初高中衔接能力训练一.docVIP

初高中衔接能力训练（一） I. Pre-reading Match each word with the best meaning. 1. determine A. said 2. personal B. decide; choose 3. property C. not public, belonging to someone 4. wealth D. a large amount of money and property 5. worth E. things owned by someone 6. nation F. value or cost 7. reported G. decide or guess something, e.g. a number or price 8. eatimated H. country II. Reading There are really 2 classes of wealthy people. Millionaires are rich. Billionaires are super rich! However, determining a person’s wealth is not always easy. The wealth of a king or queen, for example, is based on the wealth and property of the nation instead of the personal wealth and property of the king or queen. For some kings or queens, it is difficult to tell these 2 kinds of wealth apart. The richest member of a royal family is Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud. His personal wealth was estimated in 2003 to be $18 billion. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is often thought to be the richest woman in the world. However, when the public property of England is ruled out, her personal money and property seem rather small. Queen Elizabeth II’s personal wealth was estimated in 2003 to be $397 million. This was less than J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter books, who was estimated to be worth $444 million. In the United States, there were 222 people reported to be billionaires in 2003. The richest of these is Bill Gates, worth at least $41 billion, who made his money by starting the company Microsoft. Mr. Gates was only 20 years old when he first helped to set up the company in 1976. He was a billionaire by the time he was thirty-one. Mr. Gates may seem young to be so rich, but other people have made a lot of money at even younger ages. Other young people who have struck it rich include Jackie Coogan 1914-1984 and Shirley Temple 1928-- . Both of these child actors made over a million