Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.

    The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.

    In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.

    At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.

    Allowances give children a chance to experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save and maybe even invest (投资) it.

    Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest (利息). That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

Editor: Today our topic is part-time job. Are they good for school children or not?

Headmaster: Certainly not. Children have got two full-time jobs already: growing up and going to school. Part-time jobs make them so tired that they fall asleep in class.

Mrs. White: I agree. I know school hours are short, but there's homework as well, and children need a lot of sleep.

Mr. White: Young children, perhaps some boys, stay at school until they're eighteen or nineteen. A part-time job can't harm them. In fact, it's good for them. They earn their pocket money instead of asking their parents for it. And they see something of the world outside school.

Businessman: You're quite right. Boys learn a lot from a part-time job. And we mustn't forget that some families need the extra money. If the pupils didn't take part-time jobs, they couldn't stay at school.

Editor: Well, we have got two for, and two against. What do our readers think?

    I arrived at my mother's home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt (被子) after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.

    “Oh?” Mom said, “That's Mama's quilt.”

    I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.

    “Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn't look like any of the quilts she had made.

    “Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes, she said. “I'm still working on it. See, this is what I've done so far.”

    I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched (缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn't get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”

    “Oh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother's quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.

    It's common for children to grow up being told to minimize daydreaming, and instead to focus on lessons and class work. Historically, daydreaming students who go off on their own thoughts, rather than focusing on the teachers, the blackboard, or their class work, are often encouraged to stop allowing their attention to wander and to bring themselves back into the present moment. They're described as uninterested in school work and their future. Traditionally, daydreaming is seen as a practice that results in bad consequences.

    But recent studies are beginning to renounce those common beliefs by pointing out the potential benefits that daydreaming may provide. PsychCentral reports that Mary Smith, a psychological scientist and researcher, recently examined scientific writings and studies to gain a better understanding of the role of a reflective brain. These studies have shown that the brain has a network that is active when a person is daydreaming and that brain network can help memory and learning.

    Though paying attention in school is important, these results suggest that there should be time for students to daydream, too. Giving them the chance to reflect and daydream can help improve learning and development. Research also indicates that when students are permitted to daydream, they experience less anxiety and become more motivated. On the other hand, if students are warned against daydreaming, their knowledge of themselves and the world around them may suffer.

    As a result, educators are encouraged to promote a balance between outward and inward attention. A little bit of daydreaming to break up the hard focus on school activities can be beneficial, and it may help students become better, active learners.

    As for students, the lesson here is not to be afraid of doing some daydreaming. Sure, you want to pay attention to the vital information conveyed to you during your classes, but don't get discouraged if your mind wanders. A little bit of daydreaming is healthy.

    On April 8th, 2013, the world felt sorry because of the death of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who died at the age of 87. Besides being the country's longest leader (1979-1990) in the 20th century, she was the first woman to lead Britain. She worked hard and did well in her work, so she was called" Iron Lady".

    Whatever you think of Margaret Thatcher, the thing everyone does agree on is that she was a woman with great decisions. When she took over Britain in 1979, she led a country that was in economic trouble. She faced a lot of problems because of the poor economic position.

    In order to make the country become strong again, Ms. Thatcher had to make some hard and special decisions like raising interest rates and even taxes at a time when most British people were living a hard life. In this way she led Britain to run out of economic troubles.

    Early in her second term, just as things were looking a little better, she faced another problem — a strike by the British Miners Union. Once again, the Iron Lady stood her ground to stop the longest strike in the country's history.

    In 1982, Argentina said that they had owned the Falkland Islands since the 19th century. Britain, however, considered the islands to be one of their overseas dependent territories (领土). Margaret Thatcher tried to talk about the problem with Argentines. But Argentines didn't agree with her ideas, so Ms. Thatcher did what any strong leader would do — send in the British Army. It took 74 days, and on 14th June 1982, the Argentine army finally failed and Britain controlled the Falkland Islands again.

    When Ms. Thatcher resigned in 1990, she left behind a country that was very strong. Unluckily, during the last few years of her life, something was wrong with her mind. She hardly remembered anything that was happening around her and even what she had done during her wonderful lifetime.

    A few days ago I was sitting in a Thai restaurant enjoying a meal when I got a phone call from a friend I hadn't spoken to for a long time. Full of enthusiasm and excitement I talked slightly louder than usual and in Spanish, my mother tongue.

    A few minutes into the call the lady sitting beside me got up, seemingly upset, and asked the restaurant staff to relocate her to a table as far away as possible from "this man who won't get off his phone"

    I sank in my seat out of embarrassment. I ended the call soon afterwards and felt the urge to go over and apologize. Before getting up I looked around to see where she was and I found she was, indeed, at the table furthest away from me. I noticed that the lady was alone and staring out of the window, looking a bit sad.

    Right then I quit my plan for a conventional apologetic gesture and decided to conduct an experiment. Seeing those funny smile cards in my wallet, I took one out. When signing my check I asked the waiter to secretly charge the lady's meal to my credit card instead of her bill.

    I left the restaurant, letting the waiter know I would be back in a few hours to pick up my credit card. I returned later as promised, excited to learn the result.

    To my pleasant surprise, things turned out the best possible way. A group of restaurant staff approached me with joy, telling me that the lady had dined there many times, but they had never seen her smile and laugh like she did upon receiving the smile card and the $0 check.