(A) In Chinese families in new Hong Kong, both wife and husband usually work outside the home. (B) Yet, they still preserve traditional roles within their family. (C) The wife will usually see to the meals and cleaning, and the children are her special concern. (D) In contrast, the husband makes the major decisions, such as what schools the children will attend and what family investments should be made. (E) Thus, the Hong Kong family combines both old and new in its lifestyle.
(A) I excitedly began my stay in Rome at an international airport. (B) However, my first day in Italy was traumatic. (C) As I left the plane, I saw many signs in Italian, only a few of which made sense. (D) I followed a mob to the Baggage Claim, and waited until the carousel stopped, but I didn't see my luggage. (E) My bags had been mistakenly delivered to the Lost and Found Office. (F) After hours of waiting, I got through Customs, and I was really relieved to see my friend Angela, who took me to her home.
(A) When I was a kid, we used to make what we called "pie a la mud." (B) It wasn't a complicated process, but nonetheless, it took patience and a keen sense of backyard etiquette. (C) Mud, of course, was the main ingredient. (D) We carefully squashed the mud into mom's pie pan and let it dry in the hot afternoon sun. (E) Once the texture was acceptable, we carefully removed the marvelous cuisine and covered it with garlic and salt and grade A gravel. (F) What an afternoon snack!
(A) George's nose made an impression that you never forgot. (B) I don't mean he stuck it in the butter or the pudding, but considering how big it was, it's hard to see how he didn't. (C) For George had a nose that made other noses look tiny and inadequate. (D) His nose could have been a ship's prow. (E) When he ran, his nose ran interference. (F) It parted the air and the indifference before him. (G) It was magnificent.
(A) Two days ago, I experienced one of the most terrible days of my life. (B) Early in the morning my car wouldn't start, so I was late to work. (C) Later that day, around lunch time, I lost my briefcase. (D) Then that evening at dinner, my dog decided to join the Foreign Legion. (E) I think I'll move to the South Pole.
(A) All night, especially after our
campfire went out, the stars brightened, packed together, erupted in
hard, bright light that was white and sometimes blue and even red. (B)
Finally toward dawn, the sky began to lose its stars. (C) Then the lip
of the sky paled. (D) Next the surrounding peaks of the mountains
whitened and then dissoved into roses. (E) At last, slowly, the sun
goldened everything. (F) Dawn in the Sierras was almost a religious
experience.
(A) The food service on this campus is pretty terrible. (B) The cafeteria is always crowded. (C) There is not much of a choice of food. (D) It's the same old eggs for breakfast and hamburgers for lunch and dinner. (E) They never have rice dishes or pasta. (F) Finally, and worst of all, everything tastes the same. (G) The soup tastes like the potatoes, which taste like the cakes. (H) It's too bad there's nowhere else to eat on campus.
(A) When I bought a car, I thought my problems in getting to school were over. (B) However, the first thing I discovered was that a parking permit costs almost as much as a year's bus fare. (C) Then I found out that I had to leave home 10 minutes earlier so that I could find a parking place. (D) Next, my car broke down just when I had no money to fix it, so I had to sell it at a loss. (E) Now I'm sure that buying a car doesn't solve the problem of getting to school; instead, it only creates new problems.