— Why does he walk like that? It seems that he has great difficulty in walking.
— Because he got ____ in an accident three years ago.

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

“We needed furniture 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 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-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 yourself.

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

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

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. makes shoes in his home

Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when ________.

A. he had to raise the children all by himself      B. the car repair class was not helpful

C. he could not possibly do two jobs               D. his car repairs cost too much

What would be the best title for the text?

A. the Joy of DIY                                 B. You Can Do It Too! 

C. Welcome to Our DIY Course!               D. Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY

  Juanito Estrella has been a housekeeping manager on the US-based large passenger ship Carnival Spirit for 18 months and feels he  has found the suitable position in his career(职业).He has always wanted to travel. “I guess I am a really restless spirit. I like traveling, so when the chance came, I jumped at it,” he says.

  The chance came in the form of a newspaper advertisement for work on cruise ships（游船）.At the time Estrella was the housekeeping manager at a Melbourne hotel. He applied and, after two interviews, a medical check and police clearance, the job was his.

  Estrella is responsible(负责的)for the cleanliness of the ship, making sure that 160 crew work properly. “I enjoy it because there is no other work-you wake up each day in a different place and a different culture. It’s exciting when you go to the next country and you don’t understand the language,” he says.
      Estrella likes being busy and getting to know people from all over the world. The 1,000 crew come from 94 countries, and Estrella has learnt Spanish and a little Croatian.

  But there is a downside. “You cannot get really drunk...because you have safety responsibilities to yourself and others,” he says. “You don’t really think about home. You start to think about home only when you get closer to your vacation and wonder what you’ll be doing.”

  Life on the ship is anything but cruising. Estrella and his fellows work at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week. He warns the job is not for everybody. “You have to love being busy and be prepared to work every day-and to give up drinking too much alcohol.” In his spare time, if the ship sails into a port, Estrella explores it, otherwise he works out in the crew’s gym, goes on the internet or calls home.

63. What do we know about Estrella?

       A. He is very fond of traveling.

       B. He doesn’t drink wine now.

       C. He cannot speak a foreign language.

       D. He used to be a housekeeping manager.

64. The underlined word “downside” in paragraph 5 probably means             .

       A. disappointment     B. disadvantage         C. failure                  D. loss

65. Which of the following is true?

       A. Estrella doesn’t often feel homesick because of his work.

       B. The work on the ship is not suitable for a married person.

       C. Estrella can find no other job except the one on the ship.

       D. The people on the ship are from 94 countries.

66.In the last paragraph. the writer thinks that life on the ship is               .

       A. not a tiring journey at all                        B. just an interesting voyage

       C. far from a voyage for pleasure               D. more than a pleasant travel by sea

Le Trung,33，has spent ￡14,000 creating Aiko，who he describes as“in her 20s”with a 32,23,33 figure，shiny hair and delicate features.

　　 She can speak English and Japanese and is so good at mathematics that she can do Mr.Trung's accounts.

　　 Mr.Trung，from Brampton in Ontario，Canada，said he has never had time to find a real partner，so he designed and created his ideal woman using the latest technology.

　　 The former software programmer has taken out credit cards and loans，sold his car and spent his life savings on perfecting his“fem?bot”．

　　 Now he is desperate to find a corporate sponsor(资助者)to help him complete and perfect Aiko.

　　 He said，“Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.”

　 “I want to make her look，feel and act as human as possible so she can be the perfect companion.”

　 “I talk to her a lot，and hope to improve her knowledge.”

　 “So far she can understand and speak 13,000 different sentences in English and Japanese，so she's already fairly intelligent.”

　 “Aiko recognize faces and says hello when any of my family come around to visit.She helps me pick what to have for dinner and knows what drinks I like.”

　 “She even helps me with directions when we're going somewhere.”

　 “When I need to do my accounts，Aiko does all the maths.She is very patient and never complains.”

　 “She doesn't need holidays，food or rest and she will work almost 24?hours a day.She is the perfect woman.”

　　 Mr.Trung has designed Aiko with a touch?sensitive face and body so she reacts in a natural way if she is shown affection or hurt.

　　 He said，“She has all senses except for smell.”

1．Why did Le Trung spend much money creating Aiko?

A．Because he prefers Aiko to a real person.

B．Because he is too busy to find a partner.

C．Because he thinks Aiko is very beautiful.

D．Because he thinks Aiko is worth much money.

2．According to the passage，what is Aiko?

A．Aiko is a female person.

B．Aiko is Mr.Trung's girl friend.

C．Aiko is a robot that looks like a beautiful woman.

D．Aiko is a perfect woman.

3．Aiko can do the following things EXCEPT ________.

A．that she can understand and speak English and Japanese

B．that she can do maths questions very well

C．that she can smell the strange smell

D．that she can help to receive some familiar guests

4．What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The reason for Le Trung creating Aiko.

B．The introduction to a new scientific product－Aiko.

C．Aiko's ability or functions.

D．The process of making Aiko.