Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D.You should decide on the best choice.
Some people would say that the Englishman's home is no longer his castle, 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 household 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 reach 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 fif foot(4.5 meters) sailing dinghy(小船).All you need, it seems, is a hammer and a few nails.You follow the 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 as it sounds! Many a budding(初露头角的) 'do-it-yourself' has found to his cost that one can not 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 completely takes the handyman five or six at least.And then there is the question of tools.The first thing the 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 professional to do the work is, in the long run, more economical than 'doing it oneself'.
Many Englishmen join in the movement of 'do-it-yourself,' because ______.