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“What is success?” Mr Gruber asked his 6th grade business class. It was his opening conversation for the first class of the term.
“Success is riding in a sweet car, watching an 80-inch TV, and living in a place with at least twelve rooms.” One student answered, earning laughs from all the students.
Mr Gruber smiled, but shook his head. “Tom, that is excess(过量). That is not success.”
“How about being able to provide for your family?” A blonde girl named Sandy in the front suggested as an answer.
“Now we’re getting closer,” Mr Gruber smiled, “but try thinking about what you need and what you want.”
“Getting everything you want.” Tom shouted out an answer again, trying for more laughs.
Mr Gruber sighed. “ I believe we’ve already talked about excess versus(与…比较) success.” “Getting everything you need, but some of what you want?” James, sitting in the back wondered aloud.
“Quite right!” Mr Gruber clapped. “Success is getting everything you need and some of what you want. The more you get that you want, the more successful you are. You do reach a point where you are living in excess, though.”
“What does this have to do with business?” Tom asked. It seemed if it wasn’t funny, he wasn’t happy.
“Well, Tom, think of it this way: the point of business is to make a living to support your family. Once you have properly seen to (确保) their needs, you can then see to getting the extras that you want.”
“What if I don’t have a family?” he continued to be difficult.
“Then you have to provide for yourself, a family of one.”
“He has goldfish to think about!” Peter, Tom’s friend, shouted out.
“Then he needs to provide for a family of one with a fishbowl.” Mr. Gruber corrected himself.
Tom nodded, satisfied with that answer.
“So in the next nine weeks, we’re going to study basic business situations, like having a checking account and understanding credit cards.”
Tom rubbed his hands together excitedly. “When do we get to start spending?”
“You already are, Tom. You’re spending time with us!” Mr. Gruber laughed. “Now, let’s see what you guys know about credit cards…”
1.What class did Mr Gruber teach?
A. History B. Science
C. Maths D. Business
2.Which student didn’t seem to be taking the class seriously?
A. Tom B. James
C. Peter D. Sandy
3.How did Mr Gruber make his class lively and interesting?
A. He himself kept talking.
B. He just read from a textbook.
C. He showed a movie to his students.
D. He got his students to take part in a discussion.
4.What do you think of Mr Gruber according to the passage?
A. Strange B. Patient
C. Shy D. Proud
5.What can be the best title of this passage?
A. Get What You Want B. Needs and Wants
C. Try to Get More Money D. How to Live Well
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Mark Twain’s First Money
Mark Twain was asked one day if he could remember the first money he ever earned.
He thought a long time and then said , “Yes, it was at school. I can remember everything about it. School boys in those days did not take good care of their chairs and desks. There was a rule in our school that if anyone damaged his desk or chair, he would have to pay five dollars or the teacher would beat him in front of the whole school.”
“One day I damaged my desk in some way, I had to pay five dollars or be beaten before the whole school. My father said it would be too bad to have our family disgraced in front of the whole school. He agreed to give me five dollars to hand over the teacher. But before he gave me the money, he took me upstairs and gave me a beating.”
“But as I had one beating and I decided I would take another beating at school and keep the five dollars. So that’s what I did. That was the first money I ever earned.”
1.Mark Twain earned his first money _________.
A. when he was a pupil
B. when he became a writer
C. when he taught at a school
D. when he was beaten by his father
2.The school made the rule so that they could_____.
A. teach the students well
B. give the students a beating
C. keep the desks and chairs well
D. ask the students for more money
3.Mark Twain’s father______.
A. was happy to give him the money
B. got angry when he knew what Mark Twain had done at school
C. said sorry to the teacher when he heard the news
D. agreed to beat Mark Twain and then give him the money
4.Mark Twain’s father thought if he gave Mark Twain the money______.
A. he would not be beaten in front of the whole school
B. he would go to the school again
C. he would never do that again
D. he would earn the money
5.Mark Twain was beaten_______.
A. at home B. only by his father
C. at school D. both at school and at home
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Fire can help people in many ways. But can also be very harmful. Fire can heat water warm your houses, give light, and cook food. But fire can burn things too. It can burn trees, houses, animals, or people. Sometimes big fires can burn forests.
Nobody knows for sure how people began to use fire. But there are many interesting, old stories about the first time a man or woman started a fire. One story from Australia tells about a man very, very long time ago. He went up to the sun by a rope and brought fire down.
Today people know how to make a fire with matches. Children sometimes like to play with them. But matches can be very dangerous. One match can burn a piece of paper, and then it might burn a house. A small fire can become a big fire very fast.
Fires kill many people every year. So you must be careful with matches. You should also learn to put out fires. Fires need oxygen. Without oxygen they die. There is oxygen in the air. Cover a fire with water, sand, or in an emergency, with your coat or something else. This keeps the air away from a fire and kills it.
Be careful with fire, and it will help you. Be careless with fire, and it will burn you.
1.Which is true?
A. We are not sure how people started to use fire.
B. It is an Australian who started a fire.
C. We know how people began to use fire.
D. Nobody knows how to make a fire.
2.Children mustn’t play with matches because ______.
A. matches burn paper
B. it is not interesting
C. matches can be dangerous
D. they don’t know how to make a fire with matches
3.If you are going to put out a fire, you ______.
A. must be careful with matches
B. ought to know it can be harmful
C. have to cover it with water only
D. should keep air away from it
4.We must be careful with fire, or it ______.
A. can be B. warms our houses
C. might burn usD. will help us
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Fire can help people in many ways.
B. Fire can be both helpful and harmful.
C. Fire can burn things and people
D. We must be careful with matches.
