As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend 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. w 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.

1.We can learn from the passage that many newly married people ______.

A. take DIY courses run by the government

B. have to buy some expensive things

C. find it hard to pay for what they need

D. seldom go to a supermarket to buy things

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

3.When the write 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

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

5.According to the passage, If Linda wants to become a do-it-yourself, but she doesn’t have time to take a DIY course, what should she do?

A. She can ask someone else for help. B. She can watch TV.

C. She can give up her job. D. She can read some books about DIY.

An old English saying goes, “Laughter is the best medicine.” One person who certainly would have agreed with this is Norman Cousins.

Norman Cousins was the editor of a magazine called “Saturday Review” for almost forty years. He also wrote and spoke about world peace and anti-nuclear(反核的) and anti-war issues (问题). And he traveled to many different countries to share his ideas.

In the 1960s, after returning to the United States from a busy and tiring trip to Europe, Mr. Cousins got sick. He discovered he had a rare disease, known as ankylosing spondylitis, which caused the joint between his bones to stiff(僵硬的).

In less than a week after he got sick, he could not stand. Every move that he made was painful. He was not able to sleep at night. The doctors told Mr. Cousins that they did not know how to cure his illness and he might never get over(摆脱) it. Mr. Cousins, however, refused to stop hope.

Mr. Cousins thought that illness could be caused by unhappy thoughts. He did not want to take medicine to cure himself. Instead, he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness.

He began to experiment on himself while still in that hospital by watching comedy(喜剧) shows on TV. Mr. Quickly found that ten minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of pain-free(无痛苦的) sleep at night.

Deciding that the doctors could not help him, Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into(入住) a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter. For eight days, Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching comedy show on TV, reading amusing books, and sleeping whenever he felt tired. Within three weeks, he felt well enough to take a holiday to Puerto Rico where he began running on the beach for exercise.

After a few months, Mr. Cousins was able to carry on his work. He had laughed himself back to good health.

1.What is NOT true about the underlined words “ankylosing spondylitis”?

A. It is uncommon. B. It makes walking difficult.

C. It is easily cured. D. It is painful.

2.What did the doctors think about Mr. Cousins’ disease?

A. It could be cured if he slept more. B. It mightnot be cured.

C. It could be cured by taking medicine. D. It would take a week to get over it.

3.What did Mr. Cousins think cured him?

A. Laughter. B. Running on the beach.

C. Medicine. D. Taking a holiday.

4.What did Mr. Cousins do after he got better?

A. He went back to the hospital. B. He continued his job.

C. He wrote amusing books. D. He went on relaxing by taking a holiday

5.What is the main topic of the passage?

A. funny story. B. An interesting cure.

C. An amazing life D. Why people laugh.

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