Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block. No specific purpose in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat. As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become.
When I was a kid in the New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine. Most stores were closed and almost nobody worked. My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek.
The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly. It was the repetition to church, our reward for and hour of devotion, and opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there were no chores that couldn’t wait until Monday. Sunday was, indeed, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else.
Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to consider that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association. In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visit someone else’s home on Sunday. But now the question is, “What do you plan to Do this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall to participating in a road to jetting to Montreal for lunch. If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such and answer would feel strange, an echo from another era.
I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land tight relationships. Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural cast(特质)still harbors at least remnants(剩余部分)of the ethic of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries(反复无常的情况)and a challenging environment.
【小题1】The writer’s general impression of the Sunday in the past was a day when_________.

A.everyone would pay a visit to some relative far away
B.everyone seemed to be free and could have some leisure
C.Dad was not at work while Mom was busy cleaning the house
D.nearly every adult would go to church and children were not at school
【小题2】What can we learn from the underlined sentence in paragraph 4?
A.People nowadays prefer staying at home on Sunday
B.People in the city dislike being disturbed on Sunday
C.Such answers are rarely heard in our modern society
D.Visiting someone on Sunday might take a lot of time
【小题3】From the last paragraph we may infer that people in Maine____________.
A.suffer more from economic depression and the changed environment
B.have abandoned their tradition and lived an absolute new life
C.have tense relationships with each other
D.always help each other when they are in need
【小题4】What is the writer’s attitude towards the Sunday today?
A.UnsatisfiedB.confusedC.RespectfulD.Thankful


Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block. No specific purpose in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat. As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become.
When I was a kid in the New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine. Most stores were closed, almost nobody worked, and the highways, as a result, were not the desperate steeplechases(障碍赛跑) they have become today. My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother—the same house my father was raised in, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek.
The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly. It was the repetition to church, our reward for an hour of devotion, an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there were no chores that couldn’t wait until Monday. Sunday was, indeed, different from all the other days of the week, because everyone seemed to be on the same schedule, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else.
Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to consider that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association. In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visiting someone else’s home on Sunday. But now the question is, “What do you plan to DO this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall to participating in a road race to jetting to Montreal for lunch. If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such an answer would feel sepia-toned, an echo from another era.
I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land and tight relationships. Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural cast(特质)still harbors at least remnants of the ethic of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries(反复无常的情况)and a challenging environment.
63.The writer’s general impression of the Sunday in the past was a day when _______.
A. everyone was paying a visit to some relative far away
B. everyone seemed to be free and could have some leisure
C. Dad was not at work while Mom was busy cleaning the house
D. nearly every adult would go to church and children were not at school
64.In the fourth paragraph, the writer compares the response “I’m making a Sunday visit to family” to an echo from another era because _______.
A. people nowadays prefer staying at home on Sunday
B. such answers are rarely heard in our modern society
C. people in the city dislike being disturbed on Sunday
D. visiting someone on Sunday might take a lot of time
65.From the last paragraph we may infer that _______.
A. people in Maine suffer more from economic depression and the changed environment
B. people in Maine has abandoned their tradition and lived an absolute new life
C. land in Maine is short, thus the relationship between people is tense
D. people in Maine always help each other when they are in need
66.Which word we may use to describe the writer’s attitude towards the Sunday today?
A. Unsatisfied.          B. Anxious.          C. Treasured.          D. Teased.                 

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career.

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.

I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.

One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.

Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.

1.What is the author’s present job?

A.Working part-time in a college.

B.Taking care of children for a family.

C.Helping children with their schoolwork.

D.Looking after children at a kindergarten.

2.When staying with the two girls’ family, the author ________.

A.was paid for extra work

B.often worked long hours

C.got much help from her boss

D.took a day off every other week

3.Why did the author leave her first job?

A.She found a full-time job.

B.She was fed up with children.

C.She decided to attend a part-time course.

D.She needed a rest after working extra hours.

4.What has the author learned from her own experiences?

A.Less successful students can still have a career.

B.Qualifications are necessary for a career.

C.Hard work makes an excellent student.

D.One must choose the job she like.

 

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