READINGS

道榮

In the past， a large part of the American diet was made of convenience（方便）foods（or junk foods）such as pizza， cookies， potato chips， hamburgers， and some others. These days however， most Americans are more concerned（擔(dān)心）about what they eat. Junk foods may taste good and may be very convencient， but people now realize that they can cause health problems.

The trouble with junk foods is that they contain too much sugar and fat. Very many Americans suffer from weight problems because they have been eating such foods all their lives and find it difficult to change. For example， many kids drink only soda during the hot summer months while water would be much better. And rather than eating fruit they eat candy. Although this is less common than in the past many young Americans still learn eating habits that may cause them serious health problems in their later lives.

An old woman walked into a clothes shop. She asked the salesgirl to let her have a look at a new dress on display， but the girl stood still behind the counter， taking no notice of the request. The old woman spoke to the girl again， raising her voice a bit， but still received no answer. The old woman looked at the girl and nodded to herself：“I am too old to see well. I can？ t even tell a plastic model from a real girl！”

On hearing this the rude salesgirl shouted at the old woman，“What？ Did you call me a plastic model？”The old woman was greatly surprised.“Oh， dear me，”she said，“the model can speak！Then it must be a robot（機(jī)器人）of a new type！”

Christmas is only a few days away. Tom and the other two children of the family are very excited.

Their mother has already made a colorful Christmas tree and a large Christmas cake. Tomorrow she will take them out shopping in the High Street. She is going to buy them new clothes for Christmas.

People usually give each other presents at Christmas. Mr and Mrs Robinson have already bought presents for their children. They will give them their parcels（包裹）on Christmas morning. Tom and Irene have presents for their parents， too. The eldest brother Jimmy is working in another country. They have already sent him a Christmas cart. A few weeks ago， their parents sent Jimmy a parcel so that he would receive before Christmas.

The number of people in the U S who choose not to marry is growing every year. By 2000 about 25 million people over the age of 21 years were living alone. 50 years ago this number was less than 2 million. One reason for this is because people are getting married at a much later age than in the past. The average（平均）age for men is now 27 years. For women it is about 25 years. Another reason is the increase in the number of divorces（離婚）.

Living alone has become more acceptable in American society. In the past people who lived alone were sometimes considered a little strange. These days， however， several of the most popular TV shows tell the story of men and women who cannot meet “the right person”and who plan to remain single forever. Many such single people（especially women）feel that they are more free to pursue（追求）their careers（職業(yè)）than those who are married. In a way these people are married to their jobs， and rather than having children they have careers.

Little George was crying one day， and his dad asked him why.“I？ ve lost 5 pence，” sobbed George.

“Never mind，”said his dad kindly，“Here？ s another 5 pence for you.” At which George howled（大哭）louder than ever.

“Now what is it？”asked his dad.

“I wish I？ d said I lost 10 pence！”