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 neighbours.
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 neighbourhood 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 neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his 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 lifestyle of their neighbours. 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.
【小题1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.

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 neighbours.

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 neighbourhood 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 neighbours.

It was like a race, but one could never finish his 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 lifestyle of their neighbours. 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.

37. 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

38. 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 neighbours

39. 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 neighbour’s name             D. not a good name

40. 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 neighbours do

   D. do as the rich people around him do

Tim was walking alone in the park．He said to himself," If I go on with the diet(节食), I will lose eight kilos by the end of…" BOOM! He ran into a woman．Tim hit his head against hers．

" I’m sorry, miss," said Tim．"I was thinking about something and I didn’t see you! Sheila took off her glasses and said, "It’s OK．Nothing’s broken．I wasn’t watching my way, either．" Suddenly, they stopped to look at each other carefully．

"You’re Tim, Jack’s brother, aren’t you?" asked Sheila．"Yes, how did you know? " " We met on Jack’s farm last week．He had a party, and introduced me to you．Do you remember?" Then they both began to laugh．Sheila’s house was almost across from Tim’s on Krasnova Street of the city．Tim said, "Would you like to have some coffee and hamburgers?" Sheila laughed and answered, "I thought you wanted to continue your diet!" They both laughed on the way to the coffee shop near the park gate．

1．Tim ran into Sheila because he               ．

A．was running too fast                                              B．didn’t notice her

C．was writing his thoughts down                               D．wanted Sheila to see him

2．Where did Sheila live?

A．In the park．                                                        B．In the countryside．

C．In the city．                                                  D．In the coffee shop．

3．Where did Tim first meet Sheila?

A．At the coffee shop．                                      B．In the countryside．

C．On the street．                                                     D．At Jack’s party．

4．Sheila thought Tim’s advice was funny because                       ．

A．Tim should go on with a diet

B．She didn’t like coffee or hamburgers

C．there were no hamburgers in the park

D．Tim was telling an interesting story

5．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Tim went to the park with his friend．

B．Sheila was wearing a pair of glasses．

C．Jack and Tim were on the same street．

D．Tim lost 8 kilos during a week．

1．People go to ________ to see snow sculptures．

A．Jinbao Jie               B．Great wall               C．Mudanjiang City      D．Liaoning City

2．Wild wolves used to live near the Great Wall in around ________．

A．2008                      B．1960                       C．1968                      D．1948

3．For this Christmas，people would like to make Christmas gifts instead of ________．

A．doing Christmas shopping                            B．sending Christmas cards

C．greeting their friends and family members     D．saying“Merry Christmas”

4．If you want to have Shandong seafood，you should go to ________．

A．Xia Nan Guo           B．Jing Ya                    C．Legendale               D．Li Garden

Which pet is the best pet for you? Different pets are good for different people. People who live in the country can have almost any pet. Dogs need a lot space to run, so the country is a good place for them. The country is a good place for cats, rabbits, horses, and birds, too. People who live in the city can also have pets. Cats are happy inside apartments. Birds, fish, and lizards can live in apartments. Dogs can be very happy in apartments as long as they get lots of exercise and clean air. Dogs need to be walked every day. A runner would make a good pet owner. Then the dog could run with its owner.

Cat and dog owners must train their pets. Training takes time. Birds, fish, and lizards are better pets for people who are very busy.

Cats and dogs both need soft beds to sleep on. Birds sleep on a perch in their cages. Lizards and fish need tanks to live in. one thing all animals need is lots of love.

1. pet 宠物   2. almost 几乎    3. space 空间   4. apartment 公寓   5.owner 主人

45. Peter is busy with his work in the city every day, so he may keep the pets like ___.

   A. cats and birds      B. dogs and fish      C. horses and lizards      D. birds and lizards

46. How many kinds of animals are mentioned(提到) in the passage?

   A. Five              B. Six               C. Seven               D. Eight

47. Which sentence is true according to (根据) the passage?

   A. People in the country can have almost any pet

   B. People in the city can only have cats or dogs

   C. People who own cats can’t only have other pets

   D. All the pets need soft beds and lots of love