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.

 

The teacher stood before his class and was going to hand out the final exam papers. “I know how   1   you have all worked to prepare for this test,” he said. “And because I know you can do it well, I am willing to offer a B to anyone who would   2   not to take the test. ”
Many students jumped up to   3   the teacher and left the classroom.  The teacher looked at the   4   students and said, “Does anyone else want to get a B? This is your last   5   . ” Two more students decided to go.     Seven students remained.  The teacher then handed out the   6   .  There were only three sentences typed on the paper: Congratulations! You have just   7   an A in this class.  Keep believing in yourself.     I never had a teacher like that, but I think it is a test   8   any teacher could and should give.  Students who are not   9   in what they have learned are B students at best(充其量). The same is   10   in real life.  The A students are those who believe in what they are doing because they have   11   both successes and failures.  They have learned life’s lessons, either from normal education   12   from events in their lives, and have become   13   people.      Scientists say that by the age of eight, 80% of what we believe about ourselves has already been formed.  You are a big kid now, and you   14   that  you have some limits (限制).  However, there is   15   you can’t do or learn or be.  Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest said, “It’s not the mountain we conquer(克服) but ourselves. ”
【小题1】A.  luckily        B.  terribly        C.  hard
【小题2】A.  dislike        B.  help            C.  prefer
【小题3】A.  thank         B.  praise          C.  fight
【小题4】A.  following     B.  relaxing      C.  remaining
【小题5】A.  chance        B.  trouble         C.  test
【小题6】A.  results        B.  presents        C.  papers
【小题7】A.  given         B.  sent            C.  received
【小题8】A.  where         B.  that            C.  what
【小题9】A.  confident     B.  necessary       C.  mysterious
【小题10】A.  unusual        B.  impossible      C.  true
【小题11】A.  broken off     B.  dreamed of      C.  learned from
【小题12】A.  and           B.  or            C.  but
【小题13】A.  ruder         B.  cuter           C.  better
【小题14】A.  decide        B.  forget          C.  realize
【小题15】A.  something     B. anything        C.  nothing

It’s the end of class.When the bell rings, students of Luohu Foreign Languages School in Shenzhen quickly take out their telephones.They want to log on to their micro blogs (登录到他们的微博) to check the interesting things.They want to see what have happened in the last hour.

Since several years ago, more and more people have used micro blogs in our country.Recent surveys (调查) shows that most students in middle schools have a micro blog and some even update (更新) their blogs over five times per day.

“We learn many fresh and interesting things on micro blogs and they have become popular topics in class,” said Kitty Jiang, 14.“If you do not know about them, you are out of loop.” It is also a great place for students to say something about themselves.“My parents always ask me to study hard, and encourage me before exams, but it really gives me pressure (压力),” said Alan Wang, 15.“I share these feelings on my micro blog.My friends always give me answers in the same situation.This makes me feel better.”

But parents worry that micro blogging could be a waste of time.Some unhealthy information may even bring danger to kids, they said.

Mr Shen, a professor (教授) asks parents not to worry too much as long as kids are not crazy about micro blogging.Maybe it can become a window for parents to understand their children.“If parents can read their children’s micro blogs, they’ll know what they think, they can know more about their children and help them solve their problems,” he said.He also gives some advice for kids.

-Don’t micro blog for more than one hour a day.

-Never micro blog in class.

-Try to talk face to face with people from time to time.

-Don’t believe all the information on a micro blog.

1.According to the passage, what do students log on to their micro blogs to do?

A．check the things                        B．write articles

C．listen to music                          D．call their parents

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined part “out of loop” in the passage?

A．not excited        B．unhealthy         C．unlucky           D．not popular

3.From Mr Shen’s words, what do micro blogging do?

A．It makes kids crazy while logging on to it.

B．It will bring a lot of unhealthy information.

C．It becomes a window to understand young kids.

D．It will not solve problems for kids

4.Which of the following sentence is true according to the passage?

A．It’s good for kids to micro blog for more than one hour a day.

B．Kids should believe all the messages on a micro blog because they are useful.

C．Many young people have written something on micro blogs since two years ago.

D．Kids should try to talk face to face with people, not just micro blogging.