Every morning Steve went to work by train. As he has a long trip，he always buys newspaper. It helps make the time passing more quickly. One Tuesday morning，he turned over the sports page. He wanted to see the report about an important football match the night before. The report was so interesting that he forgot to get off at his station. He did not know it unless he saw the sea. He got off at the next station，but had to wait a long time for a train to go back. It was no doubt that he arrived late at the office. His boss was angry when Steve told to him why he was late.“Work is very important than football!” he shouted.

 

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 afford 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 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-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 you can do things yourself.

1.We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.

A．find it hard to pay for what they need

B．have to learn to make their own furniture.

C．take DIY courses run by the government.

D．seldom go to a department store to buy things

2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _____

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

3. When the writer says Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ____

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

 

Billy is fourteen years old and in the ninth grade. He has a  26   job which gets him  27  at five o'clock every morning. He is a  28  .

Each morning, Billy leaves the house at 5: l5 to go to the corner  29  the newspapers are. The newspapers are delivered to the  30  by truck at midnight. He always takes a wagon (手推车) to carry them.

In  31  , it is still dark and cold when he gets up, but during the rest of the year it is bright and warm. Billy must deliver the newspapers to the houses of people on his route (线路) in all kinds of weather. He tries to put each  32  on the porch (门廊) where it will be protected from     33  , rain or snow. His  34  think he does a good job. Sometimes they give him  35  .

Billy  36  about $70 per month, and he is saving some of the money to go to college. He spends the rest  37  records and clothes. Once a month, he has to  38  money from his customers. Since many of them  39  during the day, Billy has to collect the money  40  . Sometimes, when Billy is   41  , his older brother has to  42  the newspapers. Once Billy's father had to help as well.

Billy has seventy customers now,  43  he hopes to get more soon. Some day, if he gets many more customers, Billy might win a prize for being an outstanding(杰出的) newspaper boy. He wants to win a  44  to Europe, but he will also be happy  45  he wins a new bicycle.

1.A. full-time          B. strange          C. good         D. part-time

2.A. indoors            B. outdoors         C. down         D. up

3.A. schoolboy  B. newspaper boy    C. cowboy       D. clever boy

4.A. that       B. where            C. which       D. whether

5.A. house          B. porch            C. school   D. corner

6.A. autumn         B. winter           C. morning      D. summer

7.A. newspaper      B. magazine         C. letter       D. email

8.A. air                B. wind             C. water        D. fire

9.A. teachers       B. parents          C. bosses       D. customers

10.A. books         B. some bread       C. a new bike   D. tips

11.A. makes             B. saves            C. spends      D. pays

12.A. in                B. at      C. to       D. on

13.A. give              B. borrow       C. collect          D. catch

14.A. play          B. study    C. work            D. rest

15.A. in the morning    B. at night     C. in the afternoon D. at noon

16.A. sick          B. angry    C. at school       D. sad

17.A. carry         B. collect     C. deliver          D. sell

18.A. then          B. but       C. so              D. for

19.A. trip          B. car      C. bicycle          D. job

20.A. because           B. whether      C. unless           D. if

 

Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.

After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.

    Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."

Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.

    These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.

    Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."

1.Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?

A. He needs to go to the doctor every day.

B. He studies the leading cause of diabetes

C. He has a positive attitude to this disease.

D. He encourages diabetics by writing articles.

2.Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.

A. diabetics to communicate          B. volunteers to find jobs

C. children to amuse themselves       D. rock stars to share resources.

3.According to the text, Kody ______.

A. feel lonely because of his illness

B. benefits from diabeticrockstar.com

C. helps create the online kid’s forums

D. writes children’s stories online

4.What can we learn about Fight It?

A. It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties.

B. It organizes parties for volunteer once a year.

C. It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics.

D. It owns a well-known medical website.

5.The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.

A. works full-time in a diabetes charity      

B. employs 22 people for his website

C. helps diabetics in his own way          

D. ties to find a cure for diabetes

 

He is a real turtle（海龟）.

         Someone who always moves very slowly.

         She is such a sheep.

         A follower; someone who can’t think for him or herself.

         He’s being an ostrich（鸵鸟）.

         Someone who hides his/her head in the sand and refuses to face problems or reality.

         He’s a lamb.

         A gentle, patient, understanding person. Nice and considerate.

         What a crab（蟹） he is!

         A grouchy（发牢骚的） person; someone who is often angry and in a bad mood.

1.In which of the following situations are the people acting like sheep?

A. A teenager tells a small child to stop bothering an animal.

B. A young man is driving fast because all his friends do.

C. Someone runs for monitor of the senior class in the school.

D. People are walking and singing together along the road.

2.If a person is like a turtle, which of these is most likely to be a problem to him or her?

A. Keeping the house clean.               B. Learning a new language.

C. Getting to school on time.               D. Saving money for future use.

3.Buddy hates to wake up on Monday morning. He doesn’t speak to his wife or children, and he often shouts at the other drivers on his way to work. Everybody stays out of his way at least until noon time. After that he’s all right. Buddy’s boss says, “ Buddy is a good guy, but on Monday morning, he’s an absolute _________.”

A. crab                         B. lamb                        C. turtle                                D. ostrich

4.Jerry has not been well for weeks. He knows he has a problem but he is afraid to see a doctor .If he is sick, he doesn’t want to know about it. His wife says, “ Jerry, don’t be a(n) __________. Go to the doctor. She can help you get of your illness.

A. crab                         B. lamb                        C. sheep                               D. ostrich