In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someonewho tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called ArthurMomand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at theage of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved withhis wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw thatrich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he sawthat rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gavebig parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one wasalways trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they couldno longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment(公寓房间)in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just tokeep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of itand started to write a series (系列) of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping upwith the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of thepeople around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across thecountry for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And thereare ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying tokeep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seemsto be ahead.
1. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
A. want to be as rich as their neighbours
B. want others to know or to think that they are rich
C. don’t want others to know they are rich
D. want to be happy
2. It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
A. live outside New York City B. live in New York City
C. live in apartments D. have many neighbours
3. The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means________.
A. a person who lives near another B. people living in an area
C. an area near the place referred to D. an area in another town orcity
4. Arthur Momand used the name ‘Jones’ in his series of short storiesbecause’ Jones’ is ________.
A. an important name B. a popular name in the United States
C. his neighbour’s name D. not a good name
5. According to the writer, it is to keep up with the Joneses.
A. correct B. interesting C. impossible D. good
Surviving Hurricane Sandy(飓风桑迪)
Natalie Doan,14, has always felt lucky to live in Rockaway, New ng just a few blocks from the beach, Natalie can see the ocean and hear thewaves from her house. “It’s the ocean that makes Rockaway so special,” shesays.
On October 29, 20xx, that ocean turned fierce. That night, Hurricane Sandyattacked the East Coast, and Rockaway was hit especially hard. Fortunately,Natalie’s family escaped to Brooklyn shortly before the city’s bridgesclosed.
When they returned to Rockaway the next day, they found their neighborhoodin ruins. Many of Natalie’s friends had lost their homes and were living faraway. All around her, people were suffering, especially the elderly. Natalie’sschool was so damaged that she had to temporarily attend a school inBrooklyn.
In the following few days, the men and women helping Rockaway recoverinspired Natalie. Volunteers came with carloads of donated clothing and hbors devoted their spare time to helping others rebuild. Teenagers climbeddozens of flights of stairs to deliver water and food to elderly people trappedin powerless high-rise buildings.
“My mom tells me that I can’t control what happens to me,” Natalie says.“but I can always choose how I deal with it.”
Natalie’s choice was to help.
She created a website page matching survivors in need with donors whowanted to halp. Natalie posted introduction about a boy named Patrick, who losthis baseball card collecting when his house burned down. Within days, Patrick’scollection was replaced.
In the coming months, her website page helped lots of kids: Christopher,who received a new basketball; Charlie, who got a new keyboard. Natalie alsoworked with other organizations to bring much-need supplies to Rockaway. Herefforts made her a famous person. Last April, she was invited to the White Houseand honored as a Hurricane Sandy Champion of Change.
Today, the scars(创痕)of destruction are still seen in Rockaway, but hope isin the air. The streets are clear, and many homes have been rebuilt. “I can’timagine living anywhere but Rockaway,” Natalie declares. “My neighborhood willbe back, even stronger than before.”
Natalie returned to Rockaway after the hurricane ,she found___ B___.
friends had lost their lives
neighborhood was destroyed
school had moved to Brooklyn
elderly were free from suffering
rding to paragraph4,who inspired Natalie most?( A)
people helping Rockaway rebuild
people trapped in high_rise buildings
volunteers donating money to suevivors
l teenagers bringing clothing to elderly people
did Natalie help the survivors?( D)
gave her toys to other kids
took care of younger children
called on the White House to help
built an information sharing platform
does the story intend to tell us?( A)
le people can make a big difference
B.A friend in need is a friend indeed
or west,home is best
nology is power
Dear Alfred，
I want to tell you how important your help is to my life.
Growing up, I had people telling me I was too slow, though, with an IQ of150 at 17, I’m anything but stupid. The fact was that I was found to haveADIID(注意力缺陷多动障碍). Anxious all the time, I was unable to keep focused for morethan an hour at a time.
However, when something did interest me, I could become absorbed. In highschool, I became curious about the computer, and built my first over, I completed the senior course of Computer Basics, plus five relevantpre-college courses.
While I was exploring my curiosity, my disease got worse. I wanted to go tocollege after high school, but couldn’t . So, I was killing my time at homeuntil June 20xx when I discovered the online computer courses of your trainingcenter.
Since then, I have taken courses like Data Science and AdvancedMathematics. Currently, I’m learning your Probability course. I have hundreds ofprinter paper, covered in self-written notes from your video. This has given mea purpose.
Last year, I spent all my time looking for a job where, without dealingwith the public , I could work alone, but still have a team to talk to. Luckily,I discovered the job—Data Analyst—this month and have been going full steamahead. I want to prove that I can teach myself a respectful profession, withoutgoing to college, and be just as good as, if not better than, mycompetitors.
Thank you. You’ve given me hope that I can follow my heart. For the firsttime, I feel good about myself because I’m doing something, not because someonetold me I was doing good. I feel whole.
This is why you’re saving my life.
Yours,
Tanis
56. why did’t Tanis go to college after high school?( B)
had learned enough about computer science
B. She had more difficulty keeping foucesed
preferred taking online courses
was too slow to learn
57. AS for the working environment,Tains prefers____.( A )
A ing by herself
ing with the public
eting against others
ing with ADHD students
s wrote this letter in order to_____.( C)
ain why she was interested in the computer
e the ideas she had for her profession
C how grateful she was to the center
ribe the courses she had taken so far
学识谷
