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 decide 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.
【小题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

【小题2】John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______.

A．run a DIY shop

B．make it repair things

C．save time and money

D．improve the quality of life

【小题3】When the writer says that Jim has a full-time 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

【小题4】Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when _______.

A．his car repairs cost too much

B．the car repair class was not helpful

C．he could not possibly do two jobs

D．he had to raise the children all by himself

【小题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: Believe in DIY.

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.

The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.

That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．

Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．

So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．

Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．

One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．

If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．

Live one day at a time．we sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"

Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine． Believe me．And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says: "The power is yours!"

1.The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．

A．was forced by	B．was fighting bravely with
C．had cooperated with	D．was trying to beg

2.From the passage, we learn that___．

A．the woman was lucky to miss her flight

B．some people just never run out of good luck

C．robbers will get what they deserve

D．if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so

3.According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

A．Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited．

B．There's no need to worry or get frustrated．Just believe in yourself．

C．Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert．

D．Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things．

4.The stories are intended to tell us___．

A．fortune only favors the prepared mind

B．gains and losses go hand in hand

C．misfortune might be a blessing

D．we should save up for a rainy day

 

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.

The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.

That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．

Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．

So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．

Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．

One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．

If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．

Live one day at a time．We sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leave me and I've got no one else to turn to?"

Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine. Believe me. And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says, “The power is yours!”

41．The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．

A．was forced by                       B．was fighting bravely with

C．had cooperated with                  D．was trying to beg

42．From the passage, we learn that___．

A．the woman was lucky to miss her flight

B．some people just never run out of good luck

C．robbers will get what they deserve

D．if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so

43．According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

A．Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited．

B．There's no need to worry or get frustrated. Just believe in yourself．

C．Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert．

D．Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things．

44．The stories are intended to tell us___． 

A．fortune only favors the prepared mind   B．gains and losses go hand in hand

C．misfortune might be a blessing         D．we should save up for a rainy day