The Macintosh family is in England. Mr. Macintosh is a farmer (农场主). He has three people help him on the farm. They help him look after the animals (照看动物). Mrs. Macintosh is a teacher. She teaches math. She can play the piano and the guitar. Mr. and Mrs. Macintosh have one son and one daughter. Their son’s name is Tom and their daughter’s name is Fiona. Tom and Fiona like music very much. Tom can play the guitar and his sister, Fiona, can play the piano. Tom and Fiona go to the school music club every Wednesday. Next month they will play for all the teachers and students in their school. Mrs. Macintosh is very happy for them. Mr. Macintosh can’t play the guitar or the piano but he can sing. Sometimes, the family plays and sings together (在一起) after dinner in the evening. That’s Mr. Macintosh’s favorite family activity (活动).

Should students do some housework? Doing chores isn’t popular with most students. Some of them think that cleaning the bathroom or cooking dinner for their family is boring. 【小题1】

Learn to do small things. You should learn to do small things. 【小题2】 Part of growing up is to be able to take care of yourself. Doing some small things around the house shows that you are becoming responsible (有责任感的).

Divide(划分) housework to your family. In fact, it’s too tiring for one person to do all the housework alone. It’s good to divide housework into different parts. 【小题3】 It will make everyone’s job much easier.

【小题4】 Cooking is one part of housework. Cooking can be fun if you put your heart into it. If you learn how to cook your favorite food, you will also get a feeling of satisfaction.

As a member of the family, each one has to do his or her share. Doing some housework can make you independent. Doing some housework can keep you strong. 【小题5】 So why don’t you give it a try.

*Do all teenagers get pocket money?

Most teenagers receive pocket money every week. 【小题1】 Have you asked your friends how much they get? You might be surprised. And if you’re a girl you’ll be amazed to learn that boys often get more than girls of the same age!

*So what happens in different countries?

Teenagers up to the age of about £5 in the UK have about £5 a week in pocket money. But in Italy, France and Spain, the same age group gets about €9, which is a bit more. 【小题2】 Most teenagers get a weekly allowance of about $30, which is more than £20 or €25.

*【小题3】

Quite a lot of teenagers do. They have to do things in the house, like washing-up and cleaning and then they get their pocket money. 【小题4】 Some teenagers have part-time jobs, too, which means they have more than their pocket money to spend each week.

*What do teenagers spend their money on?

You might be surprised at the answer. 【小题5】

Is that true for you too? Teens do more shopping online than before and online clothes shopping is cheaper. So perhaps this is one reason they don’t spend so much on clothes.

*Do parents tell teens what to spend pocket money on?

Some parents do! They only let them buy some things. Other parents want their teens to save all their pocket money and spend it on something big in the future, or not spend it at all.