Where do most writers get their ideas? For Yoshiko Uchida, it all began with Brownie, a five-month-old puppy. So excited was Yoshiko by Brownie’s arrival that she started keeping a journal, writing about all the wonderful things Brownie did and the progress he made.

Soon she was writing about other memorable events in her life, too, like the day her family got their first refrigerator. She also began writing stories, thanks to one of her teachers. Yoshiko wrote stories about animal characters such as Jimmy Chipmunk and Willie the Squirrel. She kept on writing, sharing the kitchen table with her mother, who wrote poems on scraps of paper and the backs of envelopes.

Yoshiko grew up in the 1930s in Berkeley, California. Her parents, both of whom had been born in Japan, provided a loving and happy home for Yoshiko and her sister. They also provided a stream of visitors to their home who later found their way into Yoshiko’s stories. One visitor who later appeared in several of Yoshiko’s stories was the bad-tempered Mr. Toga, who lived above the church that her family attended. Mr. Toga would scold anyone who displeased him. The children all feared him and loved to tell stories about how mean he was and how his false teeth rattled (咯咯响) when he talked.

Yoshiko also included in her stories some of the places she visited and the experiences she had. One of her favorite places was a farm her parents took her to one summer. The owners of the farm, showed Yoshiko and her sister how to pump water from the well and how to gather eggs in the henhouse. They fed the mules that later pulled a wagon loaded with hay while Yoshiko and the others rode in the back, staring up at the stars shining in the night sky. Yoshiko, who lived in the city, had never seen such a sight. As Yoshiko gazed up at the stars, she was filled with hope and excitement about her life. The images of that hayride stayed with her long after the summer visit ended, and she used them in several of her stories.

The experiences Yoshiko had and the parade of people who marched through her young life became a part of the world she created in over twenty books for young people, such as The Best Bad Thing and A Jar of Dreams. Because of such books, we can all share just a little bit of the world and the times in which this great writer grew up.

The author tells about Mr. Toga’s false teeth in Paragraph 3 in order to ____________.

A. show health care was not good enough in Berkeley during the 1930s

B. provide an interesting detail in Yoshiko’s life and stories

C. show Yoshiko’s young life was difficult and frightening

D. tell about a beloved relative who helped Yoshiko learn how to write

In Paragraph 4 “the stars” probably refer to ____________.

A. family relationships                 B. terrors in the night

C. limitless possibilities                  D. sacrifices to benefit others

What does the underlined part in the last paragraph mean?

A. Yoshiko loved to write about parades.

B. Yoshiko met many interesting people.

C. Yoshiko liked to go for long walks with others.

D. Yoshiko preferred to talk to her pets instead of to people.

What is the main idea of this story?

A. People who live in the city should spend as much time as they can in the country.

B. Writers like Yoshiko Uchida must communicate with as many writers as possible.

C. Those who move to the United States often miss their homelands for many years.

D. Writers like Yoshiko Uchida look to the richness of their lives for material.

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.

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 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

4.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

5.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

 The children all turned         the famous actress as she entered the classroom.

A. looked at                            B. to look at

C. to looking at                        D. look at

The children all turned ______ the famous actress as she entered the classroom.

   A. looked at                        B. to look at

   C. to looking at                     D. look at

The children all turned_________the famous actress as she entered the classroom．

         A．looked at                                                       B．to look at

         C．to looking at                                                 D．look at

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