完形填空

　　When I was young, my parents ran a snack bar in our small town．

　　One evening in early April, my mother told me to fill in at the snack bar 　　1　　 a worker who had the flu．I told her I would mess it up, 　　2　　 I had never worked at the bar before．I 　　3　　 that instead of making money, I would end up owing it．

　　“You can do it,” said my mother, “　　4　　,you won’t get much business until lunch．”

　　“But I’ll never remember the orders, and I’m no good 　　5　　 money．Please, Mom, don’t 　　6　　 me．”

　　“Then I’ll help you,” she said．

　　I shrugged my shoulders．I thought my mother’s 　　7　　 was a bad one, but I 　　8　　．

　　When I got to the bar the next day, I found my mother was 　　9　　．Because the weather that day was rainy and cold, people wanted hot snacks and drinks．　　10　　, I was really slow at taking the orders and making change．The line of people grew, and everybody seemed 　　11　　, I was so nervous that my hands shook, and I 　　12　　 a cup into pieces．What a mess! Then my mother came to 　　13　　 me, and she also showed me how to make 　　14　　．If someone gave me ＄ 5 for something that cost ＄3.25, I handed over 　　15　　 quarters and a dollar and said,“75 cents makes four dollars, plus one dollar makes five．” Things went more 　　16　　 after that．

　　By the end of the day, I could remember orders, 　　17　　 the bill, and make change quickly with a smile．I was even a little 　　18　　 when the sun came out and dried up business．My mother said she was proud of me, and when she 　　19　　 that I work at the snack bar again next year, I did not even shrug．I was too busy 　　20　　 the restaurant I would open one day．

阅读理解

　　As prices and building costs keep rising, the do it yourself(DIY)trend(趋势)in the U．S．continues to grow．

　　“We needed furniture(家具)for our living room,” 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 2week 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 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-yourselfer”, 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 you can do things yourselves．