Chinese are very generous in educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities such as musical instrument learning or ballet classes, or other classes. They think these will give them a good future. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend much unreasonable money on education. Even poor parents will buy a computer for their son or daughter.

However, most parents don’t understand that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.

Parents can see that their children are very good in some areas while poor in others. Parents can also see some children are good at these skills and others do well in others. Most parents don’t realize that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.

The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need are to be confident, happy and clever.

Parents can achieve this by teaching skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework. Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking needs patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence. 

Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with, will make him curious(好奇的) and improve his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them. Your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.

1.We know from this passage parents in China         .

A．are too strict with their children

B．are too rich to educate their children

C．are too poor to educate their children

D．have some problems in educating their children correctly

2.We learn from the passage that        .

A．the cheaper an education is, the better it is

B．children today should learn difficult skills

C．practical skills are helpful to children’s growth

D．school education can’t meet parents’ expectations

3.Doing some cooking at home helps children        .

A．benefit (有益于) from it and prepare themselves for the future

B．learn how to serve their parents

C．learn how to become strong and fat

D．make their parents believe that they are clever

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Broken things are useful for children

B．Interest is necessary for everything

C．Learning to think is very important.

D．Using hands helps improve thinking ability

　　As prices and building costs keep rising(上升), “the do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend(趋势) in the US continues(继续) to grow.

　　“We needed furniture(家具) for our living room,” says John Kose, “and we didn't have enough money to buy it.” So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs. John got married(结婚) six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling(努力) to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Roses took a 2-week course(课程) for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs(修理) around the house.

　　Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died(去世). He has a full-time job at home as well as(除……之外) in a shoe-making factory. Last month, he received(收到) a car repair bill for $420. “I was very upset(不安) about it. Now I've finished a car repair course. I should be able to fix(修理) the car myself.”

　　John and Jim are not unusual people, Most families in the country are doing everything they can save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how to do things yourself.

根据短文内客，选择正确答案

1．We know from the passage that many people ________.

[　　]

A．seldom(几乎不) go to a department store to buy things

B．take DIY courses run(经营) by the government(政府)

C．have to learn to make their own furniture

D．find it hard to pay for what they need

2．John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ________.

[　　]

A．improve the quality(质量) of life

B．save time and money

C．make or repair things

D．run a DIY shop

3．When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ________.

[　　]

A．keeps house and looks after his children

B．does his own car and home repairs

C．does extra work at night

D．make shoes in his home

4．Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourself when ________.

[　　]

A．he had to raise the children all by himself

B．he could not possibly do two jobs

C．the car repair class was not helpful

D．his car repairs cost too much

5．What's the best title of the passage?

[　　]

A．Rose and Hatfield: Believers in DIY.

B．You Can Do It Too.

C．The Joy of DIY.

D．Welcome to our DIY Course.

As prices and building costs keep rising , the “do-it-yourself”(DIY) trend(趋势)in the USA continues to grow .

“We needed furniture for our living rooms ,” says John Ross , “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 Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school .Now they make all their furniture and repairs around the house .

Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife has died .He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory .Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420 . “I was deeply upset 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 to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes .And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell them how they can do things themselves.

1.We can learn from the passage that many newly married people ______ .

2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______ .

3. When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home ,he means Jim___ .

4. Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourself when he found _____ .