第一篇：大學英語精讀3_作文

Unit 3

Why I Chose to Attend College

As my high school years were drawing to a close, I turned over and over again in my mind the question of whether I should go to college.At times I did have some

doubts.After careful consideration, however, I finally decided it would be worthwhile.My main reason was simply that I was eager for knowledge and wanted to keep on learning.While getting through high school, I became more and more interested in such subjects as math, physics and chemistry, and thirsted to explore them further.I also chose to go to college because I knew a college education would provide me with opportunities for all-round development.I could play in musical groups, take part in sports, and join campus organizations.Involvement in various kinds of activities would help make me into a well-rounded person.A further factor was my awareness that in today's world many professions require years of specialized training.Being without a college education would have made it more difficult to obtain a desirable position.As I proceed further through college, I seem to have more and more reasons to congratulate myself on having made the right decision.Unit 4

In a recent poll taken by “the Herald of the Town”, 72 percent of the residents interviewed said the city government could do more for homeless people.And 65 percent said the city was paying too little attention to the needs of the blacks and other minority groups.Asked about the suggestion of building more soup kitchens and nursing homes for the homeless and the old people, 77 percent thought it a good idea, 14 percent said it was foolish and 9 percent gave no comments.38 percent considered crime as the worst problem facing the city, while 25 percent and 37 percent perceived unemployment or pollution as the worst one respectively.Job training for young

people was chosen as the best way to reduce crime(63 percent).After that, in order of

percentage, came citizens' neighborhood patrols(23 percent), more police on foot(10 percent)and the death penalty(4 percent).Unit 5

It was Mother's Day.Susan asked her father and brother to think of something special they could do for the occasion.Her father came up with the idea of surprising the children's mother with a barbecue, the first of the year.The children agreed that it was a wonderful idea and they all set about preparing for the barbecue.The first thing they had to do was to get the biggest steaks they could find.By the time they were ready to start the fire it was getting dark.And to their disappointment, there was not a single briquette left from the previous year.In the end they had to ask for some from neighbours, disturbing the television viewing of a couple living nearby.Unit6

One Sunday afternoon Peter was reading the newspaper when Tom, his little son of six years, rushed into the room crying bitterly, his left eye black and bruised.“What's the matter? Who hit you on the eye, Tom?” the father asked.“Steve, the big boy on Quail Street...” the son cried all the more bitterly, pointing outside with his finger.In a rage, Peter jumped out of the armchair and dashed out, clenching his fists.Hardly had Steve uttered a word when Peter smashed his fist into his face.Totally unprepared, Steve was knocked down to the ground.However, he regained his feet quickly and hit back so hard that Peter got a black eye too.Seeing he had had his revenge, Steve lost no time running away.Peter had to walk home completely defeated.Back in the room he was seated in the armchair, looking quite upset and depressed.Unit 7

Dear Pearl,Susan of Rockford is coming to stay with me for a few days.She and I are hoping you can come to dinner here on Friday the eighth at seven o'clock.Yours, Mary Dear Mary, Many thanks for your invitation.I'll be delighted to have dinner with you on Friday at seven o'clock and see Susan again.Yours, Pearl Dear Mary, You cannot imagine my disappointment at not being able to come to dinner with you and see Susan again.Little Tom is running a high fever and needs constant care, so it is quite impossible for me to come.But thank you so much for your kind invitation.Sincerely,Pearl

Unit 8

How to Attain Our Goals in Life

As a sailing ship has a certain destination, so we must have a definite goal in our life.To succeed in life, a man must learn to develop such qualities in himself as industry, persistence, confidence, and strong willpower.Here I would like to dwell a little on the first two.Undoubtedly, hard work is the key to success.Take Peter G.Beidler for example.Having chosen teaching as his career, Professor Beidler made a great effort to meet the challenges of the profession.Day after day he stayed up late preparing his lectures, even when his eyes became swollen for lack of sleep.His subsequent success as a teacher was borne out by the fact that he was named The Professor of the Year in 1983.Obviously his success has had a great deal to do with hard work.Persistence is another important factor leading to the realization of one's goal in life.Once we have set a goal for ourselves, we must not depart from our course until we reach it.The mother in Unit 5 is a case in point.She refused to give up in the face of all the challenges in life.Instead, she persisted in improving herself.In the end, she became a reporter with a local newspaper.Clearly persistence helped to make her dream come true.

第二篇：大學英語精讀第五冊

大學英語精讀第五冊 Unit 2

TranslationChinese to English

1.我認為向他求助是不現實的。事實上，他自己也需要幫助。

I don’t think it is realistic to turn to him for help．As a matter of fact, he himself is in need of help．

2.越來越多的人正在意識到與空氣污染作斗爭的迫切需要。

More and more people are being awakened to the urgent need of combating air pollution.3.有明顯的跡象表明一些古老的傳統和價值觀念采不再被年輕人珍視。

There are visible signs that some of the time-honored old traditions and values are no longer cherished by the young people.4．我們許多人覺得宇宙無限這一概念難以理解。

Manyof us find the notion of a boundless universe hard to grasp．

5.因為法律和規章中有許多漏洞(loophole)，一小撮投機倒把者一夜之間暴富就沒

有什么奇怪了。

There being so many loopholes in the laws and regulations, it is little wonder that a handful of speculators got rich overnight．

6.旅游事業的空前興旺使這個從前只住有三百人的邊境小鎮突然繁榮起來。An unprecedented boom in tourism brought sudden prosperity to the small border town, which was formerly inhabited by only three hundred people.7．根據這一信息，該國已經具有制造核武器的能力。

In the light of the information, that country already has the capabilities to make nuclear weapons.8.他不顧朋友的反復警告，把所有的錢都投向了高風險企業。

Regardless of repeated warnings from his friends，he staked all his money on high-risk ventures.大學英語精讀第五冊 Unit

4TRANSLATIONChinese to English

1.有人說對于不公正的批評的最好反映是原諒和忘卻（不念舊惡）。

Somebody says that the best response to unfair criticies is to forgive and forget.2.天哪，你為什么不給我打電話？

For God’s sake, why didn’t you call you?

3．絕望之中，我一腳把門踢開，結果發現他躺在床上，已經昏迷不醒。

I kicked the door open with desperation, and found him lying in the bed unconciously.4．那機修工氣憤地把工具扔到一邊，再也不肯干了。

The mechanician flung the tools with anger, never to continue.5．馬克也太孩子氣了，就因為有些代表對他的想法提出質疑他就退出了會議。

Mark was so childish that he left the meeting just because some representatives contested his ideas.6．她很感激的是她保住了自己的工作而大多數工友都下了崗。

She was thankful that she kept her job when most of her co-workers were laid off.7．勇敢、無私和意志力在牛虻身上全都表現得很突出。

Courage, selflessness and strength of will stand out all over the Gadfly.8．如果你沒有得到當地規劃部門的同意擴建(build all extension)你的房屋，你將被責令拆除(demolish)擴建的部分.If you build and extension to your house without the consent of the local planning authorities, you will be ordered to demolish / pull down what you have built.大學英語精讀第五冊Test Paper1

TRANSLATION Chinese to English

1.外語學習者提高其流利程度的一個可行的方法是通過閱讀學會大量的詞匯及其習慣用法。

A practicable way for foreign language learners to improve their fluency is to learn large numbers of words and their idiomatic usage through reading.2.不斷困擾第三世界的一個問題是如何快速發展經濟而不損害環境。

An eternal problem that haunts the third world countries is how to develop the economy quickly without damaging the environment.3．收取這么高的罰款跟銀行方便顧客的概念很不一致。

It is hardly consistent with the concept of “user-friendly” banking to charge these high fines.4．邦德一把抓住這個兇狼的襲擊者，并把他摔倒在地上。

Bond grabbed hold of the vicious attacker and flung him to the ground.5．我們必須建立起一個有效的傳媒網絡以使信息能快速傳播。

We must set up an effective media network to allow information to circulate rapidly.大學英語精讀第五冊 Unit 6

TRANSLATIONChinese to English

1.馬戲團演出最精彩的部分是大熊貓的表演，它笨拙而滑稽的動作逗樂了所有的觀眾。The highlight of the circus’ performance was the panda’s representation.Its clumsy and funny acting caused every audience to laugh.2.幸好你昨天沒有搭乘瑞士航空公司的班機—它起飛一個小時后即墜毀，機上229人全部身亡。

It’s just as well you didn’t take the flight of Swiss Airline yesterday – it

2crashed one hour after taking off and all the 229 people on plane were dead.3.他從來沒有想到，當有人提出幫助那個患有殘疾的姑娘時，她會感到局促不安。He never considered that when somebody wanted to help the handicap girl, she would feel ill at ease.4．作為一個喜歡控制一切、從發號施令中得到很大樂趣的人，查爾斯很快就適應了公司總經理的新角色。

As a person taking delight in controling everything and getting interest from ordering, Charle adapted quickly the new role of the company’s president.5．在過去12年里，艾米已學會靠自己過日子。她喜歡自力更生，樣樣事情自己干。In the past twelve years, Amy has learned to live depending on herself.She takes delight in self – reliance and doing everything by herself.6.艾米拒絕跟查爾斯外出是理所當然的事，因為她不喜歡被當作依賴他人的殘疾人看待。

Amy refused to go out with Charles as a matter of course, because she disliked to be treated as a handicap person depending on others.大學英語精讀第五冊 Unit 8

1.我小時候完全被周游世界的想法迷住了，常在爺爺的書房里一呆幾個小時，一邊轉動著地球儀，一邊夢想著去游覽的地方。

When I was a child, I was totally fascinated by the idea of traveling around the world, I spent several hours in my grandfather’s study, rolling the globe as imagining the places to travel.2.今天下午一枚定時炸彈在倫敦最大的超市之一爆炸，在人們中間引起極大恐慌。

A timing bomb exploded at one of the largest supermarkets in London this afternoon, causing a great panic among the people.3.在父親的陪同下，比爾去了警察局，對警官坦白說他曾在兩周前搶了一位老人的金表。Accompanied with his father, Bill went to the police station, and confessed to the policeman that he robbed an old man’s golden watch two weeks ago.4.在與簡訂婚后，斯蒂芬生平第一次開始用功了。不久他便作為一名年輕的理論物理學家而嶄露頭角。

After engaged to Jane, Stephen started working hard for the first time in his life.Before long he distinguished himself as a young theoretical physicist.5.斯通教授以嚴厲而著稱。但令人驚奇的是，他在上周六他女兒婚禮上的講話卻妙趣橫生，充滿幽默。

Professor Stone is distinguished for his strictness.But to people’s surprise his speech at his daughter’s wedding last Saturday was full of wit and humor.6.這么多人愿意為社區的利益做義務工作真令人驚奇。

It’s amazing that so many people willing to do voluntary work for the benefit3

of the community.大學英語精讀第五冊 Unit 10

TRANSLATIONChinese to English

1．那個國家日趨繁榮在很大程度上可歸功于政府實行的經濟改革政策。

The gradual prosperity of the country in a sense owes the government’s policy of economic reform.2．這位黑人領袖把為實現種族平等而奮斗終生當作自己的神圣義務。

The Negro leader regarded it as his sacred obligation to devote himself to realizing racial equality.3.1976年，人民共和國的三位主要締造者周恩來總理，朱德元帥和毛澤東主席相繼逝 世。

In 1976, the three main architects of the people’s republic – Premier Zhou En lai, Marshal Zhu De and Chairman Mao Zedong died in sequence.4．我不止一次地提醒校長，他曾答應要維護退休教師的合法利益。

I reminded of the headmaster more than once that he had promised to protect the retired teachers’ legitimate behalf.5．這個故事的主題思想是，一個人的命運與整個國家的命運緊密相聯。

The main idea of the story is that one’s destiny ties up with the whole country’s.6．那個青年繼承的一大筆財產使他得以實踐自己的夢想。

The riches the youth fell heir to made him realize his dream.聽力 medial testcompound dictation

1.create2.health3.heat4.excitement5.cooler6.opposite

7.emotional

8.The phrase green with envy often refers to a person who is angry because he does not have more money than someone else has.9.People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day.10.But black is not necessarily always used in a bad sense.For example, a business in the black is one with profits.聽力 final testcompound dictation

1.sensed2.unsteadily3.fastened4.thrown5.whisper6.fainted

7.hesitation

8.It was a dangerous situation as the plane was very low above the ground.But soon it began to fly higher, which made the passengers greatly relieved.9.The man followed instructions and guided the plane towards the airfield.10.When the plane touched the ground it shook violently anxiously rushed forward to congratulate the man on a perfect landing.

第三篇：大學英語精讀Book1

《誠信與和諧》

廣義上的和諧社會建設是指經濟、政治、文化、社會四個方面協調發展、良性運行。狹義上的和諧社會建設主要是指社會關系的和諧。無論是廣義上的和諧社會建設還是狹義上的和諧社會建設，誠信都是各種經濟、政治、社會關系協調發展、良性運行的基礎。對社會成員來講，它是構建和諧人際關系的基本素質；對全社會來講，它是社會良性運行的價值取向；對市場來講，誠信是規范經濟秩序、建立市場信用制度的道德保障；對政府來講，誠信是實現執政為民、立黨為公的有效途徑。

一、誠信是社會人際關系和諧的重要準則

人際關系的和諧是和諧社會建設的重要內容。誠信友愛是人際關系和各種社會關系和諧的靈魂。中國的傳統文化充分重視誠信在人際關系中的價值。誠信，包括兩方面的含義，“誠”即真實不欺，既不自欺，也不欺人。朱熹云：“誠者何？不自欺，不忘之謂也”，“誠意，只是表里如一”。一個人只有做到表里如一，以誠相待，才能達到人內心的和諧和人際關系的和諧。否則，欺名盜世，自欺欺人，會導致個人內心的失調和人格的分裂，人際關系緊張，失去友情，成為孤家寡人。“信”，主要指在與他人交往中應講信用，遵守諾言。孔子極為重信，他強調做人要“言必信，信必果”、“與朋友交，言而有信”、“言而無信，不知其可也“。人若不講信用，就無法做人行事。在誠與信的關系中，誠是信產生的基礎和原因，自己以誠待人，必然獲得他人的信任。同時，信是誠的具體表現，信體現誠。在社會中生活，只有將自己的真實展示給他人，才能夠嬴得他人的信任，才能夠彼此信任。人們彼此信任才能夠真誠地進行合作。個人在人際交往中講誠信，就會形成人際關系的良性循環，正如管仲云：“信也者，民信之”。然而，當前我國社會個人的誠信缺位表現在：借錢不還、偽造學歷和文憑、偽造票據和證件，剽竊他人學術成果，欺詐他人以謀取私利等等，這將影響人與人之間關系的和諧，影響社會公平的實現。因此，在全社會中，加強誠實守信的公民道德教育，是構建和諧社會的重要內容。因為人際信任能增強全社會的凝聚力，促進社會關系的和諧，保障社會的長治久安。

二、誠信是建立市場信用制度的道德保障

誠信一直是我國社會所推崇的優良品格之一，在當代，我們賦予誠信以更多的經濟性的內容。因為，市場經濟條件下,誠信既是道德資源, 又是經濟資源。隨著社會分工的細化和交換方式的發展,誠信也從道德追求進入到物質生活領域。也就是說，誠信社會的形成，其中極為重要的一方面是誠信經濟的形成。所謂誠信經濟是指誠信作為一種資本（即信用資本）來參與市場運作的經濟，當誠信資本能成功地實現其價值增殖時，誠信經濟即告產生。這種誠信理念推動了經濟發展和社會進步。

我國社會主義市場經濟的建立加快了我國經濟發展的速度和激發了人們走向富裕的動力，但是另一方面經濟主體的利益的多元化現象也日趨復雜，這些經濟利益主體，在市場經濟體制下，無論是企業，還是個人，很顯然他們從事經濟活動的根本目的，就是盡可能多地獲取經濟上的利益。因此，導致物質主義、拜金主義在一定程度的盛行，人際互信互助的關系淡化，利益關系凸現，由此造成誠信問題，一些欺詐失信的行為時有發生，其主要表現為：企業產品的假冒偽劣、摻雜使假、坑蒙拐騙、偷稅漏稅、三角債糾紛、財務假賬、偽造票據、金融詐騙、虛假廣告、假煙、假酒、假藥、假化肥、假種子、假幣、有毒大米、黑心棉等等。這類似于資本主義原始積累時期曾經出現過的狀況，嚴重擾亂正常經濟秩序、損害了社會公

平和社會信任，使社會矛盾和社會沖突滋生。破壞了信用關系, 就會動搖市場經濟的基礎, 就會帶來經濟秩序的混亂。

誠信，就其作為社會的道德規范和個人的道德品質而言，既是整個社會的信用制度對個人的道德要求的反映，也是社會信用制度在個人身上個性化的發展，每個社會成員的誠信品質，組成了社會信用制度的道德保障。講誠信則促進市場經濟的發展，失信則自然會阻礙市場經濟的發展。信用一旦發生危機，不僅會導致整個經濟體系出現危機，而且嚴重影響社會主義和諧社會的建設。只有市場主體都能自覺維護其信用制度，才能保證信用關系的穩定性，減少信用風險。在此意義上可以說沒有誠信原則就沒有市場經濟秩序，就沒有市場經濟效益，也就沒有市場經轉載請注明出處，謝謝！

第四篇：現代大學英語精讀

對《大學英語精讀》教材進行評價

《現代大學英語精讀》是我們大家熟悉的一本教材。精讀課，也就是我們上的基礎英語課，是高校英語專業基礎階段的一門核心課程，是幫助學生掌握聽、說、讀、寫、譯等基本語言技能的基礎課。精讀教材主要是培養學生的語用能力，使學生能夠從書中有所感悟，把所學到的語言知識與生活實際結合起來，使學習過程生活化。該教材還能培養學生的英語思維能力和創新能力，而不是使學生拘泥于書本知識，主要的教學任務不是積累知識，而是開發學生的思維，該教材秉著以學生為中心的教學思想，教材的選材非常廣泛,符合學生興趣，是一本符合當代大學生的優秀教材。

一本好的教材有以下幾點特征；(1)、教學內容和語言能夠反映快速變化的時代(2)、要處理好專業知識，語言訓練和相關學科之間的關系(3)、教材不僅著眼于知識的傳授而要有助于學生的鑒賞批評能力、思維能力和創新能力的培養(4)、教學內容要有較強的實用性和針對性。而《現代大學英語精讀》教材充分表現出一本好的教材的特點，在英語教學中起著積極的作用，主要表現在以下幾個方面。

1、教材具有權威性。教材的權威性主要在于它努力體現新大綱的要求，任何教材的編寫都要相對應的教學大綱作指導，而衡量教材的好壞的一個重要標準就是看他是否符合大綱的具體要求。大學英語精讀教材是根據國家或地方教育部門頒發的教學大綱或課程標準編寫的，能夠較好的體現教學大綱或課程標準規定的教學目的、教學目標、教學內容以及教學方法，所以大學英語精讀教材完全符合大綱中有關教材的規定，有利于教學大綱和課程標準的有效實施。教材的權威性還取決于編寫人員的能力和素質。現代《 現代大學英語精讀》教材是北京外國語大學多名教授共同研究而成，這些教授具有豐富的教學經驗和深厚的語言功底，而且教材有國內著名的外語出版社出版，還是普通高等教育“十五”國家級規劃教材。所以，現代大學英語精讀教材在一定程度上能夠保證教學內容、教學過程和教學方法的科學性和合理性，從而保證教學質量和教學效果。

2、教材具有系統性。從整體上看，教材體系完整，內容豐富，有利于學生系統的學習語音、詞匯、語法等語言知識；材內容從易到難，是一個逐步推進的過程。第一年的教材主要任務是鞏固高中所學的內容，這主要是考慮到大學新生需要時間來克服高中階段應試教學的影響，要盡快幫助他們熟悉大學學習方法，養成良好的學習習慣，糾正他們的語音語調，鼓勵他們克服漢語方言對應于發音的負面影響，同時，要讓學生意識到學習英語的目的關鍵是運用，而不是為了做題。第二年的教材，主要是知識積累，要運用各種方法擴大詞匯量，提高對語法的掌握和運用能力，還要加強寫作和翻譯的訓練，因為這兩種技能需要從實踐中得到提高，而不是拘泥于書本知識，第三年的教材主要是培養學生的閱讀水平，學生能夠獨立完成一個章節的閱讀，教材增加了閱讀的難度，這樣有助于提高學生的閱讀水平，第四年的精讀教材主要是使學生的聽、說、讀、寫、譯這五種能力得到全面的培養，是學生對這幾種基本技能同時得到訓練。

3、教材選文具有多樣性。《現代大學英語精讀》教材克服了傳統教學理念的缺陷，教材編寫體現了以應用為本，聽、說、讀、寫、譯等多位一體的教材設計理念，把提高學生綜合運用能力放在首位。該系類教材的指導思想就是在課堂上創造一個真實的語言教學環境，使學生得各種語言技能得到充分的訓練。教材中覆蓋的詞匯量超過大學英語四六級的水平，在教材的使用中學生強化了對單詞的復現率，該教材詞匯豐富，詞匯重復出現有助于強化記憶。閱讀理解的任務活動可以幫助學生檢測和深化對課文的理解，掌握各種閱讀技巧。在每一章節的聯系中還涉及了漢譯英和英譯漢的翻譯練習，這樣有助于訓練學生的翻譯能力。而且，教材中選取的文章題材多樣，風格各異，內容豐富，涉及了政治、經濟、文化語言、科技、體育、風俗人情等各方面。所以，該教材有利于學生更好地了解世界文化，培養跨文化意識和跨文化交際的能力。

總體來說，《現代大學英語精讀》教材合理的教學布局，能夠使學生的綜合能力得到全面的培養,聽、說、讀、寫、譯等各項語言技能在教材中得到了綜合呈現,該教材注重語言技能的培養、注重學生獨立學習能力的提高。但教材中也有一些不足之處，比如關于綜合技能的整體訓練,以及學習技能和學習策略的建議有些不足。但整體上該教材是目前最適合大學生學習的一本優秀教材。

第五篇：大學英語精讀翻譯

Unit1翻譯 1)我們接到通知，財政部長將于次日接見我們。We were informed that the Minister of Finance was to give us an audience /receive us the next day.2)我覺得很奇怪，他似乎不記得自己的生日。I thought it odd that he didn't seem to remember his own birthday.3)學期論文最遲應在下星期二交來，可是至今大部分學生卻幾無進展。Next Tuesday is the deadline for handing in the term papers, but most students have hardly made a dent in the work so far.4)看到學生人數不斷減少，校長心里很難受。(pain)It pained the headmaster to find the number of students shrinking.5)在那個國家一般用現金付賬，但支票變得普遍起來了，不久會代替現金作為人們結賬的一種方式。Cash is commonly used in paying bills in that country, but checks are becoming more popular and will, in a short while, replace cash as a way for people to settle their accounts.6)該公司聲稱，這條河流的污染不是它造成的。The company claims that it is not responsible for the pollution in the river.Unit2翻譯 1)比爾已是個成熟的小伙子，不再依賴父母替他做主。Bill is a mature young man who is no longer dependent on his parents for decisions.2)這個地區有大量肉類供應，但新鮮果蔬奇缺。There are abundant supplies of meat in this region, but fresh fruit and vegetables are scarce.3)工程師們依靠工人們的智慧發明了一種新的生產方法，使生產率得以提高。Drawing on the wisdom of the workers, the engineers invented a new production method that led to increased productivity.4)他花了許多時間準備數學考試，因此當他獲知自己只得了個B時感到有點失望。He spent a lot of time preparing for his math exam.Hence he was somewhat disappointed to learn that he got only a B.5)我們有充裕的時間從從容容吃頓午飯。We have ample time for a leisurely lunch.6)地方政府不得不動用儲備糧并采取其他緊急措施，以渡過糧食危機。The local government had to draw on its grain reserves and take other emergency measures so as to pull through the food crisis.Unit3翻譯 1)蕭伯納在他一個劇本的前言中提出這樣的看法：今天人們比在中世紀時更加迷信。In the preface to one of his plays, Bernard Shaw advances the idea that people are more superstitious today than they were in the Middle Ages.2)丈夫死后，她只好獨自挑起撫養五個孩子的經濟重擔。After her husband died, she had to bear the severe financial burden of raising five children by herself.3)證明或駁斥某個論點的最好辦法之一是從親身經歷中舉出例子。One of the best ways to prove or refute a point is to cite examples from your own experience.4)亨特說貝蒂老是夸大他的缺點，這話很可能會引起一場爭吵。Hunt's statement that Betty always exaggerates his faults may well lead to a quarrel.5)我當時對她絕對信任，無論她告訴我什么，我都會相信。I trusted her so much that I would have swallowed any story she told me.6)一家人聚攏來討論經濟問題時，父親一開頭就說，每月存點錢是絕對必要的，遇到緊急情況，我們可以依靠積蓄。When the family gathered to discuss matters of finance, Father started off by saying that it was absolutely necessary to set aside some money each month, for in an emergency we could fall back on our savings.