As prices and building costs keep rising , the “do-it-yourself”(DIY) trend(趋势)in the USA continues to grow .
“We needed furniture for our living rooms ,” 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 make all their furniture and repairs around the house .
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife has 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-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes .And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell them how they can do things themselves.We can learn from the passage that many newly married people ______ .
| A．take DIY courses run by the government |
| B．have to learn to make their own furniture |
| C．find it hard to pay for what they need |
| D．seldom go to a supermarket to buy things |
John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______ .
| A．run a DIY shop | B．save time and money |
| C．make or repair things | D．improve their life |
When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home ,he means Jim___ .
| A．makes shoes in his home | B．does extra work at night |
| C．repairs his own car at home | D．keeps house and looks after his children |
Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourself when he found _____ .
| 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 |
According to a recent report, kids in primary school spend about six hours every week doing their homework.. So kids hate homework. However, their parents hate homework, too.
Is it good for kids to do homework? Of course, a great number of researches do show that kids can remember what they have learnt in class better by finishing their homework on time and homework itself plays an important role in developing their learning shills, such as independent thinking and creativity.
But for parents, the result is not the same. After a day of hard work, most of them feel like they’re going through school a second time when they sit down with their children each night to help with their homework. And a recent survey found that 46 percent of parents feel like they don’t spend enough quality time with their children, because they spend too much time doing the housework or helping with homework. And another 29 percent of parents have arguments with their kids often when they have different answers to the same question.
Now several education scientists strongly advise parents to stop helping. They say it will give their kids more independence and give parents back their free time. At the same time, the number of homework – connected arguments will be less at home. Katy Smith, an education scientist, says, “ You don’t have to know everything. Children need to put their hands up for help and so do parents. Use your resources – online teachers, or even your neighborhood – just ask.”How long do the kids spend doing homework?
| A．About six hours a day. |
| B．About six hours a week. |
| C．About six hours a month |
| D．About six hours a year |
What do we know from the researches mentioned in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．Homework improves learning skills. |
| B．Both parents and kids hate homework. |
| C．Kids love doing homework by themselves. |
| D．Parents enjoy sitting down helping their kids, most parents feel ___________. |
When they are helping their kids, most parents feel ___________ .
| A．they are at work again |
| B．they are school students again |
| C．they are teachers of their kids. |
| D．they are not as good as their kids. |
Why do some parents argue with their kids?
| A．Their kids don’t finish homework on time. |
| B．Their kids don’t like to do their homework. |
| C．Their kids don’t work out the correct answers. |
| D．Their kids don’t agree with them on the answers. |
What’s Katy Smith’s advice for the parents?
| A．Ask kids to finish everything at school. |
| B．Review everything they learn at school. |
| C．Look for professional help for their kids. |
| D．Leave the kids alone with their homework.. |
| Welcome to Math School of Countryside Hello. I’m Andrew Kelly, Center Director of Math School of Countryside. We are ready to help kids in grades3-12 understand math better by teaching them how to learn. When they know how to learn math, kids make progress easily. Out school has already let 5000+ students in the US and Canada learn math successfully for over ten years. How to teach your child math. Our math teachers will offer your child lessons on how to understand math. We use a special way to tell exactly what each child knows an d what they need to learn. Next, we make a learning plan for each kid. It doesn’t stop there -- our encouraging teachers continually check progress along the way to make sure your kids truly understand what we’ve taught. The result are clear – your kids will see their scores in math exams continue to rise. How to help your child homework Our teachers will also provide homework support. We help kids understand the homework so they feel better prepared to finish the work at home – explaining the instructions of each exercise and changing homework frustration into a welcome challenge. |
Who might be most probably interested in it.
| A． Jane, a mother of an eleven - year- old boy. |
| B．Michael, a college student of math. |
| C．Rena, a math teacher from a secondary school. |
| D．Susan, a mother of a Three-year-old girl. |
What’s special about this school?
| A．It takes 5000 students each time. |
| B．It can help kids in any grade. |
| C．It is the oldest of its kind in the US. |
| D．It teaches kids how to learn math. |
In how many steps will the teachers teach kids math?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four | D．Five. |
How will the teachers help with kid’s homework?
| A．By showing them how to finish it. |
| B．By watching them do it at home . |
| C．By getting them better prepared for it. |
| D．By giving the correct answers to them. |
What is this piece of writing ?
| A．A postcard. | B．A poem. |
| C．A diary. | D．An advertisement. |
Many years ago, there lived an old man with his three sons, Dharma, Harrison and Keith, in a village. The man worked hard when he was young, son he had the largest farmyard and the most beautiful house in the village. However, his sons were all born to be lazy, which mad him disappointed. He was worried that his sons would use up his money and starve to death.
One day, the old man came up with a plan. He called his sons and said to them, “Look, my dear sons: in the land we have at the farmyard, there is lots of hidden gold. If you should work together, you may find it”
In a wish to find out the gold, his sons worked hard from the morning to the evening digging and digging all through the land. The days had passed, but they didn’t find what were they were looking for. They got frustrated and angry. They decided to give up and returned to ask their father.
“There is no gold in the land. We are cheated.”
“Since the land has been dup soft. Why don’t you pant some crops there?” was the reply of the father to the sons.
Off went the sons. Soon the whole once-useless land was rich crops.
“This if the real gold, my sons.” Said the now proud father.What do we know about the old man?
| A．He was the richest in his village. |
| B．He was unable to feed his family. |
| C．He loved daughters more than sons. |
| D．He was quite successful as a farmer. |
Why did the old man ask his sons to dig the land?
| A．He was too old to do it himself. |
| B．He didn’t have money to pay workers. |
| C．He decided to teach his sons an Important lesson. |
| D．He didn’t want other people to set foot on his land. |
Why did his sons agree to dig the land?
| A．They wanted to help their father. |
| B．They wanted to grow their own crops. |
| C．They didn’t want to be lazy any more. |
| D．They wanted to find the hidden gold. |
After they dug the land , his sons found ________________.
| A．lots of gold | B．nothing |
| C．seeds of crops | D．the value of work |
What can we learn from the end of the story ?
| A．The old man had achieved his goal. |
| B．The three sons were still as lazy as before. |
| C．The sons were quite angry with their father. |
| D．The old man was still worried about his sons. |
Zheng He was an amazing man. He was born in 1371. Eleven years later, he was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him. Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends. In 1403 Zhu Di was made the King of China and he asked Zheng He to join his government.
The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power. He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader. between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world. He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East. A few people think his ships have even reached South America and Australia.
Each trip lasted between two and four years and it is believed he sailed more than 50,000 kms during the years of his travels.Zheng He led a fleet with 28,000 men and over 300 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers' horses.
On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods. He returned from each trip with boats filled with expensive things such as gold and treasures, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe.
It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He' s travels. The Columbus of the east, Zheng He, died in 1433. After that, the new king, had these trips stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He's travels, because he believed the trips were unlucky and too expensive. It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of great Zheng He.Why did Zhu Di want Zheng He to sail to many different countries?
A. To learn more about the world.
B. To bring new countries under the control of China.
C. To show other countries his power.
D. Both A and C.What do we know about Zheng He from the passage?
| A．He travelled to India and Africa. |
| B．Each trip lasted six years. |
| C．When he died, he was 72 years old. |
| D．He was a great king. |
Which of the following did Zheng He take to foreign countries from China?
| A．Gold | B．Treasures | C．Giraffes | D．Silk. |
After Zheng He died, ___________
| A．nobody remembered him |
| B．almost all the books about his travels were burned |
| C．the new king thought these trips were lucky |
| D．sea trips to other countries lasted 50 years. |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．The King's Seven Sea Trips |
| B．Zheng He's Travels to Western Countries |
| C．Zheng He, the Columbus of the East |
| D．Zhu Di, the Great King |
Mr. Black’s office was only 5 kilometers away from his house, so he could go home to have lunch every day. But when he got home at noon, he had to drive another place to park his car, then walked back home. Because he found many cars outside his house and there was no room for his own car. This made him very angry.
One day, he put up a board in the garden facing the road
| NO PARKING |
But nobody noticed it. People seemed to obey only a police notice with white letters on a blue board
| POLICE NOTICE NO PARKING |
Mrs. Black asked his husband to steal a police notice but he was afraid to do so. Then she asked him to make one just like a police notice. Mr. Black said he was not the police and couldn’t use the word “police”. Several days later, Mr. Black made a blue board with white letters
| POLITE NOTICE NO PARKING |
“Oh!” Mrs. Black said, “ You told me you weren’t going to use the word ‘police’, but why do you use it now?”
“Really?” he asked with a smile. “Look again!”
“Oh, Dear!” she started to laugh, “ You are really clever!”How far is it from Mr. Black's house to his office?
| A．5 miles | B．5 hours' drive |
| C．5,000 meters | D．Less than 5 kilometers |
Mr. White was angry because ______.
| A．he lost the way when he drove back home one day |
| B．his car was broken on his way home one day |
| C．he had to walk home from his office. |
| D．he found no room to park his car outside his house |
How many notice boards did Mr. Black make according to the passage?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．None |
In the end, Mr. Black made a notice board and it _____
| A．said "POLICE NOTICE, NO PARKING" |
| B．said "NO PARKING" |
| C．said "POLITE NOTICE, NO PARKING" |
| D．was different in color from a police notice. |
What would most probably happen after he put up the blue board?
| A．Fewer people would park their cars outside his house because of the blue board. |
| B．More people would have to park their cars outside his house because of the blue board. |
| C．He would be punished because he stole the blue board. |
| D．He couldn't park his car outside his house any more because there was no room for his car. |