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

Alexis Rocha is a 13-year-old boy from California, US. He weighs 147 pounds (67 kg). But six months ago, he weighed more than 202 pounds (91 kg). How did he lose all that weight in only half a year?
“One day, I was surprised to find that I weighed about 200 pounds,” Rocha says. “I thought I had to do something.”
Rocha is from a boxing (拳击) family—his father and two older brothers are professional boxers. So he decided to start boxing. He began with simple exercises, like sit-ups and push-ups (俯卧撑). Then Rocha started jogging(慢跑). “No kid likes running,” he says. “I don’t want to do it, either, but I have no choice but to keep on.”
Months later, Rocha joined a boxing club in his city. He is always the first kid at the club to begin exercising, and the last to leave with sweat (汗水) on his face. Every day he boxes for about three hours.
“Rocha works very hard,” says his coach, Hector Lopez. “It’s surprising to see him lose the pounds so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years of coaching.”
Rocha is very happy with his weight now. There is a family photo in his room from 18 months ago. “Each time I look at the photo, I laugh at myself. I was so big back then,” Rocha says. “I look 100 times thinner and 1,000 times stronger now.”
【小题1】How much weight did Rocha lose in six months?
A. At least 24 pounds.     B. At least 30 pounds.　　    C. At least 55 pounds.
【小题2】 Rocha said he had no choice but to keep on running because_______.
A. he liked running very much
B. he wanted to be thin and strong
C. he wanted to be a professional boxer
【小题3】What makes Coach Hector Lopez surprised?
A. Rocha lost weight so quickly.
B. Rocha was so fat 18 months ago.
C. Rocha comes from a boxing family.
【小题4】What’s the correct order of the following sentences?
a. He did some sit-ups and push-ups.
b. He lost the pounds quickly.
c. He joined a boxing club.
d. He began running.
f. He boxed for about three hours every day.
A. a-d-c-f-b     B. d-a-f-c-b     C. a-d-f-c-b 
【小题5】The writer mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. Rocha is a hardworking boy
B. it is important to get exercise
C. everything is possible if you work hard

Last week, the manager of an old jeweler’s shop received a letter marked “personal”. As he was very busy, the letter lay on his desk till teatime. When he opened it, a $10 note fell out onto his desk. With the note was a short letter. This is what it said:

Dear sir, I got engaged (订婚的) forty years ago. Unfortunately at that time there was a lot of unemployment and I lost my job. I was out of work for about six months before I got another one. Of course I was very short of money. I came to your shop to buy a wedding ring one day. The assistant brought some rings for me to have a look, later she was called away, and then I put one of the rings into my pocket. When she came back, I said I did not know the size of my girlfriend’s finger. So I left the shop without paying for the ring. My wife died a month ago, and the fact that I never paid for her ring has been on my conscience (让我良心不安) all these years. I always feel guilty about that. At that time the ring cost $2, and I think that is about five times -- $10 at today’s price. Now I am sending you that amount. Yours truly, A customer

After reading the letter, the manager said, “Well, well, well, life is full of surprise!”

1.The ring that the customer put into his pocket was ____ at that time.

 A. $2                          B. $5                            C. $10                          D. $40

2.The underlined word “unemployment” means “____” in Chinese.

 A. 辞职               B. 就业                           C. 悲伤                       D. 失业

3.How long has the customer’s wife been dead?

 A. A week.         B. A month.             C. A year.  D. Two months.

4.The customer wrote to the manager in order to ________.

A. return the ring                                       B. say thanks to him

C. ask him for some advice                       D. send the money for the ring

5.Which is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The manager opened the letter by himself.

B. The manager thought life was full of surprise.

C. When the customer’s wife knew the fact, she was impatient.

D. The customer always feels sad for not paying for the ring years ago.

 

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

“We needed furniture 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 six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling （努力）to make a home when the cost of living is very high. The Koses took a 2-week course 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 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 very upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course. I should be able to fix 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.

 

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

A. seldom go to a department store to buy things

B. take DIY courses run by the government

C. like 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 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.How can people learn DIY? 

A. Go to classes.

B. Read books.

C. Go to classes and read books.

D. The passage doesn't tell us.

 

Last month the manager（经理） of a jewelry shop ( 珠宝店) received a letter. As he was very busy then, the letter lay on his desk till tea-time. He opened it and a 10-pound note(票 ) fell out onto the desk. Within the note was a letter which said:

Dear sir:

In 1935 I got engaged(订婚 ). But unfortunately I lost my job. At the time a lot of people were out of work. Six months later I got a job again, but of course I was very short of money. I came to your shop to buy a wedding ring(婚戒 ). The assistant took out some rings for me to look at, but she was called away for a moment, and I put one of the rings in my pocket. When she came back, I said I didn’t know the size of my girl’s finger. So I left the shop without buying a ring. My wife died a short while ago and the fact that I never paid for the ring has been heavy in my heart all these years. At that time, the ring cost 2 pounds so I think it is 10 pounds at today’s price and I’m sending 10 pounds.

Yours truly,

A customer (顾客 )

1.What happened in 1935?

A．The jewelry shop lost some rings.

B．The customer married a girl.

C．The customer stole (偷窃) a ring for his wife.

D．The customer stole a ring for his girl friend.

2. What do you think of the customer?

A．Honest

B．Forgetful

C．Dishonest

D．Careless