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DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programmes show people how to DIY.

English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK----“As Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge number of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their homes, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experience with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford a big house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.

DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to get together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions. Many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.

Therefore , DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.

1.How do many English people spend their hoildays to the passage?

A. Making their homes beautiful.

B. Visiting their friends.

C. Travelling all over the world

D. Making a lot of money

2.Why do English people like DIY?

A. Many stores sell DIY things.

B. DIY can bring them fun.

C. TV programmes teach them to DIY

D. All DIY projects are easy.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. DIY is a waste of money.

B. it is always difficult to DIY.

C. We should be careful while doing DIY.

D. It is very safe for us to DIY.

4.In the passage, “we bite off more than we can chew” probably means      .

A. We can eat everything we like.

B. We should do something difficult.

C. We do something that is too difficult.

D. We eat too much food that is not safe.

 

Dear friends,
My name is Tony. I am English. I am twelve years old this year. I am tall, and I am good at playing football. I am in Grade Seven. There are thirty boys and twenty girls in my class. We are learning Chinese in our school. Our Chinese teacher is Mr. Wu. He is a little short, but he is very strong. He is very nice to us. I have some good friends in my class. Tom is a tall boy with short black hair. He is good at playing football, too. Alice is short and she loves wearing red dresses. She is good at English. Mary has long hair. She can speak Japanese and she likes swimming. We all study hard.
What about your school and your friends? Please write soon.
Yours,
Tony
【小题1】Which country is Tony from?

A．America

B．England

C．China

D．Australia

【小题2】Who is Mr. Wu?

A．He is Tony’s English teacher.	B．He is Tony’s father.
C．He is Tony’s Chinese teacher.	D．He is Tony’s friend.

【小题3】How many students are there in Tony’s class?

A．20.

B．30.

C．52.

D．50.

【小题4】Who likes swimming?

A．Tom.

B．Alice.

C．Mary.

D．Mr. Wu.

【小题5】Who writes this letter?

A．Tony.

B．Tom.

C．Mary.

D．Alice.

Do you play a musical instrument? If so, you may be getting smarter. A recent study shows that taking music lessons can raise a person’s IQ.
Scientists studied 132 children in Canadian schools. At the beginning of the school year, these children took an IQ test. Then they were divided into four groups. One group took singing lessons. Another group took weekly piano lessons. The third group took classes in drams(戏剧). And the last group did no special activities at all.
At the end of the school year, the 132 children took an IQ test again. In all four groups, the average score went up. However, the piano players’IQs went up 7.0 points on average. The average increase for the other three groups was only 4.3 points.
The researchers say that the difference is small and it may not result in better grades for the piano players. However, they still consider the results important. Learning an instrument helps kids becomes better at concentrating and at memorizing things. Therefore, the researchers say, it may be good for brain development in young people.
If you have a chance to learn to play a musical instrument, never miss it. Remember it can make you smarter.
【小题1】 Which of the following is NOT true of the study?

A．It was done in Canada.

B．It was done by some musicians.

C．It included four groups of children.

D．It took one school year to complete.

【小题2】 Which of the following is true?

A．Average IQ scores increased in all the groups.

B．Only the piano players’ IQs increased.

C．The average increase for all four groups was 4.3 points.

D．Most of the children’s IQs did not go up.

【小题3】 The underlined word “they” in the passage refers to ______.

A． better grades

B．piano players

C．researchers

D．instruments

【小题4】 What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．It’s good for us to listen to music.

B．Everyone should learn to play the piano.

C．Take an IQ test before you learn instruments.

D．Learning instruments may make kids smarter.

Earthquakes are hard to predict. but do you know what to do before, during and after an earthquake? Here’s some advice:
Before an earthquake It’s necessary to prepare yourself and your family. All family members should know how to turn off gas, water and electricity and know useful telephone numbers(doctor, hospital, police, 119, etc.). Never put heavy things over beds.
During an earthquake It’s important for each of you to stay calm. If you are indoors, quickly move to a safe place in the room such as under a strong table. The purpose is to protect yourself from objects, stay away from windows, large mirrors, heavy furniture and so on. If you’re cooking, turn off the gas. If you’re outdoors, move to an open area like a playground. Move away from buildings, bridge and trees. If you are driving, stop the car as soon as possible, staying away from bridges and tall building. Stay in your car.
After an earthquake Once the shaking has stopped, DO NOT run out of the building at once. It’s better to wait and leave when it’s safe. Check around you and help the people who are in trouble. If your building is badly broken, leave it. If you smell of hear a gas, get everyone outside and open windows and doors. If you can do it safely, turn off the gas. Report it to the gas company.
【小题1】Which of the following is mentioned in the second paragraph?

A．People should know how to turn on gas.

B．People should now how to save water.

C．People shouldn’t put heavy boxes over beds.

D．People shouldn’t forget the phone numbers of others.

【小题2】When an earthquake happens, __________can help you deal with it.

A．standing still

B．staying calm

C．looking outside

D．moving indoors

【小题3】 During an earthquake, if you are driving in an open area, you should ________.

A．speed up your car	B．stop your car and stay in
C．slow down your car	D．stop your car and run out

【小题4】 When the earth stops shaking , you should_________.

A．check around you first	B．run out of the building at once
C．break the windowns and doors.	D．write a report to your company

【小题5】You can learn _______after reading the passage.

A．what an earthquake is like	B．what to do to avoid an earthquake
C．how an earthquake happens	D．how to protect yourself in an earthquake

Everything that humans hear is in the form of waves(波). Just as the eye sees light waves in the form of colors, the ear hears sound waves in the form of noises. The ear and the eye turn these different waves into signals that the brain(大脑) can make sense of.
The ears and brain have an amazing ability to recognize(识别) particular sounds. For example, a mother often can tell when her baby is crying even if there are other crying babies in the same room. This is because the sound of her baby’s cry has special meaning to her and the brain has recorded its importance.
The ability to recognize sounds improves with experiences. As the brain receives information about sounds from day to day, it stores the information in its memory. When the brain hears new sounds, it gives meaning to them based on the information already in the memory. This is why certain words or songs can make a person happy. Often it is not the words or songs themselves that cause this feeling. The sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.
Another hearing process controlled by the brain is to decide where a sound is coming from. One ear is usually closer to the source(来源) of a sound than the other ear is. Sound waves are stronger when they reach the ear that is closer. They also reach the closer ear first. The brain recognizes these differences and uses them to decide the location of the source of the sound.
【小题1】Which of the following shows the normal hearing process of a mother hearing her baby crying?
a. The ears receive the sound waves.
b. The mother recognizes her baby’s cry.
c. The baby’s turn the sound waves into signals.
d. The baby’s cry travels in the form of sound waves.
e. The brain connects the signals to the information in the memory.

A．d-a-c-b-e	B．d-a-c-e-b
C．a-d-c-b-e	D．a-d-c-e-b

【小题2】Certain words or songs can change a person’s moods mainly because of his _____.

A．lifestyle	B．personality
C．experiences	D．hobbies

【小题3】 Why does a person feel happy when they hear some songs?

A．Because certain words or songs can make a person happy.

B．Because a person has the ability to recognize the sounds

C．Because the certain sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.

D．Because the person feel the song is special

【小题4】According to the last paragraph, it will be the most difficult for a person who has lost the hearing in one ear to tell ______.

A．where the source of a sound is

B．how loud a sound is

C．when a sound starts to appear

D．what makes a sound

【小题5】What is the best title for this passage ?

A．Human Brain’s Amazing Facts

B．Human Hearing Characteristics

C．How To Improve Hearing

D．How Do Humans Hear