Question

Many families in the United States have a large income now than ever before, but people are finding it difficult to make ends meet anyway. Almost everyone is wondering, “What happens to all my money? I never seem to have anything left to put away. ”

　 Why isn’t a dollar worth as much as it used to be? One dollar is always worth the same amount, that is, 100 cents. But the value of a dollar is how much it can buy. The value of money depends on the cost of living. Economists say that the cost of living is the money that a family must pay for the necessities of life such as food, housing or rent, clothes, and medical expenses. For many years now, the cost of living has increased greatly, so the value of the dollar has decreased. When a dollar has a low value, you cannot buy as many things with it.

　 No one fully understands why the cost of living keeps increasing, but economists believe that workers and producers can make process go up. As workers earn more money, they have more money to spend, so they demand more goods. If there a a great demand for certain goods, the prices of these goods go up. At the same time, if there’s a shortage of goods, the prices also go up. For example, if everyone wants to buy more and more gas, the price of gas goes up. When companies which hold gas from buyers, they can also make the price of gas go up.

　 Families need to know what happens to their money. They need to make their income meet the cost of living, so many people plan a family budget. A budget is a list of monthly expenses. If your expenses add up to more than your income, you must find ways to save money. Maybe you’re spending too much on entertainment. Or if you’re spending too much on clothes; you may want to sew your own clothes. budgeting helps you spend your money wisely as the cost of living increases.

1. What has troubled many families in the United States?

　 A. A not-large-enough income.

　 B. Nothing is left over to put away.

　 C. The increasing cost of living.

　 D. A shortage of certain goods.

2. ____ determines the value of the dollar.

　 A. The government

　 B. The cost of living

　 C. The economist

　 D. The bank

3. While the cost of living increases, the value of the dollar ____.

　 A. increases too

　 B. decreases

　 C. neither increases nor decreases

　 D. seldom decreases

4. When ____, the prices go up.

　 A. demand exceeds(超過) supply

　 B. supply exceeds demand

　 C. demand doesn’t exceed supply

　 D. supply equals demand

5. Budgeting helps ____.

　 A. one to make his income meet the cost of living

　 B. the government to battle the rising cost of living

　 C. merchants(商人)to produce more goods

　 D. the workers to earn more money

 

Answer 1

1. 選【C】。這是一道細節(jié)理解題。答案可以從第一、第二段中找到。文章第一段中說到，

　　　　　 在美國很多家庭的收入現(xiàn)在比以往要高，但還是很難做到收支平衡。那么原因

　　　　　 何在？這在第二段中可以找到。那是因為很多年來，生活費用大幅度增加，這

　　　　　 樣美元的價值就相對降低了，所以選項C“生活費用的增加”是困擾很多美國

　　　　　 家庭的原因。

2. 選【B】。這是一道細節(jié)理解題。本題意為：什么決定美金的價值？這在第二段中可找到。

　　　　 　第二段第四句說明了這個問題，即：美金的價值由生活費用而定，所以選B。

3. 選【B】。這是一道細節(jié)理解題。在第二段倒數(shù)第二句中可找到答案�！岸嗄陙�，生活費

　　　　　 用大幅度地增加，所以美元的價值就降低了”，因此選B。

4. 選【A】。這是一道細節(jié)理解題。本題意為：什么情況下價格會上漲？答案在第三段第三

　　　　　 句中找到。該句為：對于某些商品，如果供小于求，這些東西就會漲價。同樣，

　　　　　 如果貨物短缺，物價也會上漲。所以選項A是惟一正確的答案，即當供不應求

　　　　　 時，價格就上漲。

5. 選【A】。這是一道細節(jié)理解題。答案在文章最后一段中可找到。這里的預算是指家庭按

　　　　　 月度消費的記賬單。如果你的消費總數(shù)大于你的收入，就必須找出省錢的辦法；

　　　　　 當生活費用增加時，預算會幫助你在花錢上精明起來。所以選項A“預算幫助

　　　　　 你收支相抵。”是正確答案。