Reading

1. Reading Looking after money No.6 Middle School Liu Danfeng

3. Good habits with money 1. What is the topic of this passage? A. Debt B. Money C. Children D. Parents 2. What is this passage probably about? A. How to look after money. B. How to reduce debt. C. How to teach children. D. How to give advice.

4. Good habits with money buy pay spend sell afford debt save money cost lend cash bank check credit borrow

5. Good habits with money Debt among young Americans is increasing. Are they ignoring their parents’ advice, or are the parents failing to teach their children about money? Here are a few simple lessons that children as young as seven or eight can understand. Firstly, save before you buy. When you receive money you should immediately save some of it, maybe 20%. After this, spend what you want. Secondly, watch your money. Don’t trust other people with it. Don’t lend money and don’t try to buy friends. If friends want your money, they aren’t real friends. Another piece of advice: buy only what you can afford. If that MP3 player or cell phone costs more than you have, then you don’t need it. Don’t borrow money for it, either.

6. If you really want something, you can save for it. Saving teaches discipline. Also, after you have saved up enough money, you may realize you don’t really want it after all. Finally, don’t compare your possessions with your friends’ possessions. That expensive computer game next door may be borrowed or paid for on credit. There is an old saying: Give a person a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a person how to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.” this is also true when we teach our children about money. Don’t lecture your children or buy them everything they want. Teach them good habits and they will always look after their money.

7. Reading skill I • Before reading, imagine some words and situations about the title, which may appear in the passage.

8. Skim the passage again. • How many good habits with money are mentioned? What are they? • 4 good habits. Firstly, save before you buy. Secondly, watch your money. Another piece of advice: buy only what you can afford. Finally, don’t compare your possessions with your friends’ possessions.

9. Reading skill II • Words like firstly, secondly, next, then, last, finally, in the end, as a result, … are called signal words. Using signal words to catch information quickly is another important reading skill.

10. Lottery winners • In 2000, Ken Partridge, a factory worker, won $1 million in the Michigan lottery.…… billion million dollars shopping credit bank cash check invest rich donate happy charity surprised travel excited do business sell help famous buy a car / house newspaper / TV financial luxury expensive

11. Scan the passage. • Underline the words you’ve imagined. • What problems would the winners face?

12. Lottery winners In 2000, Ken Partridge, a factory worker, won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. Partridge had a party and left his job. Then he moved to California and started a business selling cars. Five years later, all the money was gone and the business was dead. Partridge returned to Michigan and went back to work in the factory. His experience is common among lottery winners. Susan Black, a New York financial adviser, says, “ Winning the lottery can be a disaster. In our culture, people believe that money solves problems. Often it causes more problems than it solves.”

13. There are three big dangers. First, there is the sudden fame. The winners appear in the newspaper with a check for millions of dollars, standing next to a beautiful girl. But they didn’t work for this fame, and usually they aren’t ready for it. This can cause emotional problems. Secondly, all kinds of people start knocking on the door. For example, Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery twice (in 1985 and 1986), says, “ Everyone wanted my money. I never learned one simple word in the English language…No!” She spent $5.4 million in just a few years, and learned that winning money often means losing friends. Finally, lottery winners usually don’t know how to look after their money. For example, a recent study found that the first thing lottery winners do is buy a huge house and luxury furniture. Another thing they all do is to buy expensive cars for the family. Very few invest the money intelligently, so when the money is gone, the dream ends too!

14. Careful reading. • Comprehension Check. 2,4,5 3 1’40’’ 1’45’’ 1’50’’ 1’55’’ 2’00’’ 2’20’’ 2’05’’ 2’10’’ 2’15’’ 2’25’’ 2’30’’ 2’50’’ 2’55’’ 3’00’’ 2’35’’ 2’40’’ 2’45’’ 3’05’’ 3’10’’ 3’15’’ 3’20’’ 3’25’’ 3’30’’

15. (First, …) Comprehension Check. •What does “fame” mean in the passage? A. Danger B. Fact. C. Popularity D. Appearance. • Why do lottery winners sometimes have emotional problems? A. Because they meet beautiful girls who want their money. B. Because they stop working and then miss their job. C. Because they are not ready to become famous. D. Because they spent all the money on houses and cars. • A lot of people ask money from lottery winners. True or False? • What did a recent study find? A. The best way to invest money is to buy cars and houses. B. Lottery winners spend too much money too quickly. C. Most lottery winners’ dreams come true. D. Only lucky persons win lotteries. (First, …) (Secondly, …) (Finally, …)

16. My lucky money • Spring Festival, red paper, save, spend, bank, buy, visit, present / gift, …… • How much lucky money did you get? How do you look after your lucky money? How to save it? How to spend it? • Firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally, last, … • Prepare a short speech.

17. My lucky money I got five hundred yuan as lucky money during the Spring Festival. For my lucky money, I have a following plan. Firstly, Iplanto save 300 yuan into a bank. At the beginning of the new term, I will use this money as my school fees. Secondly, Iplanto save 100 yuan by myself. Mother’s Day is in May. I plan to buy a gift for my mother with the money. Last, Iplanto buy a tape recorder with 100 yuan. I often need to listen to English tape for learning English, so I need a tape recorder to help me.