This Christmas, maybe different from previous years, a strong desire drives me to make my own Christmas gifts. Honestly speaking, I’ve promised myself this more than once. As a crafter (工匠), I’ve frequently thought I am supposed to turn it into action. However, this year I really plan to stick to it. It’s partly because I run short of money. More importantly, I’ve recently returned from an inspiring trip around Britain, collecting some information about crafting for BBC’s Newsnight.

    Actually I planned the trip couples of months ago. The idea of traveling the country — making things as I went, meeting artists and craftspeople — sounded perfect to spend the summer. I’d pack a tent and a sewing machine and I’d set off. But by the time I determined my plans and hit the road, leaves made a sighing sound under foot. It seemed crazy to camp with winter on the way; Luckily, Newsnight viewers offered me accommodations in return for help with a craft task.

My tasks ranged from sewing worn-out clothes to making trousers. Textile students in Harpenden offered to pay for my petrol in return for a talk about hats. In Derby, Amy needed help to change an old pair of curtains.

I was really struck by people’s increasing enthusiasm for making things. When I asked some people if they could sew, only a few raised their hands. But when I asked who wanted to learn, nearly everyone responded positively, hoping to learn something practical.

Craft is definitely popular at the moment. But besides fashion, we’re learning to appreciate effort and quality again. Perhaps once people rediscover the pleasure to be gained from making something unique, it may stick.

Sue is director of quilts at the V&A, where next spring she’ll be putting on the museum’s first major quilting exhibition. Sue believes the return to crafting is related to how we rethink ourselves. “People, especially women, are beginning to think about the way they live their lives. It’s 40 years since the first women’s liberation(解放) conference was held in Oxford. Since then we’ve been in the workplace, and we’ve had the opportunity of choice. Now we’re carefully choosing to go back into the home.”

Whether you agree with that or not, there’s something about Christmas that brings out the artistic flavor(气息) in everyone. Whether it’s baking bread or pies or decorating the halls or rooms, we’re all prepared to have a try at any time. So if you fancy having a different and joyful party or holiday and making a few presents, try these really simple ideas, each inspired by my recent journey there. They make small and interesting gifts, and take no longer than 30 minutes each. Enjoy Christmas songs and settle down with a cup of hot cocoa, and the cold is gone. You’ll save yourself a small quantity of money and spread a little bit of love, too!

1.Why did the author promise to make herself a Christmas gift this year?

A. She wanted to enjoy a different Christmas.

B. She wanted to make more money.

C. She was inspired by her trip for a BBC TV program.

D. She hoped to present herself with a surprise.

2.The author had her plans carried out and set out for Britain in ______.

A. spring                      B. summer                            C. fall                            D. winter

3.What happened during the author’s trip to Britain?

A. She met many artists and craftspeople on her way to Britain.

B. She spent a whole summer in Britain making crafts.

C. She was asked to sew clothes, and curtains and made much money.

D. Many people showed great interest in making things themselves.

4.According to the passage, people learn to ______ through crafting.

A. be grateful to what they have gained

B. keep up with fashion

C. stick to something interesting

D. know more information about craft

5.What is the author’s opinion on homemade Christmas presents?

A. Making Christmas presents can only convey a bit of your love.

B. People can find their artistic talent in making Christmas presents.

C. A cup of hot cocoa can inspire you to make a creative present.

D. It would take a long time to prepare a homemade Christmas present.

When we think about giving help to developing countries, we often think about giving money so that these countries can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies. These seem to be the most important basic needs of the people we are trying to help. However, it's far from enough. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to come up with some better ideas to help them.
I was very surprised, then, when I read about a plan to make cheap laptop computers for children in developing countries. A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer, which can run without electricity. He decided to invent this computer after he visited a school in Cambodia.
The laptop which Mr. Negroponte has designed is a little different from the normal laptop computers you can buy in the shops. One difference is that it is covered in rubber so that it is very strong and won't be damaged easily. As an electricity supply can be a problem in developing countries, the computer also has a special handle so that children can wind the computer up to give it extra power when needed.
These special laptop computers will cost less than 100 US dollars and Mr. Negroponte wants to build as many as 15 million machines in the first year of production. The idea is that these computers will help the children's education as they will be able to access the Internet. These computers might not help the people in developing countries immediately, but by improving children's education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.
Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again. In the UK, and, probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year. The waste created by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to recycle them. In this way we will be able to achieve two important goals at the same time. We will reduce the waste we produce and help others. In other words, we will be able to 'kill two birds with one stone', and that is always a good thing.
【小题1】  The author gives the example of Mr. Negroponte's cheap computers _______.

—Good afternoon, Miss May.

—Good afternoon，Parker.____1____ ，

—Because we've just finished our swimming class.

— ____2____

—That's the teaching plan. Can you swim, Miss May?

—____3____

—Are you fond of it?

—____4____

—So you are a good swimmer.

—Oh, no. ____5____I learn it every year but I can't learn it well.

E．Only a little.

F．Oh, yes, that's quite easy.

G．You should have a good rest, then..

完形填空（共20小题，每小题1 分，共计20分）

Having lived in the house for so long, we found our kitchen looked    21   . We decided it was time to   22  the kitchen, and my husband and I were discussing   23  colors. The children, sitting nearby, suddenly all spoke together：“Not the measuring stick. ”

“No,” I   24   them. “Not the measuring stick.”

The measuring stick isn’t a (an)   25    stick but the kitchen side of the door between our kitchen and dining room. Along the edge we’ve   26   each child’s growth by making a mark showing his or her   27   on every birthday. Over the years, so many colored pens, pencils and    28     have been used that now, this white door is somewhat like an abstract(抽象的) painting.

Names and dates show different    29   , and I can tell by the script(手迹) who measured whom. An eight-year-old   30  to measure her three-year old sister, a grandchild measured her grandmother and my husband did the same to me. At our family    31   , when this door swung back and forth frequently, friends used to stop to    32    the names and dates. When they were asked if they would like to be always remembered, they    33    smiled shyly and went back right up into place,     34  to be measured.

Many of those   35    on the door are still   36   . Some have stopped. Some remain with us only in   37   . When my mother came to see my eldest daughter graduate from university, we measured her, too. It was her last visit to our home.

We haven’ t   38   the new kitchen color plan yet, but one thing is certain: whatever color we choose, the   39   of the kitchen door will still remain    40  , with lots of names and dates in various colors.

1.                A．small           B． old           C． familiar  D． favorable

2.                A．repair          B． rebuild        C． reuse   D． repaint

3.                A．safe           B． possible        C． valuable D． changeable

4.                A．promised       B． repeated       C．followed D． persuaded

5.                A．false           B． wonderful      C． actual   D． obvious

6.                A．kept           B． witnessed      C． recorded D． accompanied

7.                A．age            B． weight         C． name   D． height

8.                A．boxes          B． markers        C． schoolbags   D． sticks

9.                                  A．information B． handwriting

C．character                         D． status

10.               A．allowed        B． pretended     C． helped   D． ordered

11.               A．offices         B． banks         C． meetings D． parties

12.               A．copy           B． read          C． like  D． remove

13.               A．hardly         B． never         C． usually   D． seldom

14.               A．ready          B． afraid         C． able D． unwilling

15.               A．missed         B． taught         C． listed D． suggested

16.               A．growing        B．contributing     C．studying   D． working

17.               A．sight           B． design         C．trouble    D． memory

18.                                A．connected with  B．agreed to

C．decided on                       D．relied on

19.               A．front          B． back          C． right D． left

20.               A．yellow         B． grey          C． white    D． blue

In my experience, one of the greatest reasons of unhappiness is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are．When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different–we cry out for something better．That may be human nature, or perhaps it’s something that has been grown in our culture．

The root of the unhappiness isn’t that we want things to be different, however, it’s that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place．We’ve judged it as bad, rather than saying, “It’s not bad or good, but it just is．”

Here is an example．I have written a paper, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind．Quite a few people think it bad after reading it because I think people should expect things to go differently than you planned, and that you should accept that, instead of encouraging people to change themselves or the environment as much as possible．You could accept it as the way the world works–as the way things actually are．And try to understand why that is, and follow it, as it is．

This can be useful to whatever you do: whether it be how other people act at work, how politics works and how depressing the news media can be．Accept these things as they are, and try to understand why they’re that way．

It’ll save you a lot of sadness because you’ll no longer say, “Oh, I wish things didn’t go bad!”

If you really understand what I mean, you can try a different way to live in this world:accept, and understand．It might lead to some interesting results．

1.What is the major reason why we feel unhappy in the writer’s opinion?

A．We are never satisfied with ourselves and the environment around us．

B．When we see something that makes us unhappy, we don’t know what to do．

C．We feel hard to accept the way things happen themselves．

D．No matter how happy we are, we never want to be happy．

2.What do you think the writer may say to himself when he meets something unhappy?

A．How could I have made such a stupid mistake?

B．I should have done better．It’s all my fault．

C．Why is it all against my plan? It can’t be so bad．

D．Well, I know all is what it is meant to be．Take it easy．

3.Why do some people think badly of the writer’s new paper after reading it?

A．The writer hasn’t shown an encouraging attitude in his paper．

B．The writer asks people to try to make things better．

C．The writer reminds the people that things will go exactly as you’ve planned．

D．The writer doesn’t think it a good idea to accept the things go naturally．

4.The statements below are based on the writer’s points of view, EXCEPT_______

A．Unhappiness may be caused by human nature that we always want things to be better．

B．Why we don’t like the thing is that we have regard it as bad in the beginning．

C．The news media shouldn’t be so depressing if the reporters worked harder．

D．The best way to avoid feeling unhappy is to accept the things as they are．