2010年12月四六级备考训练：快速阅读

Married, With Money

　　You fight over finances, right? Here’s how to keep the cash—and the passion.

　　Brian Greenberg is a college financial planner, but on a recent morning he felt more like a marriage counselor. The couple sitting in his office, near Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was seeking advice about applying for financial aid for the man’s son from a previous marriage. “When they walked in,” Greenberg recalls, “I could feel the hostility.”

　　The income from the wife’s business, which she had started before they married, was modest, but it was just enough to limit the amount of aid the son could receive. The husband wanted her to incorporate to reduce their income, thereby allowing the son to qualify for more aid. She didn’t want to go through the complicated incorporation process, but felt pressured by her husband. “He was saying, ‘I’m entitled to do what I want because I’m making the money that pays the bills,” recalls Greenberg. “That kind of thinking undermines a relationship.”

　　Much of this type of animosity can be avoided if only couples would talk about money before they get married, says Mary Claire Allvine, a certified financial planner in Chicago and Atlanta and co-author of The 7 Most Important Money Decisions You’ll Ever Make. Without this talk, it’s unlikely that couples have an actual plan for their lives together.

　　Studies have shown that disagreements over money are the No. 1 cause of friction in a marriage. And for some, they’re the No. 1 reason for divorce.

　　So why can some couples weather financial ups and downs while others split over a household budget? The key to success is to find the common ground—the shared values about how, as partners, you want to live your lives together. Here are some tips for executing a money plan without losing the passion.

　　Think big and put it in buckets

　　After couples have paid their fixed expenses, they often find themselves disagreeing over how to spend what’s left—pay off the credit cards or get that HDTV one of them has been craving.

　　To avoid such clashes, talk about your dreams. Allvine’s research says couples who don’t get bogged down with day-to-day budgeting details are usually the most successful with their money. “You can’t say to the spender, ‘Okay, you can only spend $50 a month.’It’s like putting people on a diet where they can last for a while but then they just binge and eat a loaf of bread. The spender will say, ‘I’ll cut back.’And then they start cutting out the extra cup of coffee. But it’s rarely the coffee that puts them in debt. It’s the home they can’t afford or the car they shouldn’t be driving.”

　　Allvine recommends sorting your big dreams—starting a business, owning a home, saving for a vacation—into categories, or buckets. “When you name the bucket, you know what that money is for, and you won’t use it for anything else. That’s how couples get to their goals—they pay themselves first for the big things.”

　　Everyone needs the prenup talk

　　As today’s couples marry later, or remarry, they face big challenges combining resources. One spouse may bring children from a previous marriage; another might be caring for elderly parents. The new-think says, rich or not, you may need a prenuptial agreement. “It makes sense to think things through early on,” says Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management in Chicago.

　　But Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, co-author, with her father, Charles Schwab, of It Pays to Talk, has a different take: “Not everyone needs to sign a prenup document—but everyone should have the prenup conversation.”

　　The point, says Schwab-Pomerantz, is to get an idea of each other’s money personality. “If someone has a lot of debt, that can reflect some personality issues that his or her partner needs to know about. How you deal with money is a reflection of who you are as a person.”

　　Put your goals on paper

　　“When a couple can agree on their spending,” says nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Dave Ramsey, “then they have agreed on their fears, and their goals. We don’t really fight about money. We are fighting about priorities, fears and power. A plan on paper brings a level of promise and cooperation and unity.”

　　Ramsey also recommends scheduling regular money meetings to talk about expenses. “It’s all about being open and on the same page. There are no secret credit cards, no secret debt, no secret student loans. No deception. It’s a matter of understanding what the expenses are. How much do we have to spend on birthdays? What about the groceries and cable bills, the soccer expenses? Life starts to show up in a real way when you talk about it in a meeting and put it on paper.”

　　Take a hike

　　How and where you discuss your finances is critical to keeping the peace, says Schwab-Pomerantz. “You want to make sure both parties are in a comfortable, neutral place. It’s also important to know ahead of time what you’re going to talk about.”

　　Schwab-Pomerantz and her husband hike every weekend in the mountains near their home in the San Francisco Bay area. “We’re away from our kids. We’re not sitting there facing each other, which can become confrontational. We can’t get mad and walk to another room. It’s just the two of us, and we get a lot of conversation in there about our goals and our priorities in life.”

　　Get it together

　　Financial independence is empowering, but many counselors say that living separate financial lives endangers a marriage. “Having his and her money is a recipe for disaster,” advises Greenberg. “That says one person is taking care only of herself or himself.”

　　The joint account sends a powerful message that your marriage matters. The account should be for joint goals: building a reserve fund, saving for college. A shared account, however, shouldn’t cancel out individual accounts.

　　Managing your money together may not seem like a romantic venture, says Greenberg. “But if there is a good financial foundation, there are a lot fewer issues for conflicts.”

　　As for the couple seeking financial-aid advice from Greenberg, they left his office, smiling, after he proposed a novel solution. The path to financial happiness is clear: communicate and plan together.

　　1. This passage mainly talks about .

　　A) Brian Greenberg’s experience of how of how to have a stable income

　　B) Brian Greenberg’s experience as a financial counselor

　　C) Brian Greenberg’s experience as a marriage counselor

　　D) Brian Greenberg’s experience of how to earn more money for your family

　　2. Greenberg believes that a couple’s relationship will be undermined if .

　　A) one of them think they can do anything because he or she pay the bills

　　B) they do not share an equal family financial burden

　　C) one of them think he or she entitled to pay the bills

　　D) they share a common band account

　　3. The top factor leading to an unhappy marriage is .

　　A) the fact that partners fight for finance

　　B) the fact that partners quarrel for their children

　　C) the fact that marriage partners do not agree on money

　　D) the fact that marriage partners disagree with each other on their child’s education

　　4. Some couples can weather financial ups and downs while others split over a household budget because .

　　A) they have different opinions on how to spend money

　　B) they have different financial background

　　C) some of them know the tips on how to stay in harmony with their partners

　　D) some of them make a money plan while other do not

　　5. Allvine recommends .

　　A) make a plan for everything you want to purchase

　　B) sort your big dreams into categories

　　C) sort your every dream into categories and discuss with your partner

　　D. carry out your financial plan immediately

　　6. Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz .

　　A) has long been a backer for a pre-marriage agreement

　　B) is not for pre-marriage conversation

　　C) like to talk about anything concerning pre-marriage document

　　D) think not everyone needs to sign a pre-marriage document

　　7. A written financial plan .

　　A) is always good for the couple at any time.

　　B) is a guarantee for the couple in their financial stability

　　C) guarantees a strong sense of mutual understanding between a couple

　　D) is not suitable for every couple

　　8. Choosing a right way and place to discuss finance is critical to .

　　9. Some counselors point out that might be a severe hurt to a marriage .

　　10. Greenberg satisfied the just now hostile couple with the solution of .

答案

　　【主旨概括】

　　本文从Greenberg的个人经验出发，对如何处理好夫妻间的财务问题强调了制定经济计划的重要性，同时提出了五点建议，即：Think big and put it in buckets(把重点事项纳入财务计划);Everyone needs the prenup talk(每个人都需要签署婚前协议);Put your goals on paper(将财务计划形成文字);Take a hike(夫妇一起外出旅行);Get it together(把收入放到一起)。

　　1. 【解析】 B)本题是一道主旨题，从文章的题目以及第一个小标题上面的段落来看，本文主要讲了Greenber作为一名财务顾问，对如何处理好夫妻间的财务问题提出的几点建议，这可以从后面几个小标题中看得出来，因此正确答案是选项B)。

　　2.【解析】 A)根据专有名词Greenberg，a couples relationship will be undermined，本题定位在文章第三段Greenberg对夫妻经济状况和夫妻关系的看法。本段最后一句“That kind of thinking undermines a relationship.”这里Greenberg认为的that kind of thinking是什么是我们解题的关键所在。沿着这个线索在前面发现“He was saying, ‘Im entitled to do what I want because Im making the money that pays the bills,’”通过上下文可以发现这正是后一句的that kind of thinking。所以Greenberg认为破坏夫妻关系的是夫妻中一方有“我挣钱养家就应该照我的意愿行事”这样的想法。正确答案为选项A)。

　　3.【解析】 C)本题的定位词是unhappy marriage。初一看，会觉得整个文章围绕的都是这个核心，而无从下手，但按照题目中的另一个关键词top即可以轻松在文章第五段找到类似的表达。“…disagreements over money are the No. 1 cause of friction in a marriage… theyre the No. 1 reason for divorce.”因此，选项C)是正确答案。

　　4.【解析】 D)本题定位词是household budget。因为文章第六段中，作者提出了一个问题“So why can some couples weather financial ups and downs while others split over a household budget?”意为“为什么有的夫妇能够经受的住经济上的大起大落，而有些却因为房屋预算这样的小事情闹分手?”这里作者只是想要用来说明制定经济计划的重要性，这在后面给出了本题的答案，因为作者接下来就告诉我们如何制定计划来合理解决双方的经济问题，因此选项D)是正确答案。

　　5.【解析】 B)根据题目中的关键词Allvine可以快速将本题的答案定位到第一个小标题下的最后一段中的句子“Allvine recommends sorting your big dreams—starting a business, owning a home, saving for a vacation—into categories, or buckets”，从中可以得知正确答案为选项B)。

　　6.【解析】 D)根据题目中的关键词Carrie SchwabPomerantz，本题定位在文章第二个小标题下。本部分第二个小段中出现了一句话“But Carrie SchwabPomerantz…has a different take: Not everyone needs to sign a prenup document…”，从中可以判断选项D)是正确答案。

　　7.【解析】 C)根据题目中的关键词a written financial plan定位此题在第三个小标题。第一个小段中有这样表述“A plan on paper brings a level of promise and cooperation and unity”，而下面的一段中也用了多处文字介绍understanding的重要性，可以就此断定选项C)是正确答案。

　　8.【解析】 keeping the peace根据题目中的关键词critical定位到文章第四个小标题“Take a hike”下的解题关键句“How and where you discuss your finances is critical to keeping the peace…”。因此可以从中推出答案。

　　9.【解析】 living separate financial lives本题定位在文章倒数第四段中。本段开头“…but many counselors say that living separate financial lives endangers a marriage.”文中的endanger和题干中的be a severe hurt to意义相同，因此可以轻松得出答案。

　　10. 【解析】 communicating and planning together根据题目中的关键词Greenberg定位在最后一段“As for the couple seeking financial-aid advice from Greenberg, they left his office, smiling, after he proposed a novel solution. The path to financial happiness is clear: communicate and plan together”。其中的smiling吻合了题干中的satisfied，这样答案也是显而易见了。