文章大意:本文是一篇记叙文。英国67岁的Joyce Faulkner在她丈夫死后在网上搜寻换房式的度假旅游, 结果却找到了一份在意大利照看小孩的工作。尽管年事已高, 但她对生活依然充满激情, 生活又有了新的开始。
At 67, Joyce Faulkner thought she was looking for a holiday. Her husband, Jim, had recently died and exploring possible house swaps on the Home Exchange website felt less painful. In the end, it was not a vacation Faulkner found but a job. She left her home in Edinburgh to become mother’s help to seven-year-old twins in Varese, Italy.
“It’s halfway crazy,” she says. A house swap she was interested in didn’t work out, but the owner, Rachele, asked: “‘Do you know anyone who might help me with the children?’ I wrote back and said: ‘Tell me what that involves!’ She wrote me a little list, and I said: ‘I could do that!’ We seemed to believe in each other.”
Two months later, when Faulkner reached Varese, “the dad, Andrea, was walking towards me with the children hiding behind his legs, kind of shy, thinking: ‘Who is this woman in a long black coat?’ I don’t think it was quite Mary Poppins, but the atmosphere was immediately warm and friendly.”
Eighteen months on, Faulkner’s job no longer feels like a job. “I just feel like part of the family.” They joke: “You think you’re going back to Scotland? No, you’re staying here!” She gives English lessons, helps with the housework, meets the children from school, plays chess or table tennis with them, and takes them to the park. “It never feels like work,” she says. “It has been absolutely the perfect match.” Faulkner’s son, Steven, who lives in London, has visited her and they have cycled around the northern Italian lakes. She feels no more distant than when she lived in Edinburgh.
“You have to take the opportunity when it presents itself,” Jim once said.
“I’ll be 70 in January, but in my head, I’m 30. I still feel the same person, I have the same enthusiasm for life, the same interest in people and things. In that sense, I wish I had another 70,” Faulkner jokes.
19. Why did Joyce Faulkner search the Home Exchange website?
A.To hunt for a job. | B.To buy a house in Italy. |
C.To explore holiday resorts. | D.To find a holiday home for exchange. |
20. What probably caused Faulkner to be hired by Rachele?
A.Good luck. | B.Mutal trust. |
C.Common interests. | D.First impression. |
21. What can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4?
A.Faulkner feels less close to her son |
B.Faulkner feels quite at home while babysitting in Italy. |
C.Faulkner returned to her old business despite her advanced years. |
D.Faulkner was thought of as a typical baby-sitter at the first meeting. |
22. Which of the following can best describe Joyce Faulkner?
A.Caring and outgoing. | B.Strict and responsible. |
C.Devoted and passionate. | D.Humorous and independent. |