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.
【小題1】Many newly married people in the USA ______.

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.

1.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.

2.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

3. 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

4.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

5.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. 

When I was a teenager growing up in France, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. The only way I could   1  this was to work in the local paper factory in my town, or get married. I was very nervous when I told my   2  I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “  3  You are going to college (大學(xué)).” I was very   4  when he said, “OK. Let’s go to the paper factory.”
Two days later,   5  took me to the factory. I imagined everyone to be friends   6 together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I   7  I had watched too many movies as a teenager.
When we   8   the factory gate, my father spoke to the guard (門衛(wèi)) and one minute later we were   9 . I walked around the factory looking at the building, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was   10 . I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”
He asked me, “What do you think of the   11 ?”
“Too bad,” I answered.
“And marriage(婚姻) is even   12 !” he said.
I went back to school the next day thinking about studying hard   13  I could get into a good college. I   14  studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our   15  to the paper factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!

Peter's job was to examine cars when they crossed the frontier (邊界) to make sure that they were not smuggling (走私) anything into the country. Every evening he would see a factory worker coming __36__ the hill towards the frontier, __37__ a bike with grass on it. When the bike __38__ the frontier, Peter would stop the man and __39__ him take the grass off. Then he would examine the straw very __40__ to see whether he could find anything, after which he would look in all the man's pockets __41__ he let him tie (捆綁) the grass again. The man would then put it on his bike and go off down the hill with it. Although Peter was always __42 __ to find gold or other valuable things hidden in the straw, he never found __43__. He was sure the man was smuggling something, but he was not __44__ to think out what it could be.
Then one evening, after he had looked __45__ the grass and emptied the worker's pockets __46__ usual, he __47__ to him, "Listen, I know you are smuggling things __48__ this frontier. Won't you tell me what it is? I'm an old man, and today's my last day on the job. Tomorrow I'm going to retire (退休). I promise I shall not tell __49__ if you tell me what you've been smuggling." The worker did not say anything for __50__. Then he smiled, turned to Peter and said quietly, "Bikes."