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 express0ion 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 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 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 throughout 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 look like their neighbors
( ) 2. It can be inferred 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. live with many neighbors
( ) 3. Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because at
that time “Jones” is in the United States.
A. an important name B. a popular name
C. his neighbor’s name D. not a good name
( ) 4. According to Arthur Momand’s story, which of the following is Not True ?
A. Arthur Momand earned a lot of money every week.
B. Arthur Momand hired a servant and gave big parties.
C. Arthur Momand moved back to a flat in New York City.
D. Arthur Momand married a wealthy wife in the neighborhood.
( ) 5. According to the last sentence underlined, what’s the writer’s attitude towards
“keeping up with the Joneses” ?
A. It is very common to keep up with the Joneses.
B. It is very easy to keep up with the Joneses.
C. It is difficult to always keep up with the Joneses.
D. It is never too tired to keep up with the Joneses.
1B 2A 3B 4D 5C
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