In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

    The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

    It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

    Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life—style of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with 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 the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

    People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Joneses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.

A. want to be as rich as their neighbors

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 (推断) 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 neighbors

3.Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.

A. an important name 

B. a popular name in the United States

C. his neighbor’s name 

D. not a good name

4.If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________. 

A. do as the poor persons around him do

B. do everything he likes to do

C. do as his neighbors do

D. do as the rich people around him do

5. According to the writer, it is ___________ to keep up with the Jonese.

A. Good         B. correct         C. interesting            D. impossible

用所给词的适当形式填空

1.The girls sang to the __________________  (accompany)of a piano．

2.Your income must _________________ (declare) on this form．

3.This kind of beauty cream is said to be able __________________ (smooth) away wrinkles．

4.Her remarks were _________________ (embarrass) close to home．

5.Her husband died last year，_________________ (1eave) her and their child behind．

6.With many book ___________________ (buy)，he left bookstore and went home with satisfaction.

7.That task having finished，he went on _______________ (do) what l told him．

8.We can’t depend on him __________________ (assist) finishing the project.

9.She could do nothing but _________________ (wait) at home．

10.The book is said ___________________________ (translate) into several languages．

1. He went to do the experiment ________________________seeing the film yesterday.

2. His mother __________________________his success in the mid-term exam.

3. He always __________________more ______________others but less of himself.

4. Last year his dad ___________________a falling tree while riding, leaving him as an orphan.

Thank God! The hard work is _______________________.

 Bob thought he couldn’t go to the party because he had too much homework, but persuaded by his friends, he went _________.

A. above all         B. in all          C. after all           D. first of all

Most Chinese people these days know what it is like to have an “English teacher”, since almost all pupils study English from their third year. Usually that first English teacher will be a young and lovely lady in primary school. But my first English teacher is no other than my father. Looking back, I can see that, when I was only a little girl, he created an English environment by providing me with flashcards（识字卡），fun English- language toys and even dolls which can sing English songs! My interest in English had certainly been awakened（唤起） when I began to learn English at school. Just imagine, he went a step further and asked me to learn New Concept English by myself! I was confused and even angry. I could not understand why a father could be so strict with his little girl. All the same, he never gave up and he gently insisted that I follow through with his idea. At first, I read stories with tears and I actually hated them because they were too difficult for me. In the end, I came to love the funny stories and, to be honest, my father was always there with a helping hand. I am sure that my English would never have got so far without his support. And that’s why my father is not only my first English teacher but also my lifelong teacher. He is the one who awoke my interest, who gave me confidence and who offered me much needed help.
【小题1】Most pupils in China begin to learn English________.