U1

??Many people who are traditionally afraid of DIY are becoming enthusiastic about it. My husband and I are of no exception. Initially, we feared DIY like the __ and planned to invite experts to renovate our new house. But after we did the sums, we chose to do the __by ourselves. It is the __ that made us take up DIY; however, for many others, saving money is not the main factor and __ their own house represents a different life-style and a __ success and adds value to their lives.

??DIY becomes increasingly popular nowadays, yet that doesn't mean there is no __ to it. The doers often make errors or cause __ damages, and they need more learning and practice. Many people turn to specialist magazines, television programs or the Internet for help, taking advantage of the useful information and advice.

??There are some areas to avoid without training, for example, gas and electrics, but some people tend to bite off more than they can chew and eventually __ into an extremely dangerous situation. One of the most __ occasions is that a DIYer tried to install light fittings, but unfortunately he __ earthing them first, causing an electric shock eventually. Therefore, if you encounter any DIY task in these areas, never ever hesitate to turn to the professionals for help.

??許多傳統(tǒng)上害怕DIY的人開(kāi)始熱衷于DIY，我和丈夫也不例外。起初，我們害怕像 __ 那樣的DIY，并計(jì)劃邀請(qǐng)專(zhuān)家來(lái)翻新我們的新房子。但在我們做了算術(shù)運(yùn)算后，我們選擇了自己做__。正是 __ 促使我們開(kāi)始自己動(dòng)手做；然而，對(duì)許多其他人來(lái)說(shuō)，省錢(qián)并不是主要因素，?__?他們自己的房子代表了一種不同的生活方式和?__?成功，并為他們的生活增加了價(jià)值。

??如今，DIY越來(lái)越受歡迎，但這并不意味著沒(méi)有?__?。實(shí)干家經(jīng)常犯錯(cuò)或造成?__?損害，他們需要更多的學(xué)習(xí)和實(shí)踐。許多人利用有用的信息和建議，向?qū)I(yè)雜志、電視節(jié)目或互聯(lián)網(wǎng)尋求幫助。

??在沒(méi)有訓(xùn)練的情況下，有些地方需要避免，例如煤氣和電力，但有些人往往會(huì)犯得太多?__?，最終陷入極其危險(xiǎn)的境地。最常見(jiàn)?__?的情況之一是，一名DIYer試圖安裝燈具，但不幸的是，他?__?先將其接地，最終導(dǎo)致觸電。因此，如果你在這些領(lǐng)域遇到任何DIY任務(wù)，請(qǐng)毫不猶豫地向?qū)I(yè)人士尋求幫助。

U3

??One way to make a marriage work is by being __. My husband, Jim, is probably the most unselfish man I know. He makes me be __ to do things for him because of his generous nature. He often takes the initiative to __ the dishes and take care of the children. I __ there are many times he would rather be reading, relaxing or working on the __ , but he only does something for himself when all household chores are done and the kids have been taken care of. In return, I bake him all his favorite food as a?__. I feel very fortunate to have married him.

??Another way to make a marriage last is to have a good sense of humor. The other day Jim?and I __ ourselves out after being up with the kids all night. We were both irritable on that night, and soon we started to __each other of some trivial matters, but then we just looked at each other and started laughing. I don’t know why, but it felt good and helped relieve the tension.

??Being able to communicate is very important for a successful marriage as well. Jim is my?best friend, with whom I share most of my thoughts. We find it easy to talk about most things, so we don’t have many secrets from each other. When my mother __ him, he tells me about it. Things like that are easier to deal with when they’re out in the open than when they’re kept inside. Thus, we have a very open, __and comfortable relationship.

??使婚姻成功的一種方法是成為_(kāi)_。我的丈夫吉姆可能是我認(rèn)識(shí)的最無(wú)私的人。他慷慨大方，使我樂(lè)于__為他做事。他經(jīng)常主動(dòng)__洗碗和照顧孩子。我__有很多次他寧愿讀書(shū)、放松或在__上工作，但只有當(dāng)所有的家務(wù)都做完了，孩子們也得到了照顧時(shí)，他才會(huì)為自己做點(diǎn)什么。作為回報(bào)，我把他最喜歡的食物都烤給他吃__。我感到很幸運(yùn)能嫁給他。

??讓婚姻長(zhǎng)久的另一個(gè)方法是要有幽默感。前幾天，吉姆和我在和孩子們一起睡了一晚上之后出去了。那天晚上，我們都很易怒，很快我們就開(kāi)始為一些瑣碎的事情爭(zhēng)吵，但后來(lái)我們只是看著對(duì)方，開(kāi)始大笑。我不知道為什么，但感覺(jué)很好，有助于緩解緊張情緒。

??能夠溝通對(duì)于一段成功的婚姻也是非常重要的。吉姆是我最好的朋友，我和他分享了我的大部分想法。我們發(fā)現(xiàn)談?wù)摯蠖鄶?shù)事情都很容易，所以我們彼此之間沒(méi)有太多秘密。當(dāng)我的母親把__他叫醒時(shí)，他告訴了我這件事。這樣的事情在戶外比在室內(nèi)更容易處理。因此，我們有一個(gè)非常開(kāi)放，__和舒適的關(guān)系。

U4

??Social networking has changed the way we __ , do business, catch up on current events, and so much more. While many dismiss society’s proclivity （癖好） towards social networking as a(n) __ habit, there are various advantages to staying connected to others online.

??One of the most obvious benefits of using social networks is the ability to?__ reach people from anywhere. Social networking sites allow us to stay in touch with old high school friends who have __ all over the country, with relatives who live halfway around the world, or meet brand new people from cities or __ you’ve never even heard of before.

??Being connected wherever we go means that we don’t have to rely on __ , answering machines or written letters to contact somebody. We can simply open up our laptops or pick up our smartphones and

__ start communicating with anyone on social networking or on social messaging apps.

??Social networking also provides us with real-time news information. If you want to know what’s going on in the world, all you need to do is check social media. In addition, you can __ your news and information discovery experiences by choosing to follow exactly what you want.

??Business owners and other types of professional?__ can also use social media to connect with current customers, sell their products and expand their reach using social media. There are many __ and businesses which thrive almost entirely on social networks and wouldn’t even be able to operate without them.

??社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)改變了我們做生意、了解時(shí)事等的方式。盡管許多人忽視了社會(huì)的傾向(癖好） 將社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)視為一種習(xí)慣，在網(wǎng)上與他人保持聯(lián)系有各種好處。

??使用社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)最明顯的好處之一是能夠從任何地方聯(lián)系到人們。社交網(wǎng)站使我們能夠與在全國(guó)各地都有__的高中老朋友、住在半個(gè)世界的親戚保持聯(lián)系，或者結(jié)識(shí)來(lái)自城市或__的全新朋友，你甚至從未聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)。

??無(wú)論我們走到哪里，都能保持聯(lián)系意味著我們不必依靠__、答錄機(jī)或?qū)懶艁?lái)聯(lián)系某人。我們可以簡(jiǎn)單地打開(kāi)筆記本電腦或拿起智能手機(jī)

__開(kāi)始在社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)或社交消息應(yīng)用程序上與任何人交流。

??社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)也為我們提供實(shí)時(shí)的新聞信息。如果你想知道世界上發(fā)生了什么，你所需要做的就是查看社交媒體。此外，您可以通過(guò)選擇完全按照自己的意愿來(lái)體驗(yàn)新聞和信息發(fā)現(xiàn)體驗(yàn)。

??企業(yè)主和其他類(lèi)型的專(zhuān)業(yè)人士__也可以使用社交媒體與當(dāng)前客戶建立聯(lián)系，銷(xiāo)售他們的產(chǎn)品，并使用社交媒體擴(kuò)大他們的影響力。有很多企業(yè)幾乎完全依靠社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)發(fā)展壯大，沒(méi)有社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)甚至無(wú)法運(yùn)營(yíng)。

U5

??Although young people today can remember 150 Pokémon characters, surf the Internet?with the speed of a NASCAR racer and download homework assignments from their cell phones, studies show they lack a critical skill they’ll need in today’s complex economic world: personal money __. Children, teens and young adults in America earn and spend large __ of money each year. Yet this same group has?__ knowledge about their financial affairs.

??Kids don’t always learn money smarts at home. Experts agree that parents and family?members are likely to be a child’s primary teachers of education, often by default. It is no __ that more than 70 percent of parents with children five or older feel “quite __ by the task of teaching their kids about basic personal finances” and fewer than half feel they are “a good role model for their children regarding __ and spending”. Young people agree that talking about family finances happens __ , if at all. Parents often miss teachable moments to share practical advice, such as during back-to-school shopping. Nearly 85 percent of high school and middle school students __ said their parents did not take time to discuss their back-to-school finances with them before the new __ began.

??In fact, while they do “rely on parents” for some information, 98 percent of college?students and 90 percent of high school students? __ their knowledge about money management to their own experiences with money.

??盡管今天的年輕人可以記住150個(gè)神奇寶貝角色，以NASCAR賽車(chē)手的速度上網(wǎng)，并從手機(jī)上下載家庭作業(yè)，但研究表明，他們?nèi)狈υ诋?dāng)今復(fù)雜的經(jīng)濟(jì)世界中所需的一項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵技能：個(gè)人金錢(qián)。美國(guó)的兒童、青少年和年輕人每年都有大量的收入和消費(fèi)。然而，這群人對(duì)他們的財(cái)務(wù)狀況有__了解。

??孩子們并不總是在家里學(xué)習(xí)理財(cái)技巧。專(zhuān)家們一致認(rèn)為，父母和家庭成員很可能是孩子的主要教育老師，通常是默認(rèn)的。有五歲或五歲以上孩子的父母中，超過(guò)70%的人覺(jué)得“非常樂(lè)意教孩子基本的個(gè)人財(cái)務(wù)”，不到一半的人覺(jué)得自己是“孩子在__和支出方面的好榜樣”。年輕人一致認(rèn)為，談?wù)摷彝ヘ?cái)務(wù)狀況是有可能的。家長(zhǎng)們經(jīng)常錯(cuò)過(guò)分享實(shí)用建議的可教時(shí)刻，比如在返校購(gòu)物期間。近85%的高中生和中學(xué)生表示，在新學(xué)期開(kāi)始前，他們的父母沒(méi)有花時(shí)間與他們討論返校財(cái)務(wù)問(wèn)題。

??事實(shí)上，盡管他們確實(shí)“依賴父母”獲得一些信息，但98%的大學(xué)生和90%的高中生將他們的理財(cái)知識(shí)與自己的理財(cái)經(jīng)歷相結(jié)合。

U6

??When I was young, I lived in Fort Greene which was notorious for being a rough neighborhood. Knowing the character of every block around our building, my father taught me how to keep safe in the neighborhood. He told me if someone came to __ us, I’d better let go of his hand and walk away. It was an encounter I could __?imagine: two men, younger than my father, about his size, approaching us, wordlessly, to rob us. And I was __by the fear that someone would interrupt our time together, that our lives would change forever, that my father would have to drop my hand. Although I __ at people who did not understand Brooklyn, the Fort Greene my father warned us about was real.

??Despite these fears, my neighborhood was the only place I had ever lived. I knew it was a place to defend. When I __ in a private school on the Upper East Side, I __ myself proudly — I was from Fort Greene.

??When I was at Yale and returned for holiday breaks and summers, I found Fort Greene had been __ for a long time. The demolition and reconstruction were __ evidence that after I graduated I would not be able to afford to move back. However, I worried that my neighborhood might be eclipsed by change, and __ into something that I could understand but could not feel.

??Now, when I tell someone I am from Fort Greene, I get quite a different response. They will be __ pleasant to say, “Great area.”

??當(dāng)我年輕的時(shí)候，我住在格林堡，那里因粗暴而臭名昭著。我父親了解我們大樓周?chē)總€(gè)街區(qū)的特點(diǎn)，教我如何在附近保持安全。他告訴我，如果有人來(lái)找我們，我最好放開(kāi)他的手走開(kāi)。這是一次我可以想象的遭遇：兩個(gè)比我父親小的男人，和他一樣大，一言不發(fā)地走近我們，想搶劫我們。我害怕有人會(huì)打斷我們?cè)谝黄鸬臅r(shí)光，我們的生活會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)改變，我父親不得不把手放下。盡管我對(duì)那些不了解布魯克林的人嗤之以鼻，但我父親警告我們的格林堡是真實(shí)的。

??盡管有這些恐懼，但我的鄰居是我唯一住過(guò)的地方。我知道這是一個(gè)需要防守的地方。當(dāng)我在上東區(qū)的一所私立學(xué)校上學(xué)時(shí)，我自豪地——我來(lái)自格林堡。

??當(dāng)我在耶魯大學(xué)度假和避暑時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)格林堡已經(jīng)存在了很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。拆遷和重建是我畢業(yè)后搬不起房子的證據(jù)。然而，我擔(dān)心我的社區(qū)可能會(huì)因?yàn)樽兓鋈皇兂晌夷芾斫獾杏X(jué)不到的東西。

??現(xiàn)在，當(dāng)我告訴別人我來(lái)自格林堡時(shí)，我得到了完全不同的回應(yīng)。他們會(huì)愉快地說(shuō)：“大面積?！?/p>

U7

??The pool of __ individuals is dramatically increasing these days, and the competition for jobs in the arts is becoming fierce. Artists in particular face difficulty when it comes to being able to __ themselves through their chosen career. However, being successful as an artist is not impossible.

??Finding people to buy your work is one of the most __ aspects of being an artist. However, connecting with __ clients is becoming increasingly easier thanks to social media platforms. These websites can be used not only to show and promote your work, but also to keep in touch with?__ , and network with other artists.

??Due to the stiff competition in both salaried and self-employed jobs in the art world, artists find it difficult to earn enough money by only selling their artwork.__ is therefore necessary for many artists. While working at a day job, you can make use of your spare time by creating artwork. Applying for awards and residencies （藝術(shù)家為某機(jī)構(gòu)工作的駐留時(shí)間） is also helpful in __ your network and raising your artistic profile.

??Building an impressive portfolio is crucial, because it shows evidence of your skill. A portfolio is a collection of hand-made, computer-generated, __ , or printed samples of the artist’s artwork. No matter how seasoned as an artist you are, it can be difficult to find recognition for your work whether it is from an employer or a __ . Employers and gallery owners don’t have the time to research you and your artwork. A portfolio shows your talent. Being an artist is not easy, but with determination, hard work, and __ , you may find a career in the arts tremendously rewarding.

??如今，__個(gè)人的數(shù)量急劇增加，藝術(shù)領(lǐng)域的工作競(jìng)爭(zhēng)也越來(lái)越激烈。藝術(shù)家們尤其面臨著困難，因?yàn)樗麄儫o(wú)法在自己選擇的職業(yè)中找到自己。然而，作為一名藝術(shù)家取得成功并非不可能。

??找人買(mǎi)你的作品是成為一名藝術(shù)家最重要的方面之一。然而，由于社交媒體平臺(tái)，與__客戶的聯(lián)系變得越來(lái)越容易。這些網(wǎng)站不僅可以用來(lái)展示和推廣你的作品，還可以與__保持聯(lián)系，并與其他藝術(shù)家建立聯(lián)系。

??由于藝術(shù)界受薪和自營(yíng)職業(yè)的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，藝術(shù)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)僅靠出售藝術(shù)品很難賺到足夠的錢(qián)。__因此對(duì)許多藝術(shù)家來(lái)說(shuō)是必要的。在白天工作時(shí)，你可以利用業(yè)余時(shí)間創(chuàng)作藝術(shù)品。申請(qǐng)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)和居留(藝術(shù)家為某機(jī)構(gòu)工作的駐留時(shí)間） 也有助于__你的人際網(wǎng)絡(luò)和提高你的藝術(shù)形象。

??建立一個(gè)令人印象深刻的投資組合是至關(guān)重要的，因?yàn)樗梢宰C明你的技能。作品集是藝術(shù)家作品的手工、計(jì)算機(jī)生成、__或印刷樣本的集合。作為一名經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的藝術(shù)家，無(wú)論你的作品是來(lái)自雇主還是__，都很難獲得認(rèn)可。雇主和畫(huà)廊老板沒(méi)有時(shí)間研究你和你的藝術(shù)品。投資組合展示了你的才華。成為一名藝術(shù)家并不容易，但只要下定決心，努力工作，再加上__，你可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)藝術(shù)事業(yè)的回報(bào)是巨大的。