第二部分: 阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分,满分30分)
第一节（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As prices and building costs keep rising，the “do-it-yourself”（DIY）trend in the U. S. 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 an evening 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 ＄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-yourselfer”，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 to do things yourself. 
54. 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 course run by the government
D. seldom go to a department store to buy things
55. 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
56. Jim Hatfield 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. he had to raise the children all by himself