Question

Saving money is a golden rule in everyday life. And in the western countries it is especially obvious. As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend in the US continues to grow.

“We need furniture for our living room”, says John Rose, “and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try to 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 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 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 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.It can be inferred that many newly married people _________________.

A. find it hard to pay for what they need

B. seldom go to a department store to buy things

C. have to learn how to make their own furniture

D. must take some courses to better their life

2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to______________.

A. make furniture    B. improve the quality of life

C. make or repair things    D. save money and time

3.What does the sentence “He has a full time job at home” mean?

A. Jim makes shoes in his home

B. Jim needs to do housework and looks after his children

C. Jim does some extra work at home

D. Jim runs a shoe-making factory at home

4.Jim decided to become a DIY when ________.

A. he had to raise the children all by himself    B. he becomes an unusual person

C. the car repair class wasn’t helpful    D. his car repairs cost very much

5.According to the text, many US citizens want to become DIYs mainly in order to ________.

A. improve themselves    B. save money

C. attract government’s attention    D. show their anger

Answer

1. A

2. C

3. B

4. D

5. B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，本文以刚结婚不久的John夫妇和独自抚养三个孩子的Jim为例，介绍了在生活成本越来越高的今天，很多美国人选择成为一名DIY（自己动手做），如果你也想成为一名DIY，快来参加DIY课堂吧！

1.推理判断题。根据第三段中的“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.”可知，很多刚结婚的年轻人很难买得起自己想要的东西，故A项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“The Roses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they make all their furniture and repairs around the house.”可知，John和妻子参加晚课学习如何制作和修理家具，故C项正确。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中的“Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died.”可知，Jim的妻子死了，他独自抚养三个孩子，他说的在家全职工作指的是他要一个人做家务和照顾孩子，故B项正确。

4.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“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.””可知，Jim是在收到一张420美元的汽车修理费账单的时候决定成为一个DIY的，故D项正确。

5.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“Most families in the country are doing everything they can do to save money so they can fight the high cost of living.”可知，很多美国家庭成为DIY是为了在生活成本超高的情况下省钱，故B项正确。