diff --git a/Lib/test/string_tests.py b/Lib/test/string_tests.py
index d5ab6ae..837c1e8 100644
--- a/Lib/test/string_tests.py
+++ b/Lib/test/string_tests.py
@@ -750,10 +750,10 @@
         self.checkraises(TypeError, 'hello', 'replace', 42, 'h')
         self.checkraises(TypeError, 'hello', 'replace', 'h', 42)
 
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.maxint > (1 << 32) or struct.calcsize('P') != 4,
+                     'only applies to 32-bit platforms')
     def test_replace_overflow(self):
         # Check for overflow checking on 32 bit machines
-        if sys.maxint != 2147483647 or struct.calcsize("P") > 4:
-            return
         A2_16 = "A" * (2**16)
         self.checkraises(OverflowError, A2_16, "replace", "", A2_16)
         self.checkraises(OverflowError, A2_16, "replace", "A", A2_16)
@@ -1286,27 +1286,27 @@
     # Additional tests that only work with
     # 8bit compatible object, i.e. str and UserString
 
-    if test_support.have_unicode:
-        def test_encoding_decoding(self):
-            codecs = [('rot13', 'uryyb jbeyq'),
-                      ('base64', 'aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=\n'),
-                      ('hex', '68656c6c6f20776f726c64'),
-                      ('uu', 'begin 666 <data>\n+:&5L;&\\@=V]R;&0 \n \nend\n')]
-            for encoding, data in codecs:
-                self.checkequal(data, 'hello world', 'encode', encoding)
-                self.checkequal('hello world', data, 'decode', encoding)
-            # zlib is optional, so we make the test optional too...
-            try:
-                import zlib
-            except ImportError:
-                pass
-            else:
-                data = 'x\x9c\xcbH\xcd\xc9\xc9W(\xcf/\xcaI\x01\x00\x1a\x0b\x04]'
-                self.checkequal(data, 'hello world', 'encode', 'zlib')
-                self.checkequal('hello world', data, 'decode', 'zlib')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(test_support.have_unicode, 'no unicode support')
+    def test_encoding_decoding(self):
+        codecs = [('rot13', 'uryyb jbeyq'),
+                  ('base64', 'aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=\n'),
+                  ('hex', '68656c6c6f20776f726c64'),
+                  ('uu', 'begin 666 <data>\n+:&5L;&\\@=V]R;&0 \n \nend\n')]
+        for encoding, data in codecs:
+            self.checkequal(data, 'hello world', 'encode', encoding)
+            self.checkequal('hello world', data, 'decode', encoding)
+        # zlib is optional, so we make the test optional too...
+        try:
+            import zlib
+        except ImportError:
+            pass
+        else:
+            data = 'x\x9c\xcbH\xcd\xc9\xc9W(\xcf/\xcaI\x01\x00\x1a\x0b\x04]'
+            self.checkequal(data, 'hello world', 'encode', 'zlib')
+            self.checkequal('hello world', data, 'decode', 'zlib')
 
-            self.checkraises(TypeError, 'xyz', 'decode', 42)
-            self.checkraises(TypeError, 'xyz', 'encode', 42)
+        self.checkraises(TypeError, 'xyz', 'decode', 42)
+        self.checkraises(TypeError, 'xyz', 'encode', 42)
 
 
 class MixinStrUnicodeTest:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_aepack.py b/Lib/test/test_aepack.py
index f4ea25b..84c8609 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_aepack.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_aepack.py
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@
         try:
             import Carbon.File
         except:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('Carbon.File not available')
 
         if not hasattr(Carbon.File, "FSSpec"):
-            return
+            self.skipTest('Carbon.File.FSSpec not available')
         o = Carbon.File.FSSpec(os.curdir)
         packed = aepack.pack(o)
         unpacked = aepack.unpack(packed)
@@ -72,9 +72,9 @@
         try:
             import Carbon.File
         except:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('Carbon.File not available')
         if not hasattr(Carbon.File, "FSSpec"):
-            return
+            self.skipTest('Carbon.File.FSSpec not available')
         o = Carbon.File.FSSpec(os.curdir).NewAliasMinimal()
         packed = aepack.pack(o)
         unpacked = aepack.unpack(packed)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_array.py b/Lib/test/test_array.py
index 75a24ea..74594e4 100755
--- a/Lib/test/test_array.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_array.py
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@
         try:
             import gc
         except ImportError:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('gc module not available')
         a = array.array(self.typecode)
         l = [iter(a)]
         l.append(l)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_bsddb.py b/Lib/test/test_bsddb.py
index d1ee0a1..3a10fab 100755
--- a/Lib/test/test_bsddb.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_bsddb.py
@@ -47,10 +47,7 @@
         self.assertIn('discovered', self.f.values())
 
     def test_close_and_reopen(self):
-        if self.fname is None:
-            # if we're using an in-memory only db, we can't reopen it
-            # so finish here.
-            return
+        self.assertIsNotNone(self.fname)
         self.f.close()
         self.f = self.openmethod[0](self.fname, 'w')
         for k, v in self.d.iteritems():
@@ -309,8 +306,7 @@
             self.assertEqual(self.f[k], v)
 
     def test_keyordering(self):
-        if self.openmethod[0] is not bsddb.btopen:
-            return
+        self.assertIs(self.openmethod[0], bsddb.btopen)
         keys = self.d.keys()
         keys.sort()
         self.assertEqual(self.f.first()[0], keys[0])
@@ -327,19 +323,34 @@
     fname = None
     openmethod = [bsddb.btopen]
 
+    # if we're using an in-memory only db, we can't reopen it
+    test_close_and_reopen = None
+
 class TestBTree_InMemory_Truncate(TestBSDDB):
     fname = None
     openflag = 'n'
     openmethod = [bsddb.btopen]
 
+    # if we're using an in-memory only db, we can't reopen it
+    test_close_and_reopen = None
+
 class TestHashTable(TestBSDDB):
     fname = test_support.TESTFN
     openmethod = [bsddb.hashopen]
 
+    # keyordering is specific to btopen method
+    test_keyordering = None
+
 class TestHashTable_InMemory(TestBSDDB):
     fname = None
     openmethod = [bsddb.hashopen]
 
+    # if we're using an in-memory only db, we can't reopen it
+    test_close_and_reopen = None
+
+    # keyordering is specific to btopen method
+    test_keyordering = None
+
 ##         # (bsddb.rnopen,'Record Numbers'), 'put' for RECNO for bsddb 1.85
 ##         #                                   appears broken... at least on
 ##         #                                   Solaris Intel - rmasse 1/97
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_builtin.py b/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
index b6de524..15581d9 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
@@ -447,59 +447,6 @@
                 return 'a'
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, eval, 'dir()', globals(), C())
 
-    # Done outside of the method test_z to get the correct scope
-    z = 0
-    f = open(TESTFN, 'w')
-    f.write('z = z+1\n')
-    f.write('z = z*2\n')
-    f.close()
-    with check_py3k_warnings(("execfile.. not supported in 3.x",
-                              DeprecationWarning)):
-        execfile(TESTFN)
-
-    def test_execfile(self):
-        global numruns
-        if numruns:
-            return
-        numruns += 1
-
-        globals = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
-        locals = {'b': 200, 'c': 300}
-
-        self.assertEqual(self.__class__.z, 2)
-        globals['z'] = 0
-        execfile(TESTFN, globals)
-        self.assertEqual(globals['z'], 2)
-        locals['z'] = 0
-        execfile(TESTFN, globals, locals)
-        self.assertEqual(locals['z'], 2)
-
-        class M:
-            "Test mapping interface versus possible calls from execfile()."
-            def __init__(self):
-                self.z = 10
-            def __getitem__(self, key):
-                if key == 'z':
-                    return self.z
-                raise KeyError
-            def __setitem__(self, key, value):
-                if key == 'z':
-                    self.z = value
-                    return
-                raise KeyError
-
-        locals = M()
-        locals['z'] = 0
-        execfile(TESTFN, globals, locals)
-        self.assertEqual(locals['z'], 2)
-
-        unlink(TESTFN)
-        self.assertRaises(TypeError, execfile)
-        self.assertRaises(TypeError, execfile, TESTFN, {}, ())
-        import os
-        self.assertRaises(IOError, execfile, os.curdir)
-        self.assertRaises(IOError, execfile, "I_dont_exist")
-
     def test_filter(self):
         self.assertEqual(filter(lambda c: 'a' <= c <= 'z', 'Hello World'), 'elloorld')
         self.assertEqual(filter(None, [1, 'hello', [], [3], '', None, 9, 0]), [1, 'hello', [3], 9])
@@ -1646,6 +1593,56 @@
         self.assertRaises(ValueError, x.translate, "1", 1)
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, x.translate, "1"*256, 1)
 
+class TestExecFile(unittest.TestCase):
+    # Done outside of the method test_z to get the correct scope
+    z = 0
+    f = open(TESTFN, 'w')
+    f.write('z = z+1\n')
+    f.write('z = z*2\n')
+    f.close()
+    with check_py3k_warnings(("execfile.. not supported in 3.x",
+                              DeprecationWarning)):
+        execfile(TESTFN)
+
+    def test_execfile(self):
+        globals = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
+        locals = {'b': 200, 'c': 300}
+
+        self.assertEqual(self.__class__.z, 2)
+        globals['z'] = 0
+        execfile(TESTFN, globals)
+        self.assertEqual(globals['z'], 2)
+        locals['z'] = 0
+        execfile(TESTFN, globals, locals)
+        self.assertEqual(locals['z'], 2)
+
+        class M:
+            "Test mapping interface versus possible calls from execfile()."
+            def __init__(self):
+                self.z = 10
+            def __getitem__(self, key):
+                if key == 'z':
+                    return self.z
+                raise KeyError
+            def __setitem__(self, key, value):
+                if key == 'z':
+                    self.z = value
+                    return
+                raise KeyError
+
+        locals = M()
+        locals['z'] = 0
+        execfile(TESTFN, globals, locals)
+        self.assertEqual(locals['z'], 2)
+
+        unlink(TESTFN)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, execfile)
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, execfile, TESTFN, {}, ())
+        import os
+        self.assertRaises(IOError, execfile, os.curdir)
+        self.assertRaises(IOError, execfile, "I_dont_exist")
+
+
 class TestSorted(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_basic(self):
@@ -1693,6 +1690,12 @@
         run_unittest(*args)
 
 def test_main(verbose=None):
+    global numruns
+    if not numruns:
+        with check_py3k_warnings(
+                (".+ not supported in 3.x", DeprecationWarning)):
+            run_unittest(TestExecFile)
+    numruns += 1
     test_classes = (BuiltinTest, TestSorted)
 
     _run_unittest(*test_classes)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_cfgparser.py b/Lib/test/test_cfgparser.py
index f0073f0..df65f6e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_cfgparser.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_cfgparser.py
@@ -284,13 +284,17 @@
         cf.set("sect", "option1", mystr("splat"))
         cf.set("sect", "option2", "splat")
         cf.set("sect", "option2", mystr("splat"))
+
+    def test_set_unicode(self):
         try:
             unicode
         except NameError:
-            pass
-        else:
-            cf.set("sect", "option1", unicode("splat"))
-            cf.set("sect", "option2", unicode("splat"))
+            self.skipTest('no unicode support')
+
+        cf = self.fromstring("[sect]\n"
+                             "option1=foo\n")
+        cf.set("sect", "option1", unicode("splat"))
+        cf.set("sect", "option2", unicode("splat"))
 
     def test_read_returns_file_list(self):
         file1 = test_support.findfile("cfgparser.1")
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_cmath.py b/Lib/test/test_cmath.py
index 8b5c4bf..5d10261 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_cmath.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_cmath.py
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@
 
     def test_specific_values(self):
         if not float.__getformat__("double").startswith("IEEE"):
-            return
+            self.skipTest('needs IEEE double')
 
         def rect_complex(z):
             """Wrapped version of rect that accepts a complex number instead of
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_codecencodings_iso2022.py b/Lib/test/test_codecencodings_iso2022.py
index 9d1d2af..343308c 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_codecencodings_iso2022.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_codecencodings_iso2022.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 
     # iso2022_kr.txt cannot be used to test "chunk coding": the escape
     # sequence is only written on the first line
+    @unittest.skip('iso2022_kr.txt cannot be used to test "chunk coding"')
     def test_chunkcoding(self):
         pass
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_decimal.py b/Lib/test/test_decimal.py
index 3e184ef..87e8816 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_decimal.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_decimal.py
@@ -223,7 +223,6 @@
         global skip_expected
         if skip_expected:
             raise unittest.SkipTest
-            return
         with open(file) as f:
             for line in f:
                 line = line.replace('\r\n', '').replace('\n', '')
@@ -234,7 +233,6 @@
                     #Exception raised where there shouldn't have been one.
                     self.fail('Exception "'+exception.__class__.__name__ + '" raised on line '+line)
 
-        return
 
     def eval_line(self, s):
         if s.find(' -> ') >= 0 and s[:2] != '--' and not s.startswith('  --'):
@@ -391,7 +389,6 @@
                          'Incorrect answer for ' + s + ' -- got ' + result)
         self.assertItemsEqual(myexceptions, theirexceptions,
               'Incorrect flags set in ' + s + ' -- got ' + str(myexceptions))
-        return
 
     def getexceptions(self):
         return [e for e in Signals if self.context.flags[e]]
@@ -834,7 +831,7 @@
         try:
             from locale import CHAR_MAX
         except ImportError:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('locale.CHAR_MAX not available')
 
         # Set up some localeconv-like dictionaries
         en_US = {
@@ -1196,7 +1193,6 @@
 
     cls.assertEqual(test1, Decimal('0.3333333333333333333333333333'))
     cls.assertEqual(test2, Decimal('0.3333333333333333333333333333'))
-    return
 
 def thfunc2(cls):
     d1 = Decimal(1)
@@ -1210,17 +1206,12 @@
 
     cls.assertEqual(test1, Decimal('0.3333333333333333333333333333'))
     cls.assertEqual(test2, Decimal('0.333333333333333333'))
-    return
 
 
+@unittest.skipUnless(threading, 'threading required')
 class DecimalUseOfContextTest(unittest.TestCase):
     '''Unit tests for Use of Context cases in Decimal.'''
 
-    try:
-        import threading
-    except ImportError:
-        threading = None
-
     # Take care executing this test from IDLE, there's an issue in threading
     # that hangs IDLE and I couldn't find it
 
@@ -1239,10 +1230,6 @@
 
         self.finish1.wait()
         self.finish2.wait()
-        return
-
-    if threading is None:
-        del test_threading
 
 
 class DecimalUsabilityTest(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -1540,7 +1527,6 @@
                 self.assertEqual(d1._sign, b1._sign)
                 self.assertEqual(d1._int, b1._int)
                 self.assertEqual(d1._exp, b1._exp)
-            return
 
         Decimal(d1)
         self.assertEqual(d1._sign, b1._sign)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_descr.py b/Lib/test/test_descr.py
index 63a06cd..15a3049 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_descr.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_descr.py
@@ -1059,11 +1059,12 @@
         c.abc = 5
         self.assertEqual(c.abc, 5)
 
+    def test_unicode_slots(self):
         # Test unicode slot names
         try:
             unicode
         except NameError:
-            pass
+            self.skipTest('no unicode support')
         else:
             # Test a single unicode string is not expanded as a sequence.
             class C(object):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_dis.py b/Lib/test/test_dis.py
index 6ce4b79..da5ba4b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_dis.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_dis.py
@@ -125,6 +125,8 @@
         # so fails if the tests are run with -O.  Skip this test then.
         if __debug__:
             self.do_disassembly_test(bug1333982, dis_bug1333982)
+        else:
+            self.skipTest('need asserts, run without -O')
 
     def test_big_linenos(self):
         def func(count):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_dumbdbm.py b/Lib/test/test_dumbdbm.py
index 041fac1..abdfbc0 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_dumbdbm.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_dumbdbm.py
@@ -38,11 +38,9 @@
         self.read_helper(f)
         f.close()
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(os, 'chmod'), 'os.chmod not available')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(os, 'umask'), 'os.umask not available')
     def test_dumbdbm_creation_mode(self):
-        # On platforms without chmod, don't do anything.
-        if not (hasattr(os, 'chmod') and hasattr(os, 'umask')):
-            return
-
         try:
             old_umask = os.umask(0002)
             f = dumbdbm.open(_fname, 'c', 0637)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_fileio.py b/Lib/test/test_fileio.py
index e7955cc..c2a63ad 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_fileio.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_fileio.py
@@ -283,28 +283,29 @@
             self.assertEqual(f.seekable(), True)
             self.assertEqual(f.isatty(), False)
             f.close()
-
-            if sys.platform != "win32":
-                try:
-                    f = _FileIO("/dev/tty", "a")
-                except EnvironmentError:
-                    # When run in a cron job there just aren't any
-                    # ttys, so skip the test.  This also handles other
-                    # OS'es that don't support /dev/tty.
-                    pass
-                else:
-                    self.assertEqual(f.readable(), False)
-                    self.assertEqual(f.writable(), True)
-                    if sys.platform != "darwin" and \
-                       'bsd' not in sys.platform and \
-                       not sys.platform.startswith('sunos'):
-                        # Somehow /dev/tty appears seekable on some BSDs
-                        self.assertEqual(f.seekable(), False)
-                    self.assertEqual(f.isatty(), True)
-                    f.close()
         finally:
             os.unlink(TESTFN)
 
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform == 'win32', 'no ttys on Windows')
+    def testAblesOnTTY(self):
+        try:
+            f = _FileIO("/dev/tty", "a")
+        except EnvironmentError:
+            # When run in a cron job there just aren't any
+            # ttys, so skip the test.  This also handles other
+            # OS'es that don't support /dev/tty.
+            self.skipTest('need /dev/tty')
+        else:
+            self.assertEqual(f.readable(), False)
+            self.assertEqual(f.writable(), True)
+            if sys.platform != "darwin" and \
+               'bsd' not in sys.platform and \
+               not sys.platform.startswith('sunos'):
+                # Somehow /dev/tty appears seekable on some BSDs
+                self.assertEqual(f.seekable(), False)
+            self.assertEqual(f.isatty(), True)
+            f.close()
+
     def testInvalidModeStrings(self):
         # check invalid mode strings
         for mode in ("", "aU", "wU+", "rw", "rt"):
@@ -342,8 +343,7 @@
         try:
             fn = TESTFN.encode("ascii")
         except UnicodeEncodeError:
-            # Skip test
-            return
+            self.skipTest('could not encode %r to ascii' % TESTFN)
         f = _FileIO(fn, "w")
         try:
             f.write(b"abc")
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_float.py b/Lib/test/test_float.py
index 4246371..e6779c4 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_float.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_float.py
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
         # it still has to accept the normal python syntax
         import locale
         if not locale.localeconv()['decimal_point'] == ',':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('decimal_point is not ","')
 
         self.assertEqual(float("  3.14  "), 3.14)
         self.assertEqual(float("+3.14  "), 3.14)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_functools.py b/Lib/test/test_functools.py
index e9c243b..445ad9e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_functools.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_functools.py
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@
         self.assertEqual(p.args, (1, 2))
         self.assertEqual(p.keywords, dict(a=10, b=20))
         # attributes should not be writable
-        if not isinstance(self.thetype, type):
-            return
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, setattr, p, 'func', map)
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, setattr, p, 'args', (1, 2))
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, setattr, p, 'keywords', dict(a=1, b=2))
@@ -180,8 +178,10 @@
     thetype = PythonPartial
 
     # the python version isn't picklable
-    def test_pickle(self): pass
-    def test_setstate_refcount(self): pass
+    test_pickle = test_setstate_refcount = None
+
+    # the python version isn't a type
+    test_attributes = None
 
 class TestUpdateWrapper(unittest.TestCase):
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_getargs2.py b/Lib/test/test_getargs2.py
index d06296b..07d97c1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_getargs2.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_getargs2.py
@@ -42,6 +42,13 @@
      INT_MIN, LONG_MIN, LONG_MAX, PY_SSIZE_T_MIN, PY_SSIZE_T_MAX, \
      SHRT_MIN, SHRT_MAX
 
+try:
+    from _testcapi import getargs_L, getargs_K
+except ImportError:
+    _PY_LONG_LONG_available = False
+else:
+    _PY_LONG_LONG_available = True
+
 # fake, they are not defined in Python's header files
 LLONG_MAX = 2**63-1
 LLONG_MIN = -2**63
@@ -208,6 +215,7 @@
         self.assertRaises(OverflowError, getargs_n, VERY_LARGE)
 
 
+@unittest.skipUnless(_PY_LONG_LONG_available, 'PY_LONG_LONG not available')
 class LongLong_TestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_L(self):
         from _testcapi import getargs_L
@@ -322,13 +330,8 @@
             self.fail('TypeError should have been raised')
 
 def test_main():
-    tests = [Signed_TestCase, Unsigned_TestCase, Tuple_TestCase, Keywords_TestCase]
-    try:
-        from _testcapi import getargs_L, getargs_K
-    except ImportError:
-        pass # PY_LONG_LONG not available
-    else:
-        tests.append(LongLong_TestCase)
+    tests = [Signed_TestCase, Unsigned_TestCase, LongLong_TestCase,
+             Tuple_TestCase, Keywords_TestCase]
     test_support.run_unittest(*tests)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_grp.py b/Lib/test/test_grp.py
index 62d2baf..d31e39c 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_grp.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_grp.py
@@ -26,8 +26,10 @@
         for e in entries:
             self.check_value(e)
 
+    def test_values_extended(self):
+        entries = grp.getgrall()
         if len(entries) > 1000:  # Huge group file (NIS?) -- skip the rest
-            return
+            self.skipTest('huge group file, extended test skipped')
 
         for e in entries:
             e2 = grp.getgrgid(e.gr_gid)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_imp.py b/Lib/test/test_imp.py
index 77e44be..1bdc47a 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_imp.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_imp.py
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@
 import unittest
 from test import test_support
 
+try:
+    import thread
+except ImportError:
+    thread = None
 
+@unittest.skipUnless(thread, 'threading not available')
 class LockTests(unittest.TestCase):
 
     """Very basic test of import lock functions."""
@@ -68,13 +73,8 @@
 def test_main():
     tests = [
         ReloadTests,
+        LockTests,
     ]
-    try:
-        import thread
-    except ImportError:
-        pass
-    else:
-        tests.append(LockTests)
     test_support.run_unittest(*tests)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_index.py b/Lib/test/test_index.py
index a92b442..4c29993 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_index.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_index.py
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[self.o:self.o2], self.seq[1:3])
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[self.n:self.n2], self.seq[2:4])
 
-    def test_slice_bug7532(self):
+    def test_slice_bug7532a(self):
         seqlen = len(self.seq)
         self.o.ind = int(seqlen * 1.5)
         self.n.ind = seqlen + 2
@@ -99,9 +99,12 @@
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[:self.o], self.seq)
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[self.n:], self.seq[0:0])
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[:self.n], self.seq)
+
+    def test_slice_bug7532b(self):
         if isinstance(self.seq, ClassicSeq):
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test fails for ClassicSeq')
         # These tests fail for ClassicSeq (see bug #7532)
+        seqlen = len(self.seq)
         self.o2.ind = -seqlen - 2
         self.n2.ind = -int(seqlen * 1.5)
         self.assertEqual(self.seq[self.o2:], self.seq)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_io.py b/Lib/test/test_io.py
index 63a0508..bc59af3 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_io.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_io.py
@@ -393,14 +393,9 @@
         # a long time to build the >2GB file and takes >2GB of disk space
         # therefore the resource must be enabled to run this test.
         if sys.platform[:3] == 'win' or sys.platform == 'darwin':
-            if not support.is_resource_enabled("largefile"):
-                print("\nTesting large file ops skipped on %s." % sys.platform,
-                      file=sys.stderr)
-                print("It requires %d bytes and a long time." % self.LARGE,
-                      file=sys.stderr)
-                print("Use 'regrtest.py -u largefile test_io' to run it.",
-                      file=sys.stderr)
-                return
+            support.requires(
+                'largefile',
+                'test requires %s bytes and a long time to run' % self.LARGE)
         with self.open(support.TESTFN, "w+b", 0) as f:
             self.large_file_ops(f)
         with self.open(support.TESTFN, "w+b") as f:
@@ -650,6 +645,7 @@
 
         self.assertEqual(42, bufio.fileno())
 
+    @unittest.skip('test having existential crisis')
     def test_no_fileno(self):
         # XXX will we always have fileno() function? If so, kill
         # this test. Else, write it.
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_iter.py b/Lib/test/test_iter.py
index 8dc39d2..bd1b32d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_iter.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_iter.py
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@
         d = {"one": 1, "two": 2, "three": 3}
         self.assertEqual(reduce(add, d), "".join(d.keys()))
 
-    # This test case will be removed if we don't have Unicode
+    @unittest.skipUnless(have_unicode, 'needs unicode support')
     def test_unicode_join_endcase(self):
 
         # This class inserts a Unicode object into its argument's natural
@@ -567,8 +567,6 @@
                 unlink(TESTFN)
             except OSError:
                 pass
-    if not have_unicode:
-        def test_unicode_join_endcase(self): pass
 
     # Test iterators with 'x in y' and 'x not in y'.
     def test_in_and_not_in(self):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_macos.py b/Lib/test/test_macos.py
index 5af5105..0956d1d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_macos.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_macos.py
@@ -8,11 +8,9 @@
 TESTFN2 = test_support.TESTFN + '2'
 
 class TestMacOS(unittest.TestCase):
-
+    @unittest.skipUnless(os.path.exists('/Developer/Tools/SetFile'),
+                         '/Developer/Tools/SetFile does not exist')
     def testGetCreatorAndType(self):
-        if not os.path.exists('/Developer/Tools/SetFile'):
-            return
-
         try:
             fp = open(test_support.TESTFN, 'w')
             fp.write('\n')
@@ -29,10 +27,9 @@
         finally:
             os.unlink(test_support.TESTFN)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(os.path.exists('/Developer/Tools/GetFileInfo'),
+                         '/Developer/Tools/GetFileInfo does not exist')
     def testSetCreatorAndType(self):
-        if not os.path.exists('/Developer/Tools/GetFileInfo'):
-            return
-
         try:
             fp = open(test_support.TESTFN, 'w')
             fp.write('\n')
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_macostools.py b/Lib/test/test_macostools.py
index 4f15982..ed80c1d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_macostools.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_macostools.py
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 
 TESTFN2 = test_support.TESTFN + '2'
 
+requires_32bit = unittest.skipUnless(sys.maxint < 2**32, '32-bit only test')
+
 class TestMacostools(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
@@ -51,30 +53,32 @@
                                           DeprecationWarning), quiet=True):
             macostools.touched(test_support.TESTFN)
 
-    if sys.maxint < 2**32:
-        def test_copy(self):
-            test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
-            macostools.copy(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2)
-            self.assertEqual(self.compareData(), '')
+    @requires_32bit
+    def test_copy(self):
+        test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
+        macostools.copy(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2)
+        self.assertEqual(self.compareData(), '')
 
-    if sys.maxint < 2**32:
-        def test_mkalias(self):
-            test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
-            macostools.mkalias(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2)
-            fss, _, _ = Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile(TESTFN2, 0)
-            self.assertEqual(fss.as_pathname(), os.path.realpath(test_support.TESTFN))
+    @requires_32bit
+    def test_mkalias(self):
+        test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
+        macostools.mkalias(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2)
+        fss, _, _ = Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile(TESTFN2, 0)
+        self.assertEqual(fss.as_pathname(), os.path.realpath(test_support.TESTFN))
 
-        def test_mkalias_relative(self):
-            test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
-            # If the directory doesn't exist, then chances are this is a new
-            # install of Python so don't create it since the user might end up
-            # running ``sudo make install`` and creating the directory here won't
-            # leave it with the proper permissions.
-            if not os.path.exists(sys.prefix):
-                return
-            macostools.mkalias(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2, sys.prefix)
-            fss, _, _ = Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile(TESTFN2, 0)
-            self.assertEqual(fss.as_pathname(), os.path.realpath(test_support.TESTFN))
+    @requires_32bit
+    # If the directory doesn't exist, then chances are this is a new
+    # install of Python so don't create it since the user might end up
+    # running ``sudo make install`` and creating the directory here won't
+    # leave it with the proper permissions.
+    @unittest.skipUnless(os.path.exists(sys.prefix),
+                         "%r doesn't exist" % sys.prefix)
+    def test_mkalias_relative(self):
+        test_support.unlink(TESTFN2)
+
+        macostools.mkalias(test_support.TESTFN, TESTFN2, sys.prefix)
+        fss, _, _ = Carbon.File.ResolveAliasFile(TESTFN2, 0)
+        self.assertEqual(fss.as_pathname(), os.path.realpath(test_support.TESTFN))
 
 
 def test_main():
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_memoryview.py b/Lib/test/test_memoryview.py
index 525ddea..f14bafd 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_memoryview.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_memoryview.py
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
 
     def test_setitem_readonly(self):
         if not self.ro_type:
-            return
+            self.skipTest("no read-only type to test")
         b = self.ro_type(self._source)
         oldrefcount = sys.getrefcount(b)
         m = self._view(b)
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
 
     def test_setitem_writable(self):
         if not self.rw_type:
-            return
+            self.skipTest("no writable type to test")
         tp = self.rw_type
         b = self.rw_type(self._source)
         oldrefcount = sys.getrefcount(b)
@@ -183,13 +183,13 @@
 
     def test_attributes_readonly(self):
         if not self.ro_type:
-            return
+            self.skipTest("no read-only type to test")
         m = self.check_attributes_with_type(self.ro_type)
         self.assertEqual(m.readonly, True)
 
     def test_attributes_writable(self):
         if not self.rw_type:
-            return
+            self.skipTest("no writable type to test")
         m = self.check_attributes_with_type(self.rw_type)
         self.assertEqual(m.readonly, False)
 
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@
         # buffer as writable causing a segfault if using mmap
         tp = self.ro_type
         if tp is None:
-            return
+            self.skipTest("no read-only type to test")
         b = tp(self._source)
         m = self._view(b)
         i = io.BytesIO(b'ZZZZ')
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec.py b/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec.py
index 5e86ca2..2afe9de 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec.py
@@ -157,57 +157,55 @@
             os.unlink(TESTFN)
 
 class Test_StreamWriter(unittest.TestCase):
-    if len(u'\U00012345') == 2: # UCS2
-        def test_gb18030(self):
-            s = StringIO.StringIO()
-            c = codecs.getwriter('gb18030')(s)
-            c.write(u'123')
-            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123')
-            c.write(u'\U00012345')
-            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\x907\x959')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(len(u'\U00012345') == 2, 'need a narrow build')
+    def test_gb18030(self):
+        s = StringIO.StringIO()
+        c = codecs.getwriter('gb18030')(s)
+        c.write(u'123')
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123')
+        c.write(u'\U00012345')
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\x907\x959')
+        c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\x907\x959')
+        c.write(u'\U00012345'[1] + u'\U00012345' + u'\uac00\u00ac')
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
+                '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
+        c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
+                '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
+        self.assertRaises(UnicodeError, c.reset)
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
+                '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
+
+    @unittest.skipUnless(len(u'\U00012345') == 2, 'need a narrow build')
+    def test_utf_8(self):
+        s= StringIO.StringIO()
+        c = codecs.getwriter('utf-8')(s)
+        c.write(u'123')
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123')
+        c.write(u'\U00012345')
+        self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85')
+
+        # Python utf-8 codec can't buffer surrogate pairs yet.
+        if 0:
             c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
-            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\x907\x959')
+            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85')
             c.write(u'\U00012345'[1] + u'\U00012345' + u'\uac00\u00ac')
             self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
+                '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
+                '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac')
             c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
             self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
-            self.assertRaises(UnicodeError, c.reset)
+                '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
+                '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac')
+            c.reset()
             self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\x907\x959\x907\x959\x907\x959\x827\xcf5\x810\x851')
-
-        def test_utf_8(self):
-            s= StringIO.StringIO()
-            c = codecs.getwriter('utf-8')(s)
-            c.write(u'123')
-            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123')
-            c.write(u'\U00012345')
-            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85')
-
-            # Python utf-8 codec can't buffer surrogate pairs yet.
-            if 0:
-                c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
-                self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(), '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85')
-                c.write(u'\U00012345'[1] + u'\U00012345' + u'\uac00\u00ac')
-                self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
-                    '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac')
-                c.write(u'\U00012345'[0])
-                self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
-                    '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac')
-                c.reset()
-                self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
-                    '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac\xed\xa0\x88')
-                c.write(u'\U00012345'[1])
-                self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
-                    '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
-                    '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac\xed\xa0\x88\xed\xbd\x85')
-
-    else: # UCS4
-        pass
+                '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
+                '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac\xed\xa0\x88')
+            c.write(u'\U00012345'[1])
+            self.assertEqual(s.getvalue(),
+                '123\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85\xf0\x92\x8d\x85'
+                '\xea\xb0\x80\xc2\xac\xed\xa0\x88\xed\xbd\x85')
 
     def test_streamwriter_strwrite(self):
         s = StringIO.StringIO()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec_support.py b/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec_support.py
index 52a2e50..3955663 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec_support.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_multibytecodec_support.py
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
 
     def test_xmlcharrefreplace(self):
         if self.has_iso10646:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('encoding contains full ISO 10646 map')
 
         s = u"\u0b13\u0b23\u0b60 nd eggs"
         self.assertEqual(
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
 
     def test_customreplace_encode(self):
         if self.has_iso10646:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('encoding contains full ISO 10646 map')
 
         from htmlentitydefs import codepoint2name
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_multiprocessing.py b/Lib/test/test_multiprocessing.py
index 2f2bf94..956c036 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_multiprocessing.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_multiprocessing.py
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
 
     def test_current(self):
         if self.TYPE == 'threads':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
 
         current = self.current_process()
         authkey = current.authkey
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@
 
     def test_terminate(self):
         if self.TYPE == 'threads':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
 
         p = self.Process(target=self._test_terminate)
         p.daemon = True
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@
     def test_sys_exit(self):
         # See Issue 13854
         if self.TYPE == 'threads':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
 
         testfn = test_support.TESTFN
         self.addCleanup(test_support.unlink, testfn)
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@
         try:
             self.assertEqual(q.qsize(), 0)
         except NotImplementedError:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('qsize method not implemented')
         q.put(1)
         self.assertEqual(q.qsize(), 1)
         q.put(5)
@@ -683,7 +683,7 @@
 
     def test_timeout(self):
         if self.TYPE != 'processes':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
 
         sem = self.Semaphore(0)
         acquire = TimingWrapper(sem.acquire)
@@ -1120,7 +1120,7 @@
     def test_map_unplicklable(self):
         # Issue #19425 -- failure to pickle should not cause a hang
         if self.TYPE == 'threads':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
         class A(object):
             def __reduce__(self):
                 raise RuntimeError('cannot pickle')
@@ -1573,7 +1573,7 @@
 
     def test_sendbytes(self):
         if self.TYPE != 'processes':
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test not appropriate for {}'.format(self.TYPE))
 
         msg = latin('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
         a, b = self.Pipe()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_nis.py b/Lib/test/test_nis.py
index 8d49550..2a9f2a8 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_nis.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_nis.py
@@ -9,11 +9,7 @@
             maps = nis.maps()
         except nis.error, msg:
             # NIS is probably not active, so this test isn't useful
-            if test_support.verbose:
-                print "Test Skipped:", msg
-            # Can't raise SkipTest as regrtest only recognizes the exception
-            #   import time.
-            return
+            self.skipTest(str(msg))
         try:
             # On some systems, this map is only accessible to the
             # super user
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_os.py b/Lib/test/test_os.py
index dd0696e..3a145f1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_os.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_os.py
@@ -134,7 +134,6 @@
                         self.assertEqual(first.args, second.args)
                     else:
                         self.fail("expected os.tmpfile() to raise OSError")
-                    return
                 else:
                     # open() worked, therefore, tmpfile() should work.  Close our
                     # dummy file and proceed with the test as normal.
@@ -258,7 +257,7 @@
         except OSError, e:
             # On AtheOS, glibc always returns ENOSYS
             if e.errno == errno.ENOSYS:
-                return
+                self.skipTest('glibc always returns ENOSYS on AtheOS')
 
         # Make sure direct access works
         self.assertEqual(result.f_bfree, result[3])
@@ -338,7 +337,7 @@
             os.stat(r"c:\pagefile.sys")
         except WindowsError, e:
             if e.errno == 2: # file does not exist; cannot run test
-                return
+                self.skipTest(r'c:\pagefile.sys does not exist')
             self.fail("Could not stat pagefile.sys")
 
 from test import mapping_tests
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_posix.py b/Lib/test/test_posix.py
index b7f05b2..a6d47af 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_posix.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_posix.py
@@ -461,18 +461,15 @@
             os.mkdir(base_path)
             os.chdir(base_path)
         except:
-#           Just returning nothing instead of the SkipTest exception,
-#           because the test results in Error in that case.
-#           Is that ok?
-#            raise unittest.SkipTest, "cannot create directory for testing"
-            return
+            self.skipTest("cannot create directory for testing")
 
         try:
             def _create_and_do_getcwd(dirname, current_path_length = 0):
                 try:
                     os.mkdir(dirname)
                 except:
-                    raise unittest.SkipTest, "mkdir cannot create directory sufficiently deep for getcwd test"
+                    self.skipTest("mkdir cannot create directory sufficiently "
+                                  "deep for getcwd test")
 
                 os.chdir(dirname)
                 try:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_pwd.py b/Lib/test/test_pwd.py
index 696161a..828f6de 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_pwd.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_pwd.py
@@ -8,8 +8,6 @@
 
     def test_values(self):
         entries = pwd.getpwall()
-        entriesbyname = {}
-        entriesbyuid = {}
 
         for e in entries:
             self.assertEqual(len(e), 7)
@@ -32,13 +30,20 @@
             # for one uid
             #    self.assertEqual(pwd.getpwuid(e.pw_uid), e)
             # instead of this collect all entries for one uid
-            # and check afterwards
+            # and check afterwards (done in test_values_extended)
+
+    def test_values_extended(self):
+        entries = pwd.getpwall()
+        entriesbyname = {}
+        entriesbyuid = {}
+
+        if len(entries) > 1000:  # Huge passwd file (NIS?) -- skip this test
+            self.skipTest('passwd file is huge; extended test skipped')
+
+        for e in entries:
             entriesbyname.setdefault(e.pw_name, []).append(e)
             entriesbyuid.setdefault(e.pw_uid, []).append(e)
 
-        if len(entries) > 1000:  # Huge passwd file (NIS?) -- skip the rest
-            return
-
         # check whether the entry returned by getpwuid()
         # for each uid is among those from getpwall() for this uid
         for e in entries:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_re.py b/Lib/test/test_re.py
index d879bac..7ebbf05 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_re.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_re.py
@@ -700,7 +700,7 @@
         try:
             unicode
         except NameError:
-            return  # no problem if we have no unicode
+            self.skipTest('no problem if we have no unicode')
         class my_unicode(unicode): pass
         pat = re.compile(my_unicode("abc"))
         self.assertEqual(pat.match("xyz"), None)
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@
         try:
             unicode
         except NameError:
-            return # no problem if we have no unicode
+            self.skipTest('no problem if we have no unicode')
         self.assertTrue(re.compile('bug_926075') is not
                      re.compile(eval("u'bug_926075'")))
 
@@ -722,7 +722,7 @@
         try:
             unicode
         except NameError:
-            pass
+            self.skipTest('no problem if we have no unicode')
         pattern = eval('u"[\u002E\u3002\uFF0E\uFF61]"')
         self.assertEqual(re.compile(pattern).split("a.b.c"),
                          ['a','b','c'])
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_repr.py b/Lib/test/test_repr.py
index ae5203d..a0e4b1f 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_repr.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_repr.py
@@ -268,6 +268,7 @@
         eq(repr(foo.foo),
                "<class '%s.foo'>" % foo.__name__)
 
+    @unittest.skip('need a suitable object')
     def test_object(self):
         # XXX Test the repr of a type with a really long tp_name but with no
         # tp_repr.  WIBNI we had ::Inline? :)
@@ -309,6 +310,7 @@
             '<bound method aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.amethod of <%s.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa instance at 0x' \
             % (qux.__name__,) ))
 
+    @unittest.skip('needs a built-in function with a really long name')
     def test_builtin_function(self):
         # XXX test built-in functions and methods with really long names
         pass
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_resource.py b/Lib/test/test_resource.py
index 745b26b..de29d3b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_resource.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_resource.py
@@ -18,62 +18,60 @@
         try:
             (cur, max) = resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE)
         except AttributeError:
-            pass
-        else:
-            # RLIMIT_FSIZE should be RLIM_INFINITY, which will be a really big
-            # number on a platform with large file support.  On these platforms,
-            # we need to test that the get/setrlimit functions properly convert
-            # the number to a C long long and that the conversion doesn't raise
-            # an error.
-            self.assertEqual(resource.RLIM_INFINITY, max)
-            resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (cur, max))
+            self.skipTest('RLIMIT_FSIZE not available')
+        # RLIMIT_FSIZE should be RLIM_INFINITY, which will be a really big
+        # number on a platform with large file support.  On these platforms,
+        # we need to test that the get/setrlimit functions properly convert
+        # the number to a C long long and that the conversion doesn't raise
+        # an error.
+        self.assertEqual(resource.RLIM_INFINITY, max)
+        resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (cur, max))
 
     def test_fsize_enforced(self):
         try:
             (cur, max) = resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE)
         except AttributeError:
-            pass
-        else:
-            # Check to see what happens when the RLIMIT_FSIZE is small.  Some
-            # versions of Python were terminated by an uncaught SIGXFSZ, but
-            # pythonrun.c has been fixed to ignore that exception.  If so, the
-            # write() should return EFBIG when the limit is exceeded.
+            self.skipTest('RLIMIT_FSIZE not available')
+        # Check to see what happens when the RLIMIT_FSIZE is small.  Some
+        # versions of Python were terminated by an uncaught SIGXFSZ, but
+        # pythonrun.c has been fixed to ignore that exception.  If so, the
+        # write() should return EFBIG when the limit is exceeded.
 
-            # At least one platform has an unlimited RLIMIT_FSIZE and attempts
-            # to change it raise ValueError instead.
+        # At least one platform has an unlimited RLIMIT_FSIZE and attempts
+        # to change it raise ValueError instead.
+        try:
             try:
+                resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (1024, max))
+                limit_set = True
+            except ValueError:
+                limit_set = False
+            f = open(test_support.TESTFN, "wb")
+            try:
+                f.write("X" * 1024)
                 try:
-                    resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (1024, max))
-                    limit_set = True
-                except ValueError:
-                    limit_set = False
-                f = open(test_support.TESTFN, "wb")
-                try:
-                    f.write("X" * 1024)
-                    try:
-                        f.write("Y")
+                    f.write("Y")
+                    f.flush()
+                    # On some systems (e.g., Ubuntu on hppa) the flush()
+                    # doesn't always cause the exception, but the close()
+                    # does eventually.  Try flushing several times in
+                    # an attempt to ensure the file is really synced and
+                    # the exception raised.
+                    for i in range(5):
+                        time.sleep(.1)
                         f.flush()
-                        # On some systems (e.g., Ubuntu on hppa) the flush()
-                        # doesn't always cause the exception, but the close()
-                        # does eventually.  Try flushing several times in
-                        # an attempt to ensure the file is really synced and
-                        # the exception raised.
-                        for i in range(5):
-                            time.sleep(.1)
-                            f.flush()
-                    except IOError:
-                        if not limit_set:
-                            raise
-                    if limit_set:
-                        # Close will attempt to flush the byte we wrote
-                        # Restore limit first to avoid getting a spurious error
-                        resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (cur, max))
-                finally:
-                    f.close()
-            finally:
+                except IOError:
+                    if not limit_set:
+                        raise
                 if limit_set:
+                    # Close will attempt to flush the byte we wrote
+                    # Restore limit first to avoid getting a spurious error
                     resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (cur, max))
-                test_support.unlink(test_support.TESTFN)
+            finally:
+                f.close()
+        finally:
+            if limit_set:
+                resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (cur, max))
+            test_support.unlink(test_support.TESTFN)
 
     def test_fsize_toobig(self):
         # Be sure that setrlimit is checking for really large values
@@ -81,16 +79,15 @@
         try:
             (cur, max) = resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE)
         except AttributeError:
+            self.skipTest('RLIMIT_FSIZE not available')
+        try:
+            resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (too_big, max))
+        except (OverflowError, ValueError):
             pass
-        else:
-            try:
-                resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (too_big, max))
-            except (OverflowError, ValueError):
-                pass
-            try:
-                resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (max, too_big))
-            except (OverflowError, ValueError):
-                pass
+        try:
+            resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_FSIZE, (max, too_big))
+        except (OverflowError, ValueError):
+            pass
 
     def test_getrusage(self):
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, resource.getrusage)
@@ -108,17 +105,16 @@
         try:
             limits = resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_CPU)
         except AttributeError:
-            pass
-        else:
-            class BadSequence:
-                def __len__(self):
-                    return 2
-                def __getitem__(self, key):
-                    if key in (0, 1):
-                        return len(tuple(range(1000000)))
-                    raise IndexError
+            self.skipTest('RLIMIT_CPU not available')
+        class BadSequence:
+            def __len__(self):
+                return 2
+            def __getitem__(self, key):
+                if key in (0, 1):
+                    return len(tuple(range(1000000)))
+                raise IndexError
 
-            resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_CPU, BadSequence())
+        resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_CPU, BadSequence())
 
 def test_main(verbose=None):
     test_support.run_unittest(ResourceTest)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
index 8f1abd8..8160f41 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
@@ -651,16 +651,14 @@
     def test_move_file_other_fs(self):
         # Move a file to an existing dir on another filesystem.
         if not self.dir_other_fs:
-            # skip
-            return
+            self.skipTest('dir on other filesystem not available')
         self._check_move_file(self.src_file, self.file_other_fs,
             self.file_other_fs)
 
     def test_move_file_to_dir_other_fs(self):
         # Move a file to another location on another filesystem.
         if not self.dir_other_fs:
-            # skip
-            return
+            self.skipTest('dir on other filesystem not available')
         self._check_move_file(self.src_file, self.dir_other_fs,
             self.file_other_fs)
 
@@ -678,8 +676,7 @@
     def test_move_dir_other_fs(self):
         # Move a dir to another location on another filesystem.
         if not self.dir_other_fs:
-            # skip
-            return
+            self.skipTest('dir on other filesystem not available')
         dst_dir = tempfile.mktemp(dir=self.dir_other_fs)
         try:
             self._check_move_dir(self.src_dir, dst_dir, dst_dir)
@@ -697,8 +694,7 @@
     def test_move_dir_to_dir_other_fs(self):
         # Move a dir inside an existing dir on another filesystem.
         if not self.dir_other_fs:
-            # skip
-            return
+            self.skipTest('dir on other filesystem not available')
         self._check_move_dir(self.src_dir, self.dir_other_fs,
             os.path.join(self.dir_other_fs, os.path.basename(self.src_dir)))
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_site.py b/Lib/test/test_site.py
index f4b5fc6..0898449 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_site.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_site.py
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@
             self.assertNotIn(path, seen_paths)
             seen_paths.add(path)
 
+    @unittest.skip('test not implemented')
     def test_add_build_dir(self):
         # Test that the build directory's Modules directory is used when it
         # should be.
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_socket.py b/Lib/test/test_socket.py
index 53c8b2f..4a60be3 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_socket.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_socket.py
@@ -331,13 +331,13 @@
             ip = socket.gethostbyname(hostname)
         except socket.error:
             # Probably name lookup wasn't set up right; skip this test
-            return
+            self.skipTest('name lookup failure')
         self.assertTrue(ip.find('.') >= 0, "Error resolving host to ip.")
         try:
             hname, aliases, ipaddrs = socket.gethostbyaddr(ip)
         except socket.error:
             # Probably a similar problem as above; skip this test
-            return
+            self.skipTest('address lookup failure')
         all_host_names = [hostname, hname] + aliases
         fqhn = socket.getfqdn(ip)
         if not fqhn in all_host_names:
@@ -491,9 +491,9 @@
         try:
             from socket import inet_pton, AF_INET6, has_ipv6
             if not has_ipv6:
-                return
+                self.skipTest('IPv6 not available')
         except ImportError:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('could not import needed symbols from socket')
         f = lambda a: inet_pton(AF_INET6, a)
 
         self.assertEqual('\x00' * 16, f('::'))
@@ -525,9 +525,9 @@
         try:
             from socket import inet_ntop, AF_INET6, has_ipv6
             if not has_ipv6:
-                return
+                self.skipTest('IPv6 not available')
         except ImportError:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('could not import needed symbols from socket')
         f = lambda a: inet_ntop(AF_INET6, a)
 
         self.assertEqual('::', f('\x00' * 16))
@@ -567,7 +567,7 @@
             my_ip_addr = socket.gethostbyname(socket.gethostname())
         except socket.error:
             # Probably name lookup wasn't set up right; skip this test
-            return
+            self.skipTest('name lookup failure')
         self.assertIn(name[0], ("0.0.0.0", my_ip_addr), '%s invalid' % name[0])
         self.assertEqual(name[1], port)
 
@@ -786,10 +786,10 @@
         big_chunk = 'f' * 2048
         self.serv_conn.sendall(big_chunk)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(socket, 'fromfd'),
+                         'socket.fromfd not availble')
     def testFromFd(self):
         # Testing fromfd()
-        if not hasattr(socket, "fromfd"):
-            return # On Windows, this doesn't exist
         fd = self.cli_conn.fileno()
         sock = socket.fromfd(fd, socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
         self.addCleanup(sock.close)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_ssl.py b/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
index 9c33c8f..6723865 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
@@ -192,9 +192,8 @@
         self.assertTrue(s.startswith("OpenSSL {:d}.{:d}.{:d}".format(major, minor, fix)),
                         (s, t))
 
+    @test_support.requires_resource('network')
     def test_ciphers(self):
-        if not test_support.is_resource_enabled('network'):
-            return
         remote = ("svn.python.org", 443)
         with test_support.transient_internet(remote[0]):
             s = ssl.wrap_socket(socket.socket(socket.AF_INET),
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_str.py b/Lib/test/test_str.py
index eb704ea..2cd7966 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_str.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_str.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-
+import unittest
 import struct
 import sys
 from test import test_support, string_tests
@@ -110,12 +110,12 @@
         self.assertEqual(str(Foo9("foo")), "string")
         self.assertEqual(unicode(Foo9("foo")), u"not unicode")
 
+    # This test only affects 32-bit platforms because expandtabs can only take
+    # an int as the max value, not a 64-bit C long.  If expandtabs is changed
+    # to take a 64-bit long, this test should apply to all platforms.
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.maxint > (1 << 32) or struct.calcsize('P') != 4,
+                     'only applies to 32-bit platforms')
     def test_expandtabs_overflows_gracefully(self):
-        # This test only affects 32-bit platforms because expandtabs can only take
-        # an int as the max value, not a 64-bit C long.  If expandtabs is changed
-        # to take a 64-bit long, this test should apply to all platforms.
-        if sys.maxint > (1 << 32) or struct.calcsize('P') != 4:
-            return
         self.assertRaises(OverflowError, 't\tt\t'.expandtabs, sys.maxint)
 
     def test__format__(self):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_strptime.py b/Lib/test/test_strptime.py
index 58e4309..66b9ab3 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_strptime.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_strptime.py
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@
         # when time.tzname[0] == time.tzname[1] and time.daylight
         tz_name = time.tzname[0]
         if tz_name.upper() in ("UTC", "GMT"):
-            return
+            self.skipTest('need non-UTC/GMT timezone')
         try:
             original_tzname = time.tzname
             original_daylight = time.daylight
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@
         try:
             locale.setlocale(locale.LC_TIME, ('en_US', 'UTF8'))
         except locale.Error:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('test needs en_US.UTF8 locale')
         try:
             _strptime._strptime_time('10', '%d')
             # Get id of current cache object.
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@
             # If this is the case just suppress the exception and fall-through
             # to the resetting to the original locale.
             except locale.Error:
-                pass
+                self.skipTest('test needs de_DE.UTF8 locale')
         # Make sure we don't trample on the locale setting once we leave the
         # test.
         finally:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py b/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
index 69d342a..d3ad707 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_tarfile.py
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
     def test_fail_comp(self):
         # For Gzip and Bz2 Tests: fail with a ReadError on an uncompressed file.
         if self.mode == "r:":
-            return
+            self.skipTest('needs a gz or bz2 mode')
         self.assertRaises(tarfile.ReadError, tarfile.open, tarname, self.mode)
         fobj = open(tarname, "rb")
         self.assertRaises(tarfile.ReadError, tarfile.open, fileobj=fobj, mode=self.mode)
@@ -446,14 +446,12 @@
     def test_detect_fileobj(self):
         self._test_modes(self._testfunc_fileobj)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(bz2, 'requires bz2')
     def test_detect_stream_bz2(self):
         # Originally, tarfile's stream detection looked for the string
         # "BZh91" at the start of the file. This is incorrect because
         # the '9' represents the blocksize (900kB). If the file was
         # compressed using another blocksize autodetection fails.
-        if not bz2:
-            return
-
         with open(tarname, "rb") as fobj:
             data = fobj.read()
 
@@ -982,12 +980,11 @@
         self.assertTrue(data.count("\0") == tarfile.RECORDSIZE,
                          "incorrect zero padding")
 
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform == 'win32', 'not appropriate for Windows')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(os, 'umask'), 'requires os.umask')
     def test_file_mode(self):
         # Test for issue #8464: Create files with correct
         # permissions.
-        if sys.platform == "win32" or not hasattr(os, "umask"):
-            return
-
         if os.path.exists(tmpname):
             os.remove(tmpname)
 
@@ -1360,15 +1357,13 @@
         self._add_testfile()
         self._test(names=["foo", "bar"])
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(gzip, 'requires gzip')
     def test_append_gz(self):
-        if gzip is None:
-            return
         self._create_testtar("w:gz")
         self.assertRaises(tarfile.ReadError, tarfile.open, tmpname, "a")
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(bz2, 'requires bz2')
     def test_append_bz2(self):
-        if bz2 is None:
-            return
         self._create_testtar("w:bz2")
         self.assertRaises(tarfile.ReadError, tarfile.open, tmpname, "a")
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_telnetlib.py b/Lib/test/test_telnetlib.py
index a5ed34b..6c122d7 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_telnetlib.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_telnetlib.py
@@ -177,7 +177,6 @@
         self.dataq.join()
         data = telnet.read_all()
         self.assertEqual(data, ''.join(want[:-1]))
-        return
 
     def _test_blocking(self, func):
         self.dataq.put([self.block_long, EOF_sigil])
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_tempfile.py b/Lib/test/test_tempfile.py
index 011e7d0..40f70c0 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_tempfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_tempfile.py
@@ -342,10 +342,9 @@
         finally:
             os.rmdir(dir)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(has_stat, 'os.stat not available')
     def test_file_mode(self):
         # _mkstemp_inner creates files with the proper mode
-        if not has_stat:
-            return            # ugh, can't use SkipTest.
 
         file = self.do_create()
         mode = stat.S_IMODE(os.stat(file.name).st_mode)
@@ -357,10 +356,9 @@
             expected = user * (1 + 8 + 64)
         self.assertEqual(mode, expected)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(has_spawnl, 'os.spawnl not available')
     def test_noinherit(self):
         # _mkstemp_inner file handles are not inherited by child processes
-        if not has_spawnl:
-            return            # ugh, can't use SkipTest.
 
         if support.verbose:
             v="v"
@@ -395,10 +393,9 @@
                     "child process caught fatal signal %d" % -retval)
         self.assertFalse(retval > 0, "child process reports failure %d"%retval)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(has_textmode, "text mode not available")
     def test_textmode(self):
         # _mkstemp_inner can create files in text mode
-        if not has_textmode:
-            return            # ugh, can't use SkipTest.
 
         self.do_create(bin=0).write("blat\n")
         # XXX should test that the file really is a text file
@@ -590,10 +587,9 @@
         finally:
             os.rmdir(dir)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(has_stat, 'os.stat not available')
     def test_mode(self):
         # mkdtemp creates directories with the proper mode
-        if not has_stat:
-            return            # ugh, can't use SkipTest.
 
         dir = self.do_create()
         try:
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_thread.py b/Lib/test/test_thread.py
index 413889a..b056039 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_thread.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_thread.py
@@ -70,39 +70,35 @@
         thread.stack_size(0)
         self.assertEqual(thread.stack_size(), 0, "stack_size not reset to default")
 
-        if os.name not in ("nt", "os2", "posix"):
-            return
-
-        tss_supported = True
+    @unittest.skipIf(os.name not in ("nt", "os2", "posix"), 'test meant for nt, os2, and posix')
+    def test_nt_and_posix_stack_size(self):
         try:
             thread.stack_size(4096)
         except ValueError:
             verbose_print("caught expected ValueError setting "
                             "stack_size(4096)")
         except thread.error:
-            tss_supported = False
-            verbose_print("platform does not support changing thread stack "
-                            "size")
+            self.skipTest("platform does not support changing thread stack "
+                          "size")
 
-        if tss_supported:
-            fail_msg = "stack_size(%d) failed - should succeed"
-            for tss in (262144, 0x100000, 0):
-                thread.stack_size(tss)
-                self.assertEqual(thread.stack_size(), tss, fail_msg % tss)
-                verbose_print("successfully set stack_size(%d)" % tss)
+        fail_msg = "stack_size(%d) failed - should succeed"
+        for tss in (262144, 0x100000, 0):
+            thread.stack_size(tss)
+            self.assertEqual(thread.stack_size(), tss, fail_msg % tss)
+            verbose_print("successfully set stack_size(%d)" % tss)
 
-            for tss in (262144, 0x100000):
-                verbose_print("trying stack_size = (%d)" % tss)
-                self.next_ident = 0
-                self.created = 0
-                for i in range(NUMTASKS):
-                    self.newtask()
+        for tss in (262144, 0x100000):
+            verbose_print("trying stack_size = (%d)" % tss)
+            self.next_ident = 0
+            self.created = 0
+            for i in range(NUMTASKS):
+                self.newtask()
 
-                verbose_print("waiting for all tasks to complete")
-                self.done_mutex.acquire()
-                verbose_print("all tasks done")
+            verbose_print("waiting for all tasks to complete")
+            self.done_mutex.acquire()
+            verbose_print("all tasks done")
 
-            thread.stack_size(0)
+        thread.stack_size(0)
 
     def test__count(self):
         # Test the _count() function.
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_threading.py b/Lib/test/test_threading.py
index ac0b4bc..71f84f6 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_threading.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_threading.py
@@ -125,9 +125,7 @@
         try:
             threading.stack_size(262144)
         except thread.error:
-            if verbose:
-                print 'platform does not support changing thread stack size'
-            return
+            self.skipTest('platform does not support changing thread stack size')
         self.test_various_ops()
         threading.stack_size(0)
 
@@ -138,9 +136,7 @@
         try:
             threading.stack_size(0x100000)
         except thread.error:
-            if verbose:
-                print 'platform does not support changing thread stack size'
-            return
+            self.skipTest('platform does not support changing thread stack size')
         self.test_various_ops()
         threading.stack_size(0)
 
@@ -167,9 +163,7 @@
         try:
             import ctypes
         except ImportError:
-            if verbose:
-                print "test_PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc can't import ctypes"
-            return  # can't do anything
+            self.skipTest('requires ctypes')
 
         set_async_exc = ctypes.pythonapi.PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc
 
@@ -275,9 +269,7 @@
         try:
             import ctypes
         except ImportError:
-            if verbose:
-                print("test_finalize_with_runnning_thread can't import ctypes")
-            return  # can't do anything
+            self.skipTest('requires ctypes')
 
         rc = subprocess.call([sys.executable, "-c", """if 1:
             import ctypes, sys, time, thread
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_timeout.py b/Lib/test/test_timeout.py
index 4bc125e..bb9252d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_timeout.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_timeout.py
@@ -178,16 +178,19 @@
                      "timeout (%g) is %g seconds more than expected (%g)"
                      %(_delta, self.fuzz, _timeout))
 
+    @unittest.skip('test not implemented')
     def testSend(self):
         # Test send() timeout
         # couldn't figure out how to test it
         pass
 
+    @unittest.skip('test not implemented')
     def testSendto(self):
         # Test sendto() timeout
         # couldn't figure out how to test it
         pass
 
+    @unittest.skip('test not implemented')
     def testSendall(self):
         # Test sendall() timeout
         # couldn't figure out how to test it
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_unicode.py b/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
index 925d25a..cbdaddd 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
@@ -1278,12 +1278,12 @@
         self.assertEqual(repr(s1()), '\\n')
         self.assertEqual(repr(s2()), '\\n')
 
+    # This test only affects 32-bit platforms because expandtabs can only take
+    # an int as the max value, not a 64-bit C long.  If expandtabs is changed
+    # to take a 64-bit long, this test should apply to all platforms.
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.maxint > (1 << 32) or struct.calcsize('P') != 4,
+                     'only applies to 32-bit platforms')
     def test_expandtabs_overflows_gracefully(self):
-        # This test only affects 32-bit platforms because expandtabs can only take
-        # an int as the max value, not a 64-bit C long.  If expandtabs is changed
-        # to take a 64-bit long, this test should apply to all platforms.
-        if sys.maxint > (1 << 32) or struct.calcsize('P') != 4:
-            return
         self.assertRaises(OverflowError, u't\tt\t'.expandtabs, sys.maxint)
 
     def test__format__(self):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_urllibnet.py b/Lib/test/test_urllibnet.py
index 1d88331..4ce7a9b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_urllibnet.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_urllibnet.py
@@ -112,12 +112,9 @@
             open_url.close()
         self.assertEqual(code, 404)
 
+    @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform in ('win32',), 'not appropriate for Windows')
+    @unittest.skipUnless(hasattr(os, 'fdopen'), 'os.fdopen not available')
     def test_fileno(self):
-        if (sys.platform in ('win32',) or
-                not hasattr(os, 'fdopen')):
-            # On Windows, socket handles are not file descriptors; this
-            # test can't pass on Windows.
-            return
         # Make sure fd returned by fileno is valid.
         open_url = self.urlopen("http://www.python.org/")
         fd = open_url.fileno()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_warnings.py b/Lib/test/test_warnings.py
index e4850a4..a770ba2 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_warnings.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_warnings.py
@@ -668,7 +668,7 @@
         # Explicit tests for the test_support convenience wrapper
         wmod = self.module
         if wmod is not sys.modules['warnings']:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('module to test is not loaded warnings module')
         with test_support.check_warnings(quiet=False) as w:
             self.assertEqual(w.warnings, [])
             wmod.simplefilter("always")
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_xmlrpc.py b/Lib/test/test_xmlrpc.py
index 8e65fde..09235fd 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_xmlrpc.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_xmlrpc.py
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@
     threading = None
 
 try:
+    import gzip
+except ImportError:
+    gzip = None
+
+try:
     unicode
 except NameError:
     have_unicode = False
@@ -681,6 +686,7 @@
 
 #A test case that verifies that gzip encoding works in both directions
 #(for a request and the response)
+@unittest.skipUnless(gzip, 'gzip not available')
 class GzipServerTestCase(BaseServerTestCase):
     #a request handler that supports keep-alive and logs requests into a
     #class variable
@@ -1011,11 +1017,7 @@
     xmlrpc_tests.append(SimpleServerTestCase)
     xmlrpc_tests.append(KeepaliveServerTestCase1)
     xmlrpc_tests.append(KeepaliveServerTestCase2)
-    try:
-        import gzip
-        xmlrpc_tests.append(GzipServerTestCase)
-    except ImportError:
-        pass #gzip not supported in this build
+    xmlrpc_tests.append(GzipServerTestCase)
     xmlrpc_tests.append(MultiPathServerTestCase)
     xmlrpc_tests.append(ServerProxyTestCase)
     xmlrpc_tests.append(FailingServerTestCase)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py b/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
index a66738a..bb91c63 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipimport.py
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@
         # so we'll simply skip it then. Bug #765456.
         #
         if "zlib" in sys.builtin_module_names:
-            return
+            self.skipTest('zlib is a builtin module')
         if "zlib" in sys.modules:
             del sys.modules["zlib"]
         files = {"zlib.py": (NOW, test_src)}