As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) is getting more and more popular in the USA.
“We needed furniture for our living room,” says John Rose,” and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Roses took a 2-week courses for ＄280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has much work at home as well as a job in a shoe-making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for＄420. “I was deeply unhappy about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can do to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a DIY, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who didn’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
【小题1】Many newly married people in the USA ______.

A．find it hard to pay for what they need

B．must take some courses

C．have to learn to make their own furniture

D．seldom go to a shop to buy things.

【小题2】John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ______.

A．make furniture	B．make or repair things
C．improve the quality of life	D．save time and money

【小题3】 Jim Hatfield’s job is to ______.

A．make shoes at home	B．do housework in a shoe factory
C．run a shoe-making factory at home	D．work in a shoe factory

【小题4】Jim decided to become a DIY when ______.

A．he enjoyed doing everything by himself

B．he becomes an unusual person

C．his car repairs cost very much

D．the car repair class wasn’t helpful

【小题5】Which of the following statement is right?

A．If you want to become a DIY, you can only go to DIY classes.

B．People who take DIY courses are quite different from the others.

C．DIY is becoming more and more popular because of the raising living cost.

D．Most families in the country are doing everything because they enjoy the life style.

A lady in an old cotton dress and her husband, dressed in an old suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such country people had no business at Harvard. She frowned(皱眉). “We want to see the president,” the man said softly. “He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary said coldly. “We’ll wait,” the lady replied.

For hours, the secretary didn’t talk to them, hoping that the couple would finally become tired and go away. They didn’t. And the secretary finally decided to disturb the president. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she told him. He frowned too. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them.

The president walked toward them unwillingly. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to set up a memorial(纪念碑) to him somewhere on campus. ” The president was so surprised that he shouted sharply, “We can’t put up a statue(塑像) for every person who attended Harvard and died. This place would look like a cemetery (墓地).

“Oh, no” the lady explained, “We don’t want to build a statue. We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at their plain clothes, and said with surprise, “A building! Do you have any idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly. “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they set up the university with their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

1.What did the old couple go to Harvard for?

A．They wanted to see their son.

B．They had an important meeting

C．They went to Harvard just to start a university

D．They wanted to meet the president of Harvard.

2.Why didn’t the president come out to meet the couple?

A．He was really busy at that time.

B．The secretary didn’t allow the couple to meet the president.

C．He was important and didn’t have time for unimportant people.

D．He had an important friend to meet and had to spend some time together.

3.From the passage, we can know ______.

A．the old couple were in fact rich people

B．the secretary was afraid of the old couple

C．the old couple’s son was killed in Harvard

D．the president of Harvard was kind and patient to anyone

4.The best title of the passage is “______”.

A．A Statue or A Building                    B．How Stanford University Was Built

C．A Visit to Harvard University               D．A Strange Old Couple

 

 We just hope that Tom will bring ________ good news back home this time.

A. a few                       B. some                                          C. many                                 D. little

 

Hello, my name is Peter. I study at a secondary school in the UK. School days usually begin at 9 a.m. in the UK. So I usually go to school at 8.45 a.m. School is over at 3.30 p.m. So I have enough time to go to different clubs.
I’m good at all my lessons. But my favourite lesson is Cooking. All my teachers are very friendly and helpful. I never go home for lunch, I have lunch at school with my classmates. After lunch, we often go to the school field. Sometimes we play ball games, sometimes we just sit under the trees, reading or chatting. Sometimes we also go to the Computer Center to listen to music or send e-mails to our friends.
I like my school and have a wonderful time at school every day.
【小题1】Schools in the UK usually start at ____________.

A．8.45 a.m.

B．9 a.m.

C．3.30 p.m.

D．8.30 a.m.

【小题2】—How are Peter’s teachers? —They’re all very ____________.

A．friendly and helpful

B．beautiful

C．polite

D．busy

【小题3】—How often does Peter go home for lunch? — ____________

A．Seldom

B．always

C．Every day

D．Never

【小题4】 After lunch, the students can ________.

A．listen to music

B．write e-mails

C．play ball games

D．A, B and C

【小题5】Which one isn’t right?

A．School is over at 3.30 p.m. in the UK.

B．Peter is good at all his lessons.

C．Peter has no time to go to clubs every day.

D．Peter has a wonderful time at school.