As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) is getting more and more popular in the USA.
“We needed furniture for our living room,” says John Rose,” 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 Roses took a 2-week courses 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 much work at home as well as a job in a shoe-making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for＄420. “I was deeply unhappy 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 do to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a DIY, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who didn’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.Many newly married people in the USA ______.
| A．find it hard to pay for what they need |
| B．must take some courses |
| C．have to learn to make their own furniture |
| D．seldom go to a shop to buy things. |
John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to ______.
| A．make furniture | B．make or repair things |
| C．improve the quality of life | D．save time and money |
Jim Hatfield’s job is to ______.
| A．make shoes at home | B．do housework in a shoe factory |
| C．run a shoe-making factory at home | D．work in a shoe factory |
Jim decided to become a DIY when ______.
| A．he enjoyed doing everything by himself |
| B．he becomes an unusual person |
| C．his car repairs cost very much |
| D．the car repair class wasn’t helpful |
Which of the following statement is right?
| A．If you want to become a DIY, you can only go to DIY classes. |
| B．People who take DIY courses are quite different from the others. |
| C．DIY is becoming more and more popular because of the raising living cost. |
| D．Most families in the country are doing everything because they enjoy the life style. |
Real gift at Christmas
IT was Christmas Eve, 1881. I was 15 years old and feeling like the world was over for me. I didn’t have enough money to buy myself the gift that I had wanted that year.
Dad came back in and there was ice in his beard. “You’ve been by widow (寡妇) Smith’s house recently?” he asked. Widow Smith lived two miles down the road. Her husband died a year ago and left her with three children.
“I rode by just today,” Dad continued. “Little Jack was out looking for wood (木头). They must be out of wood, Tom.”
We filled our sled (雪橇) high with wood. Then we went to the store and Dad bought some food, and a smaller pair of shoes. I tried to think through what Dad was doing. I knew we didn’t have much money, so why was Dad buying them so many things?
We got to the Smith’s house and went in. “We brought you a few things, madam,” Dad said, and put down the bag of food on the table. Then Dad handed widow Smith the pair of shoes. She bit her lower lip (下唇) to keep it from trembling (发抖), and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks.
My throat seemed to be filled with something, and there were tears in my eyes, too. Just then my dream gift seemed very unimportant. Dad had given me the look on widow Smith’s face and the smiles of her three children. He had given me the best Christmas of my life.The writer was not happy on Christmas Eve 1881 because ___________.
| A．he was worried that his father was still not back |
| B．it was the beginning of a new year and he didn’t want to grow up |
| C．he couldn’t have the Christmas gift he wanted |
| D．he didn’t want to go out in the cold |
The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 4 refers to(指的是) “ ___________”.
| A．food and shoes | B．Tom and his dad |
| C．sled and some wood | D．the Smiths |
The father decided to help the Smiths because ___________.
| A．he learned from widow Smith about her trouble |
| B．he saw the little child looking for wood out in the cold |
| C．he realized widow Smith had to raise three children |
| D．he saw their neighbors were not nice or helpful |
How did widow Smith feel when the dad handed her the pair of shoes?
| A． Surprised. | B．Moved. |
| C．Excited. | D．Worried. |
What did the writer learn from that Christmas?
| A．Helping those in need makes us feel good. |
| B．Christmas gifts are unimportant for poor people. |
| C．We should get along with people around us. |
| D．Being helpful sometimes brings people good luck. |
When you don’t know an English word, you may need a dictionary. A dictionary is a very useful tool when you learn English. It plays an important role in your study. Do you know the smallest English dictionary in the world?
Let’s have a look at what it looks like. It is 2.6 centimeters long. It is 1.9 centimeters wide. It is the smallest English dictionary in the world.
The small dictionary has 384 pages. It has many thousands of words. When you open its case, you can also find a lens. The dictionary is so small that we need to use the lens to read it.
The smallest English dictionary came out in Glasgow, UK in 1890. Graham is the owner of the dictionary. He found it in a bookstore. Altough it was very expensive, he still bought it. He paid lots of money for the dictionary.How wide is the smallest dictionary?
| A．1.9 centimeters | B．2.6 centimeters |
| C．6.2 centimeters | D．9.1 centimeters |
The underlined word “ lens” probably means “ __________” in Chinese.
| A．显微镜 | B．放大镜 |
| C．近视眼 | D．望眼镜 |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．It’s about the importance of dictionaries. |
| B．It’s about the smallest dictionary in the world |
| C．It’s about the importance of learning English |
| D．It’s about the famous bookstore in UK |
Nobody likes to do chores（家务）, especially kids. How can you make your kids get into a good habit of doing their chores? Try making chores fun for them.
Play some music: Music makes everythng seem like a party, doesn’t it ? Play your kids’ favourite music and let them dance around while they are doing their chores.
Make it treasure hunt (寻宝): It’s a good way when you would like them to clean the house. Let them know that you hide a $5 bill someplace. If they find it, they can keep it.
Change often: If your kids keep doing the same chores for months, they may feel bored. Teaching them a new task(任务) is fun for both you and the kids. They will feel more grown up when they get a new task.
Do it together: It’s never fun to be the only one working and watching everyone else relaxing. If everyone takes part in doing chores, you will finish them faster and have more fun.The article is for ____________.
| A．schools | B．teachers |
| C．parents | D．kids |
The writer thinks it’s better to ________ while asking kids to clean the house.
| A．play their favorite music |
| B．hide something for them to find |
| C．give them a new task |
| D．do it together with them |
Kids may feel ______ if they keep on doing the same chores for months.
| A．tired | B．fun | C．interested | D．bored |
Do you enjoy wearing Levi’s blue jeans? Blue jeans have become popular all over the world, but do you know how they got started?
Levi Strauss was born in Germany in the mid 1800’s and immigrated(移居) to the United States as a young man. He lived in New York City and learned the dry-goods business for several years. In 1853 he took his knowledge and his dreams to San Francisco (California, USA). His dream to succeed came true over the next 20 years as he became a very successful businessman.
Many of Levi Strauss’ customers were cowboys and miners. They needed clothing that was strong and lasting. Strauss found a special cloth from France that was comfortable and lasted a long time. It was called “serge and mines” which was later shortened to the word “denim(粗棉布)”.
Another man named Jacob Davis bought large amounts of the denim cloth from Levi Strauss. He was a tailor who made pants for hard-working men. One of his customers was continually tearing the pockets off his pants. So Jacob Davis decided to put rivets(铆钉)on certain parts of the pants to make them stronger. The customer loved the new pants so much that he told all his friends, and soon Jacob Davis was busy making lots of pants with rivets.
Jacob Davis soon realized that using rivets was a great business idea, and he didn’t want anybody to steal that idea. He decided that he would need to get a patent. But being a poor tailor, he didn’t have money to pay for the patent. After thinking it over, he went to the businessman Levi Strauss and told him his idea. He said, “If you agree to pay for the patent, we will share the profits from the riveted pants.” Levi Strauss did agree, and the new riveted pant business was called Levi Strauss and Company. Today Levi’s jeans are more popular than ever, and Levi’s name continues to live in.
What is Levi Strauss?
| A．A tailor. | B．A miner. |
| C．A cowboy. | D．A businessman. |
What do you think the underline word patent mean?
| A．办法 | B．利益 | C．专利 | D．公司 |
Jacob Davis thinks.
| A．he must get the help of Levi Strauss. |
| B．his idea is good and he can do it easily. |
| C．Levi Strauss can’t share his profits. |
| D．all the persons all over the world like the jeans very much. |
Which is right according the passage?
| A．Jacob Davis sewed pants in his business. |
| B．Levi Strauss didn’t want to pay for Jacob Davis’ patent. |
| C．Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis became business partners. |
| D．Jacob Davis put rivets in pants because they looked good. |
What do you think the writers main idea?
| A．How were the jeans invented? |
| B．How does Levi Strauss succeed? |
| C．Jacob Davis was a clever man. |
| D．How to earn more money? |
Every winter the Indians caught beavers (河狸或称为海狸).They sold these beaver furs to men from France. In the 1600s and 1700s,people in France wanted beaver furs for coats and hats. Other countries wanted these furs, too . Wearing a beaver fur hat became a sign .It said ,“Look at this man! This man is rich!”
In the 1800s,men in this country began to wear beaver hats. They too, wanted to wear the sign that said,“ Look at those men! They are rich!”
Soon it was hard to find beavers. To get more beaver furs, traders had to move West. Traders began to explore this new country. They came back with wonderful stories about the new land. Before long, many people wanted to go West to live.
Where people go, towns grow. Soon there were new towns in the West. Men looking for beaver for fancy(珍贵的，昂贵的) hats helped the West grow.Wearing a beaver hat was a sign that a man was _________.
| A．a hunter | B．rich | C．a trader | D．an Indian |
Which of the following does this story lead you to believe?
| A．Beavers began to wear fancy hats. |
| B．The traders would not go West. |
| C．The fur traders helped the country grow. |
| D．The traders wore furs. |
What did the traders do when beavers were hard to find?
| A．To get more beaver furs, traders had to move West. |
| B．The traders had to find rich men wearing signs. |
| C．The traders had to wear beaver hats out West. |
| D．They made friends with beavers. |
When did Indians begin to wear beaver hats?
| A．1600s. | B．1700s. | C．1800s. | D．1900s. |
The main idea of the whole story is that _________.
| A．traders carried signs for rich men |
| B．the search for beavers helped the West to grow |
| C．many wonderful stories were told about the West |
| D．the beavers were very foolish |