Billy was happy because he bought the first house in his life. But the house was not in a good condition. The paint fell off,
and the windows were broken. He didn’t have any money to renovate the house. What could he do?
He came up with an idea. He started the blog “Need Your Help—A Man with a Dilapidated House.” He posted the pictures
of the walls and windows of his house on the blog. Also, he wrote something to ask people in his community if they could help.
Many people in his community read the blog and responded. Some of them shared their stories of renovating an old house. Some
of them said they were ready to help.
On the morning of the first weekend, some men and women went to Billy’s house. In their hands were paint, paintbrushes,
and food. They came to help Billy because he was their neighbor. Finally, Billy had a nice and comfortable house to live in. He was
a lucky man with those good neighbors around.
condition 情況 paint 油漆 broken 破碎的;損壞的 renovate 整修;改善 come up with 想出 blog 部落格;網誌
post 張貼 community 社區 if 是否 respond 回應
( )34. What does the word “dilapidated” mean in the reading?
(A) New and expensive. (B) Cool and clean.
(C) Old but in a good condition. (D) Old and broken.
( )35. Why did Billy start the blog?
(A) He wanted to help other people.
(B) He wanted to get help from his community.
(C) He loved to share things on his blog.
(D) He wanted to sell (賣) his house.
( )36. What can we know from the reading?
(A) Billy bought the paint, paintbrushes, and food.
(B) Not many people responded on Billy’s blog.
(C) Billy’s house was not comfortable after the renovation.
(D) Billy’s neighbors were kind and helped him a lot.
Many people in the world celebrate Christmas and Christmas Eve. In fact, the day “after” Christmas is also a special day in many
countries. People call it “Boxing Day.” It started in Great Britain and spread to Canada, Australia, and South Africa. In most of these
places, it’s also an official holiday.
The origin of the holiday’s name is not clear, but everyone agrees that it has nothing to do with the fighting sport “boxing.” And
how do people celebrate Boxing Day? People may relax with their family and friends or join some fun activities. In some countries, they
even take advantage of the after-Christmas sales starting on Boxing Day.
December 26 may just be an ordinary day for some people. For other people, however, it’s Boxing Day—a day of relaxing,
shopping, and doing fun activities.
Adapted from The Day after Christmas by Marie McMaster
Christmas Eve 平安夜 Great Britain 大不列顛;英國 spread 傳播 most 大部分 official 官方的 origin 起源
have nothing to do with 無關 relax 放鬆 take advantage of 利用 sale 銷售;拍賣 ordinary 普通的
( )37. When is Boxing Day?
(A) Christmas Day. (B) Christmas Eve. (C) December 26. (D) December 31.
( )38. Which is true about Boxing Day?
(A) It first started in the USA. (B) Everyone knows the origin of its name.
(C) It is an official holiday in some countries. (D) There’s no Boxing Day in Australia.