As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” （DIY） trend in the US continues to grow．

“we needed furniture for our living room,” 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 build all their furniture and make 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 $520．“ I was deeply upset about it．Now I have 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 you how you can do things yourself．

1． We can learn from the text that many newly married people_______．

A．find it hard to pay for what they need  

B．have to learn to make their own furniture

C．take DIY courses run by the government

D．seldom go to a department store to buy things

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

A．run a DIY shop                               B．make or repair things

C．save time and money                        D．improve the quality of life

3． Jim decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when______

A．his car repairs cost too much                       B．the car repair class was not helpful

C．he could not possibly do two jobs                 D．keeps house and looks after his children

4． 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．does his own car and home repairs          D．keeps house and looks after his children

While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.

Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.

During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.

Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.

We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.

1.Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?

A. Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time.

B. Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby.

C. Because she had nothing else to do except reading.

D. Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip.

2.According to the story, we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________.

A. made the family’s trip more exciting

B. include five books all together

C. have someone called Seamus in them

D. can help people deal with their problems

3.The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________.

A. she wanted to keep her trip in memory

B. she loved this name very much

C. her son doesn’t have Irish blood

D. it is a perfect name for a boy

4.Which of the following is TRUE about the couple?

A. They planned their trip after getting the shocking news.

B. They thought the cattle farm was too large to do anything on.

C. They felt excited when they almost finished the trip.

D. They liked reading Harry Porter very much after the trip.

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Funny Stories Of My Family           B. Seamus And Harry Potter

C. How We Got To Louisiana              D. How My Son Got His Name

第三部分阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. “Yes, honey. Of course,” she said.
“Can we write him a letter?”
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, “Yes.”
My heart jumped. “How? Does the mailman go there?” I asked.
“No, but I have an idea.” Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
“Just wait, honey. You’ll see” Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, what Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive, I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped(缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
“Okay, on the count of three, darted(猛冲) upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he’d persevere, dart up, and finally transcend(超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white sky and I prayed that his strength was hereditary(遗传的). I prayed to be a balloon.
56. When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother ________.
A. felt it hard to answer                          B. thought her a creative girl
C. believed it easy to do so                        D. found it easy to lie
57. When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.
A. jumped with joy                               B. became excited
C. started writing immediately                D. was worried that it couldn’t be delivered
58. In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?
A. A terrible disease.                              B. An unforgettable memory.
C. The hard time her father had           D. Her father’s smile.
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The strong red balloon                       B. An unforgettable experience.
C. Fly to heaven                                D. A great father.

My sister, Cathy, who lives in Vancouver, sent me a package full of Christmas gifts. She told me that she had 36   it in advance to make sure it would arrive at my house weeks before the 37 . Christmas was drawing near, but no package arrived. Cathy checked the tracking number every 38  with Canada Post, and every evening she would call me to 39  if there was any sign of it on our end.

The 40  always started with questions about the package, but twenty minutes later we would still be 41   . We talked about our family, such as parents, our kids, 42  and so on. Of course we also talked about our jobs. We had never made so much 43  for each other! The talk always took us back to the hours we spend together in our childhood.

By Christmas Eve we finally had to 44   the fact that the package was 45  lost. On Christmas morning, Cathy got on the phone with everyone in my 46   and told them what she had sent. Later on, after a big Christmas dinner, I had forgotten all about the 47  package when there was a knock on the door. Who could it be at such a time? As I 48  the door, a man was standing there. “I 49    this is yours.” he said, holding a package. Just then I 50  that it had been delivered to the wrong address. “I just got home from vacation,” he explained, “51 I wanted you to have this in time to open for Christmas.” I thanked this 52  stranger for taking so much trouble to 53 this gift to us on Christmas Day, and 54 thanked God that the package had been lost in the first place.

The real gift that holiday season was the new 55  to my sister who lives far away from us. Now there’s one gift I never want to give back!

1.                A．booked         B．decorated       C． listed    D．mailed

2.                A．appointment     B．deadline        C．holiday   D．party

3.                A．year           B．morning        C．week D．month

4.                A．pick out        B．take out        C．figure out D．find out

5.                A．complaint       B．conversation     C． discussion    D．quarrel

6.                A．chatting        B．arguing         C． kidding  D．scolding

7.                A．gifts           B．secrets         C．husband  D．clothing

8.                A．food           B．time           C．achievement   D．money

9.                A．consider        B．ignore          C． accept   D．study

10.               A．entirely        B．simply          C．mostly D．suddenly

11.               A．restaurant      B．office          C．house D．class

12.               A．terrible        B．outstanding     C．big   D．missing

13.               A．opened        B．locked         C．left   D．watched

14.               A．understand     B．forget          C．know D．believe

15.               A．expected       B．dreamed       C．realized   D．remembered

16.               A．because        B．but            C．or    D．so

17.               A．generous       B．honest         C．polite D．kind

18.               A．show          B．present        C．return D．offer

19.               A．silently         B．carefully        C．gently D．actually

20.               A．connection      B．guide          C．recognition D．closeness

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在此处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出修改的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从十一处起）不计分。

Last summer I went to London for a holiday.  I spent just the week there. While I am staying there I visited many places of interests. I also had lots of friendly talks with all kind of people.  Then I found a very interesting thing there.  One of my Chinese friends who have been lived in London told me that many English families like to buy new television sets.  There are many shops where can lend you TV sets.  The shops are often filled by a great many people.  There they can borrow a TV set very easy, and it costs them only a little.  Then it can be taken home or used for long.