阅读理解

　　The Marches were a happy family．Poverty, hard work, and even the fact that Father March was away with the Union armies could not down the spirits of Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, and Marmee, as the March girls called their mother．

　　The March sisters tried to be good but had their share of faults．Pretty Meg was often displeased with the school children she taught; boyish Jo was easy to become angry; golden-haired schoolgirl Amy liked to show up; but Beth, who kept the house, was loving and gentle always．

　　The happy days passed and darkness came when a telegram arrived for Mrs．March．“Your husband is very ill, ”it said, “come at once．”The girls tried to be brave when their mother left for the front．They waited and prayed．Little Beth got scarlet fever(猩红热)when she was taking care of a sick neighbor．She became very ill but began to recover by the time Marmee was back．When Father came home from the front and at that joyful Christmas dinner they were once more all together．

　　Three years later the March girls had grown into young womanhood．Meg became Mrs．Brooke, and after a few family troubles got used to her now state happily．Jo had found pleasure in her literary efforts．Amy had grown into a young lady with a talent for design and an even greater one for society．But Beth had never fully regained her health, and her family watched her with love and anxiety．

　　Amy was asked to go and stay in Europe with a relative of the Marches’．Jo went to New York and became successful in her writing and had the satisfaction of seeing her work published there．But at home the bitterest blow was yet to fall．Beth had known for some time that she couldn’t live much longer to be with her family, and in the springtime she died．

　　Now came from Europe that Amy and Laurie, the grandson of a wealthy neighbor, had planned to be married soon．Now Jo became even more successful in her writing and got married to Professor Bhaer, and soon afterwards founded a school for boys．

　　And so the little women had grown up and lived happily with their children, enjoying the harvest of love and goodness that they had devoted all their lives to．

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阅读理解

　　Sterling Room for Writers

　　Location

　　2nd floor, Central Library．

　　Opening hours

　　●Monday：10 a.m．－6 p.m．

　　●Tuesday ＆Wednesday：10 a.m．－8 p.m．

　　●Thursday－Saturday：10 a.m．－6 p.m．

　　●Sunday：noon－5 p.m．

　　Open the same hours as Central Library．

　　Brief Introduction

　　The Sterling Room for Writers was founded through the generosity of Donald Sterling, Jr．and Sis Hayes in honor of their parents Donald and Adelaide Sterling．Donald Sterling was a newspaperman in Portland for 42 years, and managing editor at the Oregon Journal from 1919-1952．Adelaide Sterling, a writer herself, was active in many charitable organizations．The family's goal is to provide writers with space for convenient access to the resources of Central Library．

　　The room's separation from the busy public areas of Central Library creates a relatively quiet place for writing and research．Four large tables provide enough workspace, and connections for laptop computers are available．

　　Application and Admission

　　You may complete an online application form for admission to the Sterling Room for Writers, which is highly recommended for speed and convenience．Printed application forms are also available．Pick one up at Central Library or request one by calling the Central Library director's office at 503.988.5231．You may also mail your request for a printed application form to the Central Library, Central Director's Office, 801 S．W．l0th Ave．, Portland, OR, 97205．

　　The selection of writers for admission to the Sterling Room for Writers is the responsibility of employees of Central Library．Individual applications are reviewed by a panel(专门小组)of library staff members．

　　Once a writer's application is reviewed and accepted, a library representative will contact the writer．Accepted writers must visit the Information Desk on the second floor to receive a room key, which they must return when they leave．

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