DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV proprammes show people how to DIY.
English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK – “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge numbers of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their houses, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experiences with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford to buy a bigger house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.
DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to put together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions, many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.
Therefore, DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.
1.How do many English people spend their holidays according to the passage?
A. Making their homes beautiful. B. Visiting their friends.
B. Travelling all over the world. D. Making a lot of money.
2. Why do English people like DIY?
A. Many stores sell DIY things. B. DIY can bring them fun.
C. TV programmes teach them to DIY D. All DIY projects are easy.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. DIY is a waste of money. B. It is always difficult to DIY.
B. We should be careful while doing DIY. D. It’s very safe for us to DIY
4.In the passage, “we bite off more than we can chew” probably means ___________.
A. we can eat everything we like B. we should do something difficult
C. we do something that is too difficult D. we eat too much food that is not safe
Jack Johnson is one of the most popular singer-song writers in the world.
Jack was born on May 18, 1975 in Hawaii. Being the son of a famous surfer, Jack naturally has an interest in surfing. Most of his life lesson were learned in the water. At the age of 17, Jack entered the finals of the Pineline Masters – the world’s most famous surfing competition. Everyone thought Jack would become a professional surfing like his father. Unluckily, one month later, he had a deadly accident while surfing and was seriously hurt.
Life is like a revolving door. When it closes, it also opens. Jack started to practice playing the guitar and write songs when he was staying in hospital. At first, his father thought Jack only did it for fun, but soon he was surprised at the great progress his son had made.
When studying in the university, Jack didn’t stop practicing his guitar skills. He played the guitar for school parties. He wrote songs and sang for his teachers and friends. They liked his songs. His first music album Brushfire Fairytales came out in 2001. It was a great success. His second album, On and On, was much like his first. They were filled with sweet, easy-going songs that everybody liked listening to. Later Jack had lots of concerts in and out of America. He became popular all over the world.
Jack had five albums by 2010 and more than 15 million copies of them were sold. His music doesn’t fall into any of the popular music styles like pop, R&B or hip-hop. It is more like folk music, played with a guitar and beautiful voice. When listening to his songs, you feel like lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine.
Jack is a talent, though he himself says he is only a surfer who loves music. In his songs we can find his secret of success: Whatever happen in our lives, we have to accept it and do the best we can.
1.At the age of 17, Jack __________.
A. had his first music album B. took part in a surfing competition
C. had his first concert D. became popular all over the world
2.Jack started to write songs ___________.
A. while he was staying in hospital B. when he had concerts out of America
C. after his second album came out D. after he played the guitar at the school party
3.What is the secret of Jack’s success?
A. He was born in Hawaii.
B. His father was very famous
C. He wrote many songs for his teachers and friends.
D. He always faced difficulties bravely and tried his best.
4. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. A Famous Writer B. Surfing in the Sea
C. A Guitar Player D. Surfing in the Music
There are about 80,000,000 mines* under the ground in more . than 60 countries. It is difficult and dangerous to clear these rnines, About 50 people including many children were’ killed ‘or htirt each iay. In 2003, APOPO, a Dutch research com pan y that uains the an imals, came up with the-idea of s\ng rats to search for the mines.
The animal trainers ‘found that a kind of rats from Africa were clever and had.a sharp* sense of smell. The rats were about 75 cm long and.weighed about l.35 kg, light enough to run across a minefield without setting off the mines.
In January 2004, the APOPO started this project. First, the trainers let the 4-week-old baby rats get familiar with humans. A few weeks later, the rats were no Ionger afraid of people and ‘the things around them. Then they were trained to connect a click* sound with food. After the rats had leamed that, the trainers then taught them to tell the difference between the smell of mines and other smells. When the rats could do it, the click was sounded and they were given a bit of banana. The method was called clicker training. “The training isn’t easy, said trainer Abdullah Mchomvu. “You have to be patient. Sometimes I get angry, but then again, I tell myself these are animals.”
After nine months’ training, the rats were taken to a minefiel山 They’ran across the minefield, stopped, sat and scratched the ground to tell the deminers* that they smelt out’a mine. Then the mine was cleared. It had taken two ‘deminers a day to clear a 200㎡ . minefield, but with the help of two rats ‘they could finish it in two hours.
The rats and ~he deminers saved thousands of lives, “The rats did this job much better than we expected. So far they have helped to make almost 2,000,000㎡ of land safe. They are heroes,” said Bart Weeqens, the head of the APOPO.
1. The APOPO trained the rats to search for .
A. children B. animals C. mines D. bananas
2. While training the rats, the trainers have to be
A. patient B. clever C. brave D. serious
3. How long did the training last?
A. Two hours. B. One day. C. Four weeks. D. Nine months.
4.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. Each day about 200 people were killed or hurt by mines,
B.The APOPO started to train the rats in January 2004.
C. The trainers gave the rats food after they smelt out a mine.
D.The rats and the deminers saved thousands of lives.
Canberra is the capital of Austrlia. It is a modern and lively city with a pupulation of over 345,000.
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History Canberra is the eighth largest city in Australia It is 238 km from Sydney and 507 km from Melboume. Melbourne was once the capital of Australia. Sydney people also wanted to make their city the capital. It was difficult for the govement to make the decision. Then n 1911, the government chose a pl.ace to build the new apital. It w.as between Sydney and Melbourne, the two Argest cities in Australia. Jt took more than 14 years to build the city, In 1927, the city was set up.It became the apital and was named Canberra. “Canberra” means “a place for friends to get together”. |
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Cutture Canberra is a beautiful city with trees and flowers everywhere. There’s a Flower Festival in Septem ber each year. People can enjoy aii kinds of beautiful flowers and welcome the spring to amve. A man-made lake –Lake Burley Griffin is in the centerof the city, It’s about 25 km fong. People like to ride bikes, walk or run around the lake. In Canberra, there’re many famous universities like the Australian Nationa/ University and the University of Canberra. The National Library and the National Museum of Australia are also famous places that people like to visit. |
1. How far is Canberra from Sydneyt?
A. 25 knL B. 238 km. C. 345 km. .D. 507 km.
2.Tboword “Canbena means ______.
A. the largest city B. beautiful man-made lake
C. the old capital city D. a place for friends to get together
3. Canberra Flower Festival is a festival to .
A. ride bikes B. visit universities
C. welcome the spring D. walk around the lake .
It snowed again. My seventh Christmas was round the corner. I dreamed of getting the present from Father Christmas until my elder sister dropped the bomb, “There is no Father Christmas.”
I ran to my grandmother’s house, for she always told the truth. Grandma was at home. I told __11___ everything. “No Father Christmas?” she was a little ___12____. “Don’t believe it. Put on your coat, and let’s go.”
“Go? Where, Grandma?” I asked.
“Kerby’s Store.”
As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars and said, “Take the __13___ and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of the Kerby’s.
For a few seconds I just stood there, holding the money, wondering ___14___ to buy, and who to buy it for.
I thought of ___15___ I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors … I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker, a __16___ with bad and messy hair. He sat right behind me ___17____ Mrs. Pollack’s class.
Bobbie ___18___ went to any party during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, ___19____ we all knew that he didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat. I decided to buy Bobbie a red warm coat ___20____ he would like.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and ___21___ “To Bobbie, From Father Christmas” on it. Grandma told me Father Christmas never let people know that he ___22___ them. Then she drove me over to Bobbie’s house, telling that I was helping Father Christmas ____23___ the presents.
Grandma parked the car along the street, and we hid behind the trees near Bobbie’s house. Then Grandma said to me, “All right, Father Christmas, get going.”
I took a deep breath, rushed to his front door, put the present down. ____24___ the door, rang the doorbell and flew back to the safety of the ____25_____ and Grandma. We waited breathlessly in the dark for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie.
That night, I realized that Father Christmas was alive and well, and we were on his team.
1.A. him B. her C. them D. you
2.A. angry B. happy C. tired D. afraid
3.A. book B. coat C. present D. money
4.A. what B. when C. where D. how
5.A. everybody B. nobody C. somebody D. anybody
6.A. girl B. boy C. man D. woman
7.A. for B. on C. in D. with
8.A. always B. often C. sometime D never
9.A. so B. if C. but D. and
10.A. where B. that C. who D. why
11.A. read B. say C. write D. spell
12.A. helped B. believe C. taught D. made
13.A. give up B. give away C. put up D. put off
14.A. on B. behind C. outside D. over
15.A. shop B. cars C. door D. trees
--I’m going to Hainan on vacation next week.-- _.
A. Have a good time B. Not at all
C. Thank you D. I have no idea
