all" can’t go beyond one’s own talents

       C．one’s chance of having "it all" is unlimited

       D．having "it all" is just a beautiful fantasy

4．The author believes that           .

       A．the same person always has the same definition of having "it all"

       B．different people have a different definition of having "it all"

       C．not all people can have "it all"

       D．having "it all" takes treat efforts

5．We can infer from the passage that             .

       A．the author has had "it all" in his life

       B．the author doesn’t believe that people can have "it all"

       C．the author has a better idea of having "it all" than before

       D．having "it all" doesn’t have anything to do with one’s age