Today’s kids absorb lots of messages, values and attitudes from the media and from friends. Advertisements whet their appetite for many things they don’t need. What they do need is an understanding of the value of the dollar.
How do kids learn to be economically savvy (机智的) ? Most schools do not teach the financial facts of life; it’s up to parents to help kids grow into responsible and skillful money earners, savers and spenders.
To learn about money, kids first need to have some. Early on, parents often hand out money on an as-needed basis. But experts say paying a regular allowance is the best way to teach children the meaning of money, how to use it and how to plan. Some call it “learning capital”.
A child is ready for an allowance around age five or six, when he becomes aware of the relationship between money and shopping, can differentiate coins, can add and subtract, has spending opportunities and asks parents to buy him things.
How much allowance? Some experts recommend giving a dollar for each year of age, but Sharon Danes, a professor at the University of Minnesota disagrees: “I think $ 5 a week is too much for a five-year-old, and $15 is probably not enough for a 15-year-old.” What’s right for the child depends on three factors: the child’s level of development, what the parents can afford, and what the parents expect him to pay for.
Whatever the amount, kids will soon feel they need more. But Sharon Danes insists that children don’t need an automatic raise each year. “There’s no lesson to be learned when children expect an increase just because they’re a year older,” she says. “The reason for getting a greater part of the family-income pie is so they can learn more about balancing demands and resources.”

41. In Para. 1, “whet their appetite” most probably means ____________.
A) make them wish for more B) spoil their appetite
C) sharpen their sensation D) stimulate their consuming power
42. What is the best way for children to learn to be economically savvy?
A) Parents don’t give them money until they really need it.
B) Children are taught the financial facts of life at school.
C) Parents regularly give them a certain amount of money.
D) Parents help children become skillful money earners.
43. At the age of five or six, children are capable of all the following EXCEPT _____.
A) identifying the face value of money
B) solving simple arithmetic problems
C) knowing that with money they can get things from stores
D) going shopping themselves
44. What is Professor Sharon Danes’ attitude toward the proposal of giving children a dollar for each year of age?
A) She believes this will surely encourage children to ask for more.
B) She doubts whether there is such thing as “right amount” for parents to give to their children.
C) She thinks it is unnecessary to increase the amount each year.
D) She insists that children can only get money when they study well.
45. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the last sentence of the passage?
A) The purpose of giving children money is to let them know more about how to use money and how to plan.
B) If they want to get more from the family income, they must have enough knowledge of family economy.
C) Children can get more money on the condition that they are able to balance demands and resources.
D) To give children more money is to make them understand the importance of balancing demands and resources.

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