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

A．take DIY courses run by the government

B．have to learn to make their own furniture

C．find it hard to pay for what they need

D．seldom go to a supermarket to buy things

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

A．run a DIY shop	B．save time and money
C．make or repair things	D．improve their life

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

A．makes shoes in his home	B．does extra work at night
C．repairs his own car at home	D．keeps house and looks after his children

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

A．his car repairs cost too much

B．the car repair class was not helpful

C．he could not possibly do two jobs

D．he had to raise the children all by himself

Most teenagers feel sad or afraid when their parents fight. They might think their parents don’t love each other any more.

In fact, it is normal for parents to disagree and argue sometimes. They might disagree about important thing like jobs and family decisions. They might even disagree about little thing that don’t seem important at all – like what’s for dinner. Maybe sometimes parents feel so strongly about their differences that it may lead to arguments. However, these arguments are often over quickly. Parents may say sorry and make up , and the family returns to normal

As a family member, you should find out what it really means when your parents fight. When your parents get angry with each other, they might say things they don’t really mean. If your parents are fighting, don’t worry too much about it. Try to find a good way to solve it.

If your parent’s fighting really bothers you, you might find it hard to sleep or got to school. If this happens, try talking to your parents. They may not even realize it until you tell them how their fighting has influenced you. You can also tell other relatives, a teacher or a close friend.

Just remember that no family is perfect and arguments are common in every family.

1.What does it mean when parents fight?

A.  They aren’t happy with their family.

B.  They don’t love each other any more.

C.  They disagree with each other about something.

2.The underlined part “make up” in paragraph 2 means “      ” in Chinese.

A.  弥补              B.  组成               C.  和解

3.The underlined word “it” refers to “     ”.

A.  your parents’ fighting.        B.  your parents’ life      C.  your parents’ difference

4.What should we do when our parents’ fighting bothers us?

A.  Talk to them.    B.  Shout at them.       C.  Say something nice to them.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A.  Parents’ fighting often lasts a long time.

B.  Parents might fight over small things.

C.  Teenagers should never argue with their parents.

 

You may have known several kinds of police --- traffic police, fire police and street police. But have you ever heard of energy-saving(节能) policeman?

A group of 22 energy-saving policemen went to work last week in Beijing. They go around the city to see the use of energy in hotels, office buildings, shopping centers and other public places. One of their aims is to make sure that these places have set their air conditioning(空调) no cooler than 26℃.

They also set up a special phone line so that people can tell them which buildings fail to follow the rule.

“If everyone sets their air conditioning at 26℃, Beijing will save 400 million kilowatthour of electricity in one summer. That’s one-third of all the usages of the city in the season,” said a TV advertisement.

Other Chinese cities, like Wuhan in Hubei Province and Yangzhou in Jiansu Province, are going to follow Beijing’s steps in setting up a similar police team.

As one of the fastest developing countries, China is using a lot of energy. This has a great effect on the country’s environment and limited(有限的) energy.

From 1986 to 2005, the country experienced 20 warm winters continuously(连续). Numbers show that Chinese cities have to spend billions of yuan solving environmental problems every year.

At the beginning of this month, China made its first action plan to fight pollution. It aims to reduce energy usage by 20% and increase renewable(可更新的) energy up to 10% from 7% by 2010.

To introduce the public to a green life, last week Beijing held a show on energy-saving technology and productions. Environment-friendly machines, such as a vending machine that helps collect used bottles, have attracted lots of attention. “We want to tell people that there are certain ways to protect the environment. Each of us can find effective ways to do it on our daily lives,” said Liu Qianguang, an environmental engineer in Beijing.

1.The job of the energy-saving policemen is ______.

   A. to set up a special phone line              

B. to set the air conditioning cooler

   C. to check the use of energy in public places 

D. to make sure that more energy will be produced

2.Beijing uses ______ million kilowatt-hour electricity in summer.

   A. 1200.         B. 800.            C. 400.              D. 133.

3.Which of the following years’ winters were all warm in China?

   A. 1968—1988.   B. 1999—2003.     C. 2002—2006.        D. 2005—2009.

4.In the year 2010 China’s energy usages is going to be cut by ______.

   A. 7%.             B. 10%.              C. 17%.              D. 20%.

5.According to Liu Qianguang, ______.

   A. there are few ways to protect the environment

   B. it’s difficult to find good ways to save energy

   C. it’s easy for one to do something good for the environment

   D. it’s difficult for one to do something good for the environment

 

1 

Some people believe that dreams can tell them what will happen in the future.     Nobody knows why this is so, but there are many stories about people. The people make their dreams  1  . One of these people was a man called John Chapman, who lived in Swaffham in England many years ago. John Chapman dreamt that he    stood on London Bridge and a man told him how to become rich. John Chapman was a poor man and he needed  2   , so the next day he decided to leave for London.  3     was 100 miles（英里） from Swaffham to London. He walked for two days and at last he  4    London Bridge. There were many people on the bridge, but they weren’t   5     in John Chapman. No one talked tohim. After three days, John Chapman decided to go home.And before he could do this, a shopkeeper came up to him. “I am watching you these days,” he said. “Are you   6   someone?” “Yes,” said John. “I had a dream about a man here. He would help me to get much

money.” “Oh,” said the shopkeeper. “You shouldn’t believe in dreams.   7    I believe in dreams, I’d be in Swaffham right now. I had a dream a few days ago about a man called John Chapman from Swaffham. He had   8   in his garden, near an old apple tree.” John Chapman felt   9   by what the shopkeeper said. At once he went home and dug near an old apple tree. He soon found many pieces of gold. He was so happy that he   10   some of the gold to his poor neighbours. What a kind man he was! For the rest of his life, he was a rich man.

1. A. come out   B. come up      C. come true     D. come to

2. A. dream      B. future       C. money        D. apple

3. A. This        B. It          C. That          D. Its

4.A. reached     B. arrived      C. got           D. went

5.A. interes      B. interests     C. interesting     D. interested

6. A. waiting for   B. asking for   C. waitting for    D. looking after

7. A. When       B. Where      C. If            D. How

8. A. money      B. apple       C. tree           D. gold

9.A. angry       B. surprised    C. interested      D. sad

10.A. borrowed    B. gave       C. brought        D. got

 

I called a meeting with the parents of my student, Tommy. I wanted to talk with them about his schoolwork and behaviour(行为).Tommy was always an excellent student. How could I make his father and mother believe that their recent separation(分开) made his grades bad.?
Tommy’s mother came in and sat down. Then his father arrived. But they didn’t say even one word to each other. I told them about Tommy’s schoolwork and behaviour. I hoped to help them see what they were doing to their son. But it looked that my words didn’t work. I thought that maybe Tommy could tell them something himself.
I found Tommy’s paper in the back of his desk. Tommy has written some words on it many times. I gave the paper to Tommy’s mother. She read it and gave it to his father. He read it and his face became soft(柔和的). He reached for his wife’s hand. She smiled up at him. My eyes were with tears. He helped her with her coat and they left together.
I picked the paper up and looked at it again. It read: “Dear Mommy… Dear Daddy… I love you.”
【小题1】 Why did the teacher call a meeting with Tommy’s parents?

A．Because Tommy was late for school that day.

B．Because Tommy did well on his schoolwork.

C．Because Tommy’s grades were dropping recently.

D．Because Tommy didn’t get on well with the teachers in school.

【小题2】. According to(根据) the teacher, Tommy changed so much all because ____________.

A．his parents separate not long ago.

B．his parents didn’t love him any more.

C．he didn’t have good study habits(习惯).

D．he didn’t followed his parents’ advice.

【小题3】. After reading Tommy’s words on the paper, his father felt ___________.

A．angry

B．excited

C．sad

D．moved(感动的)

【小题4】. What’s the best title (标题) for the passage?

A．Tommy’s Bad Grades	B．A meeting with Tommy’s parents
C．Tommy Tells His Parents	D．An Excellent Student