阅读理解。
In the United States, when you become rich you want people to know about it. And even if you do
not become very rich you want people to think that you are. 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 the 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 the rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seemed 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 from the story that rich people like to _______.
A. live outside New York City
B. live in New York City
C. live in apartmentsD. 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. The best title for this passage probably is _______.
A. The secret lives of the rich
B. How New Yorkers behave
C. Why being rich is never enough
D. The funny side of being rich
