Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?

As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it's not easy to change later in life.

Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.

According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail.

◆The ant — works first

Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.

◆The cricket — fun first

The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.

◆The snail — lives under pressure

The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.

Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except _____.

       A．society     B．the family       C．the education   D．money

People with the character of the snail would like to _____.

       A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future

       B．put work before everything else

       C．live a luxury life at all costs

       D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money

Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?

       A．the ants    B．the cricket       C．the snail   D．none of the above

This passage mainly talks about _____.

       A．spending nature of people      B．the relation between man and insects

       C．the insects in nature D．the problems with dealing with money

Unfortunately, when I arrived, Mary         , so we only had time for a few words．

       A．was just leaving              B．just left

       C．has just left             D．had just left

—How long have you been here?

       —___ the end of last year．

       A．Since               B．At                 C．By      D．In

Tom     with his grandmother for eight years，but now he is living by himself.

      A．lives      B．1ived    C．has lived D．has been living

He was puzzled by this phenomenon. He began to try every approach _________ the best way of working it out.

A. known to find  B. knowing to find  C. known finding  D.knowing finding

An idea   me   it was very difficult for a woman to get medical training at that

time.

A.hit to;what       B.hit;how             C.happened to;how      D.hit;that

Sumo wrestlers (相撲選手) are usually big, heavy men．The biggest sumo wrestler of all the time is Konishiki, who now  26  about 230 kg．Born in Hawaii, he was  27  a big boy．When he was a teenager, some people  28  he go to Japan and become a sumo wrestler．

Although he took their advice, at first it was a  29  life．“I had to clean the toilets and  30  the rubbish,” Konishiki remembered, “I knew I had to  31  to the life in Japan．I said to myself, ‘I  32  learn Japanese.’ Soon I could  33  it quite well.”

Konishiki’s career started  34 , and he was soon upgraded to a higher rank．But despite his  35  he soon had health problems．The doctors told him that he should  36  some weight．“I started dieting．I  37  to do it．But I did it too  38 ,” he said, “I lost some of my strength, too.”

He lost a lot of fights, and then his parents got  39  in a car crash．“I must go and  40  them,” he thought．Though it was only three days  41  a big tournament (錦標賽), he flew back to Hawaii．Although he was quite  42 , they were not badly injured．

When he returned, he knew that he had to do well．The newspapers said, “Konishiki must win,  43  he will go down in rank.”

Though he had many problems, Konishiki won 14 of his 15 fights, and won the Emperor’s Cup．He was so  44  that he cried．“You ought not to show your feelings,” he said, “but I couldn’t  45  it.”

A．means  B．measures       C．weighs    D．has

A．a(chǎn)lways  B．hardly      C．sometimes     D．once

A．promised B．a(chǎn)llowed       C．considered     D．suggested

A．real       B．hard       C．comfortable   D．rich

A．sell       B．bring       C．take       D．empty

A．get used     B．respond C．devote    D．lead

A．would    B．can   C．must       D．may

A．speak   B．say   C．learn      D．tell

A．bad       B．well  C．suddenly D．similarly

A．failure B．success  C．effort      D．fame

A．gain     B．lose  C．save       D．spare

A．failed B．began     C．had  D．refused

A．stupidly      B．carefully  C．slowly      D．quickly

A．shocked     B．destroyed       C．ruined     D．injured

A．visit     B．care        C．search  D．serve  

A．a(chǎn)fter    B．since       C．before     D．until

A．happy       B．worried    C．surprised       D．regretful

A．because     B．but   C．or     D．a(chǎn)nd

A．sad     B．nervous   C．curious    D．happy

A．do      B．help        C．feel  D．leave

When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，“Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault. ”or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault；the car broke down. ” It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.

Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you  need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame  the person. Ask to work with a different person, or  don’t rely on the person. You should accept that the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.

This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is. ” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.

According to the passage, winners        . W_w w. k*s*5 u. c@o m

A. deal with problems rather than blame others

B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives

C. have responsible and able colleagues

D. blame themselves rather than others

The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to        .

A. avoid       B. accept                   C. improve                  D. consider

When your colleague brings about a problem, you should         .

A. find a better way to handle the problem

B. blame him for his lack of responsibility

C. tell him to find the cause of the problem

D. ask a more able colleague for help

When problems occur, winners take them as         W_w w. k*s*5 u. c@o m

A. excuses for their failures          B. barriers to greater power

C. challenges to their colleagues      D. chances for self-development

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A Winner’s Secret.                        B. A Winner’s Problem.

C. A Winner’s Opportunity.                D. A Winner’s Achievement. W_w w. k*s*5 u. c@o m