单选题 Some people would say that the Englishman"s home is no longer his castle, and that it has become his workshop. This is partly because the average Englishman is keen on working with his own hands and partly because he feels, for one reason or another, that he must do for himself many households for which, some years ago, he would have hired professional help. The main reason for this is a financial one. The high cost of labor has meant that builders" and decorators" cost have reached a level which makes them prohibitive for house-proud English people of modest means. So, if they wish to keep their houses looking bright and smart, they have to tackle some of the repairs and decorating themselves. As a result, there has grown up in the post-war years what is sometimes referred to as the "do-it-yourself movement".
The "do-it-yourself movement" began with home decorating but has since spread into a much wider field. Nowadays there seem to be very few things that can"t be made by the "do-it-yourself movement" method. A number of magazines and handbooks exist to show hopeful handymen of all ages just how easy it is to build anything from a coffee table to a fifteen foot (4.5 meters) sailing dinghy. All you need, it seems, is a hammer and a few nails. You follow the simple instructions step by step and, before you know where you are, the finished article stands before you, completely in every detail.
Unfortunately, alas, it is not always quite as simple as it sounds. Many a budding "do-it-yourself" has found to his cost that one cannot learn a skilled craftsman"s job overnight. How quickly one realizes, when doing it oneself, that a job which takes the skilled man an hour or so to complete takes the amateur handyman five or six at least. And then there is the question of tools. The first thing the amateur learns is that he must have the right tools for the job. But tools cost money. There is also the wear and tear on the nerves. It is not surprising then that many people have come to the conclusion that the expense of paying processional to do the work is, in the long run, more economical than "do-it-yourself".

单选题 Many Englishman join in the movement of "do-it-yourself", because ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。文章第一段第三句讲到：这主要是经济原因造成的。劳动力花费很高，使得建筑和装饰工人的报酬达到了一个新的标准，这使得以家庭装饰而自豪但并不富裕的英国人不得不放弃家庭装饰。如果他们希望使自己的家永远漂亮，他们就必须自己动手处理一些日常的修理和装饰。所以C选项是正确答案。

单选题 Which of the following people can repair and decorate their own houses?

单选题 The "do-it-yourself movement" originates in ______.

单选题 The word "budding" (Line 1, Para. 3) probably means ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 词汇题。文章第二段讲到各种人都可以通过书籍和杂志来学习如何做一些自己动手的活，但是事实上并不是那么容易。因为许多崭露头角的人发现他们很难在一夜间学会这些技能。这说明其他一些自己动手的人很难掌握这些技术，因为在这方面已表现出潜力的一些人都不能做到，更不用说那些非常一般的人了。此外，budding是由词根bud转换过来的。bud意为“发芽，萌芽”，进一步引申为“崭露头角的，有前途的”，所以B选项是正确答案。

单选题 Which of the following is false? Some Englishmen prefer hiring professional decorators, because ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。从文章第三段第二句话：“很多刚刚起步的‘自己动手者’发现他们不可能在一夜之间就学会技工的工作”，可排除B选项。从第三段第五、六句话可知，业余技工了解到的第一件事情就是必须有合适的工具，但是工具需要花费钱财，故可排除C选项。根据第三段倒数第二句话：“同样自己动手对精神也是一种折磨”，可排除D选项。只有A选项在文章中未提及，为正确选项。