DIY, which means "Do It Yourself", is quite popular in the UK. Lots of shops and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programmes show people how to DIY.
English people like DIY. There is a saying in the UK, "An Englishman's home is his castle." Many 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 experience with their friends. More and more people have found the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money.
With the economic downturn (衰退) at present, many people don't have enough money to buy a big house. They are looking at how they can make their houses 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 get 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 easy and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing for sure is that, though most DIY jobs are started with the best intentions (意图), many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical (用电的) should be done by a professional (专业的) worker. Unluckily, many people don't care about this and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in the 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 companies should make things that are easier and safer for us to DIY.
(
B
) 1. British people can often enjoy programmes about DIY on ______.
A. the radio B. TV C. the internet D. the map
(
A
) 2. How do many English people spend their holidays according to the passage?
A. Making their homes beautiful. B. Visiting their friends.
C. Travelling around the world. D. Making a lot of money.
(
B
) 3. Why do English people like DIY?
A. Many stores sell DIY things.
B. DIY can bring them fun.
C. TV programmes teach them to do DIY.
D. All DIY things are cheap.
(
C
) 4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. DIY can't save any money.
B. It is always difficult to do DIY.
C. We should be careful while doing DIY.
D. It is very safe for us to do DIY.
(
C
) 5. The underlined part "we bite off more than we can chew" in the last paragraph means ______.
A. we can eat everything we like
B. we should do something too difficult
C. we do something that is too difficult
D. we eat too much food that is not safe
