As prices and building costs keep rising , the “do-it-yourself”(DIY) trend(趨勢)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.
【小題1】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

【小題2】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

【小題3】 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

【小題4】 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

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 ______.

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.

【小題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

【小題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

【小題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

【小題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．DIYis 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.

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 ______.

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.

【小題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

【小題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

【小題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

【小題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.

What will the house look like in the future? Could it have gardens on its walls, or a pool with fish for dinner? Architects（建筑師） believe that they are all possible. The only thing for sure is that the houses will be as green as possible.
The tree house
Many architects in the world would like to build a “tree house.” Like a leaf, the surface of the house collects sunlight during the day. The energy can be used to heat water, produce electricity, and even create fresh air for the home. The “root” (根) of the house is deep under the ground. It uses the soil (土壤) to keep the home’s temperature.
 The Lizard house
Like a lizard (蜥蜴), changing color with the weather is the most important design of a lizard house. When it’s in the bright sun, the cover of the house will turn dark to protect it from strong heat. During dark days, it turns white and takes in as much light and heat as possible to produce energy.
 Meals at home
This design is perhaps as much about the future of food production as architecture (建筑風(fēng)格). It has gardens on the outside wall of the house. People can plant tomatoes, carrots and green tea on them. So every day in the morning, you just need to walk outside and collect your meals.
Learning from the past
Looking to the future isn’t the only way to be green. Sometimes, ancient techniques (古老的技術(shù)) can also help cut down energy use. For example, a chimney (煙囪) can be a useful air conditioner because it is easier to flow out hot air from the chimney.
【小題1】What is the best title (標(biāo)題) of the passage?

A．Green house of the future	B．The greener, the better
C．How to build green houses	D．Changes of the houses

【小題2】We can heat water, produce electricity or create fresh air for the home_______.

A．with the root of a leaf	B．with the energy from sunlight
C．with the soil under the ground	D．with gardens on its walls

【小題3】What will happen to the cover of the lizard house when it’s in the bright sun?

A．It will take in light.	B．It will produce energy.
C．It will turn dark.	D．It will turn white.

【小題4】The passage seems to tell us that meals at home in the future________.            .

A．will be more delicious	B．need more cooks
C．cost as much as possible	D．will be greener

【小題5】 A chimney can be a useful air conditioner but it used to cause________.          .

A．pollution

B．a(chǎn)ccident

C．noise

D．techniques

A wise man was visiting a village with his students. He found a group of family members shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his students and asked: “Why do people shout in anger at each other?”
His students thought for a while, and one of them said: “Because when we lose our calm, we shout.”
“But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can just as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner,” said the wise man.
Students gave some other answers but none were any good.
“When two people are angry at each other, their hearts become distanced,” the wise man explained. “To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the louder they will have to shout to hear each other and cover that great distance.”
The wise man then gave an example: “What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly because their hearts are very close. When they love each other even more, what happens? They don’t need to talk. They only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.”
He looked at his students and said: “So when you argue, do not let your hearts get distant. Do not say words that distance you from others. Otherwise, there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.”
【小題1】What did they find when a wise man and his students were visiting a village?

A．A group of people were traveling there.

B．A group of family members were playing there.

C．His students were shouting with a group of people.

D．A group of family members were shouting at each other angrily.

【小題2】One of the students thinks family members shout at each other because       .

A．they are not friends

B．they don’t like each other

C．they lose their calm

D．they are far from each other

【小題3】What will happen when two people are angry with each other?

A．They fight with each other.

B．Their hearts become distanced.

C．They are far away from each other.

D．They are too angry to say a word.

【小題4】What will usually happen to two people at first when they fall in love with each other according to the passage?

A．They talk softly.

B．They shout at each other.

C．They talk more.

D．They don’t say anything to each other.

【小題5】What’s the topic of the passage?

A．Shouting is bad.

B．Don’t shout.

C．Cover the distance with love.

D．The distance of love.