.
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.
60．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
61．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
62．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
63．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
64．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
A new law helps people with disabilities. The law says that people with disabilities must be able to get into and out of all public buildings. It also says that business must offer special services to people who have special needs. Companies can not refuse to hire disabled workers. Many businesses may have to change their buildings and services.
—Ramps (坡道) must be built so people can get into buildings.
—Movie theatres must have space for people in wheelchairs and seats for their friends to sit near them.
—Elevators (电梯) must have floor number in Braille.
This law will help millions of people. One woman who has been in a wheelchair for many years said,“It is like a dream.”According to the passage we can see that.
| A．it will be difficult for the normal persons to get into the public buildings |
| B．the buildings of all the businesses will have to be changed |
| C．Most businesses used to offer special services to people who have special needs |
| D．it was difficult for the disabled workers to find jobs in the past |
Ramps can help people.
| A．with hearing problems |
| B．who have difficulty in using their hands |
| C．who have difficulty in using their legs or feet |
| D．who don’t like stairs |
The fact that the new law has been passed shows that______.
| A．the government has paid no attention to the disabilities |
| B．the government wants to help these disabilities |
| C．normal people show mercy to the disabilities |
| D．companies will hire millions of disabled people |
Every country has its heroes. The heroes are the people the nation and especially the young people admire. If you get a list of the heroes of a nation, it will tell you the potential of that nation.
If today in America, you ask the high school students to list their heroes, their choice would probably fall into three groups. The first group of heroes would be the rock stars —the people connected with rock music. There is no doubt that such people do have talent but one wonders if one should regard rock stars as a model. The rock stars too often are involved with drugs and their personal life is not all that good. The rock stars are rich and wear the latest fashion styles. However, one should seek more in a hero than such things as money and good clothes.
A second type of hero for the American youth is the sports star. Again you have a person who has a great ability in one area — SPORTS. However, too often the personal life of the sports star is a bit of a mess. Too frequently drugs and drinking are a part of life of the sports star.
A third type of hero is the TV or movie star. This person may have lots of acting talent and is quite handsome. However, the personal life of too many actors is quite sad and they should not be held up as a model for young people.
Today, the rock star, the athlete and the actor all have become the models of the youth in America. Really, do you hear a young person say that his hero is a doctor, a teacher, or a scientist? These people are not rich and do not wear fashionable clothes. However, they are talented people who work hard to make the world a better place for everyone.
What is really sad is that the young try to imitate their heroes. They like to wear the same clothes and follow their styles. If the heroes of today for the American youngsters are limited only to rock stars, athletes and actors, the future does not look too bright.The hero discussed in this article means a person ______.
| A．who has done something brave |
| B．who plays an important role in a play |
| C．whom people greatly admire |
| D．who rides the waves and moves with the tides |
What is true of the groups mentioned in this article?
| A．They are not fright but are good-looking. |
| B．They are rich but are strict with themselves. |
| C．They are talented in some area but lead an indecent life. |
| D．They are perfect in every way. |
American young people will not admire ______.
| A．a university professor | B．a popular singer |
| C．a football player | D．a film actress |
According to the writer, people should hold up as their model those______.
| A．who are rich and wear the latest fashion clothes |
| B．whose personal life is good |
| C．who can express people’s feelings |
| D．who work in the interests of the people |
If you go to Brisbane, Australia, you can easily get a small book called Discover Brisbane free. The book tells you almost everything in Brisbane: the restaurants, the shops, the cinemas, the streets, the buses, the trains, the banks, etc. Here is something about banks on page 49:
ANZ Banking Group
Cnr. Greek && Queen Sts ……………… 228 3228
Bank of New Zealand
410 Queen Street ……………………… 221 0411
Bank of Queensland
229 Elizabeth Street …………………… 229 3122
Commonwealth Banking Group
240 Queen Street ……………………… 237 3111
National Australia Bank Ltd
225 Adelaide Street …………………… 221 6422
Westpac Banking Corp
260 Queen Street ……………………… 227 2666
Banking hours are Mon.-Thu. 9:30 am to 4 pm. Fri. 9:30 am to 5 pm. All banks close Sat. Sun. && Public Holidays.
Australia has a decimal currency(十进币制) with 100 cents to the dollar.
Notes available are: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5
Gold coins are: $2 && $1
Silver coins are: 50, 20, 10&&5 cent
Copper coins are: 2 && 1 cent You can find ANZ Banking Group on ______.
| A．Queen Street | B．Elizabeth Street |
| C．the corner of Greek Street and Queen Street | |
| D．the corner of Queen Street and Elizabeth Street |
______ seems to be the most important street inBrisbane.
| A．Greek Street | B．Elizabeth Street |
| C．Queen Street | D．Adelaide Street |
On Saturdays, you can go to ______ to put your money in or take your money out.
| A．ANZ Banking Group | B．Bank of Queensland |
| C．National Australia Bank Ltd | D．no bank |
In Australia, the banks have their longest servicehours on ______.
| A．public holidays | B．Sundays | C．Saturdays | D．Fridays |
Switzerland is famous for its watches. However, this country didn’t invent the watch. It was the British who did it. Here is a story of how the watch was brought to Switzerland.
Many years ago, an Englishman was traveling to Italy, on his way he stopped in a small town in south Switzerland. This Englishman traveled in a carriage inside which there was a carriage watch. This was the earliest kind of watch. A native shop assistant happened to see the watch. He wondered what it was and asked the Englishman about it, “it is a carriage watch,” said the man. “This machine tells the time but now it isn’t working.”
At once the shop assistant offered to try to repair it. So the traveler handed him the watch. The assistant was a very wise man. So it was not very surprising that he managed to repair it. He even remembered how it was made. As soon as the traveler had gone on his journey, he made a watch exactly the same type.
Thus the watch-making was started in Switzerland. Today Swiss watches are sold in stores all over the world.Switzerland is famous for______.
| A．making watches. | B．selling watches. |
| C．inventing watches. | D．the carriage watch |
The earliest watches were made in_______.
| A．Switzerland | B．England | C．Italy | D．a small town |
The first Swiss watch was made by_______.
| A．an Italian shop assistant. |
| B．an English shop assistant. |
| C．a shop assistant in Switzerland. |
| D．a man who was traveling to Italy. |
The carriage watch was a machine which________.
| A．was put in the carriage | B．wasn’t working |
| C．told people time | D．had to be repaired |
Great British is an island that lies off the northwest coast of Europe. The nearest country is France which is 20 miles away. Great British is separated from France by the English Channel. The island is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west, and the North Sea, to the east. It includes the main lands of England, Wales and Scotland. Scotland is in the north while Wales is in the west. Ireland, which is also an island, lies off the west coast of Great Britain. It is made up of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Great Britain together with Northern Ireland forms the United Kingdom (U.K.). So the U.K. is made up of four countries. The largest of these is England which is divided into 43 countries. The capital city is London which is on the river Thames. Great Britain is separated from France by_______.
| A．the North Sea | B．Suez Canal | C．English Channel | D．Thames |
Great Britain lies on the ______of the Atlantic ocean.
| A．west | B．north | C．east | D．south |
The United Kingdom is made up of _______.
| A．England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland |
| B．England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland |
| C．Great Britain and Ireland |
| D．Great Britain and the Irish Republic |
It is true that England is________.
| A．the smallest of the four countries in U.K. |
| B．only larger than Wales |
| C．as large as Ireland |
| D．the largest country in U.K. |