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

English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK – “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge numbers of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their houses, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experiences 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 to buy a bigger 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 put 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 holidays according to the passage?

A.     Making their homes beautiful.   B. Visiting their friends.

B.     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.

B.     We should be careful while doing DIY.   D. It’s 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

 

Tony：Hi, Joy. Would you like to help to save the environment?
Joy：  1  What can I do?
Tony：Well, first, you can start by turning off the lights.
Joy：Yes. That’s easy. Sometimes I turn on the lights without thinking. What’s next?
Tony：Second, listen.   2  Don’t take a bus or a taxi if you don’t have to.
Joy：That will save money, too.   3 
Tony：  4 
Joy：Mm, newspapers, magazines, mails … We get a lot of paper at home. Good idea.
Tony：And last, take a bag when you go shopping.   5 
Joy：OK. My parents do most of the shopping. I’ll tell them.

A．You can ride a bike. B．I don’t know. C．Don’t use plastic bags. D．What else? E. Try to recycle paper.