Last week I visited my friend Pete in the new home where he lives with his wife and daughter. Pete
used to spend his holidays travelling the world, visiting the pyramids in Egypt or scuba diving(潜水) in the
Caribbean. Nowadays he prefers to spend his holidays and weekends making his house look more
beautiful. Like hundreds of thousands of other British people, he has discovered the joy of DIY (Do It
Yourself), which means if there are any things that need fixing around the house, he will try to do the job
himself.
As he showed me the new kitchen he put together by himself and the newly painted walls, I asked
Pete where he got his inspiration (灵感) from. He told me that his favorite source of ideas was a DIY
program on TV.
This got me thinking about the great popularity of DIY programs in the UK. Each major channel has at least one home or garden improving show and there’s even a satellite channel completely about the
subject.
I guess it is not really surprising that DIY programs are so popular. Two common sayings in Britain－ ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’ and ‘there’s no place like home’－show how important our houses are to us. With the present economic downturn, many people can’t afford to buy a gigger house so they
are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. DIY is the perfect
choice.
But be careful! I read a report that said over 230,000 people were injured while doing home
improvements in the UK in just one year, including 41,000 who fell off ladders(梯子) and 5,800 who were seriously hurt by hammers. So I won’t be going down to the hardware store.
1. How did Pete spend his holiday in the past?
A. Visiting his friends.
B. Diving.
C. Travelling around the world.
D. Making his house beautiful.
2. Which might NOT be shown in a DIY program on TV?
A. Scuba diving
B. A garden improving feature.
C. Home improvements.
D. Fixing things in kitchens
3. Which is NOT the reason why DIY is popular among British people?
A. They enjoy DIY.
B. They want to make their houses better themselves.
C. They can improve their houses without spending much money.
D. They want to be on TV.
4. At the end of the article the writer wants us to remember _____.
A. not to go to the hardware store
B. to be careful not to get hurt while doing DIY
C. to keep watching DIY on TV while drinking a nice cup of tea
D. not to climb ladders or use hammers
5. It can be inferred from the article that _____.
A. people in the UK like DIY more than people in other countries
B. DIY programs are the most popular in the UK
C. home is the most important place to the English
D. British people can’t afford to buy houses during the economic downturn
