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| ENGLISH FOR TODAY: Bộ sách giáo khoa dạy tiếng Anh trong nhà trường phổ thông trước 1975, |
Lesson One
Lesson One
In a small town
(Nam Hoà thực hiện các video + tài liệu và đăng trên Youtube)
It’s early morning in
Fairfield. The big clock above the door of the Farmers’ Bank is striking six.
Everybody gets up early in Fairfield. Rain or shine, Tim Brown, the milkman,
delivers the milk soon after five every morning, and Mike Moore throws the
morning papers at the front doors as he rides by on his bicycle. No one needs
an alarm clock in Fairfield.
There are only 800
people in Fairfield, and most of them do the same thing at the same time every
weekday. Every morning, Monday through Friday, just as big clock strikes seven;
old Ben Cook walks past the Farmers’ Bank. He’s on his way to the railroad
station to get ready for the east bound passenger train that comes in at seven
thirty. And just as Ben walks past the bank, Barney Jones unlocks his grocery
store next door and waves to Ben. When Barney waves to Ben, you can set your
watch at seven and you know it’s right.
If you miss Ben and
Barney you can set your watch when Miss Mary Smith unlocks the door of the post
office. You know it’s seven fifty-five. She has five minutes to put away her
boots, hang up her umbrella, and take off her hat and coat. Rain or shine, Miss
Mary Smith brings her boots and umbrella. “You never can tell what the weather
will be like when it’s time to go home,” she always says.
At eight o’clock Miss
Minnie Mason, principal of the Fairfield School, walks past the post office,
waves to Mary, and hurries. Miss Minnie Mason is always on time. By eight
thirty, crowds of children hurry to school. They don’t want to be late. Just
before eight forty-five, the bi yellow school bus drives up Main Street with
children from the nearby farms.
One after another the
stores along Main Street open for the day. The clothing store and the grocery
stores get ready for business. You can smell the fresh bread as you walk by the
bakery. Just as Mr. Fisher unlocks the bank, the clock above the door strikes
nine. Today Doctor Harmon is opening his office next to the bank at the same
time. But he doesn’t always keep regular office hours. If people are very sick,
he visits them at home. Sometimes he has to drive out in the country to a
farmhouse. Once in a while he even stops to talk with friends who aren’t sick
at all. But no one waits long for Doctor Harmon.
At three thirty in the
after noon the westbound passenger train comes in, and the children get out of
school. Soon the yellow school bus drives down Main Street on the way back to
the farms. The children who live in town walk home. On sunny days, they play in
the park or in their own yards. On rainy days, they play in their attics or
basements.
Toward the end of the
afternoon everything begins to close. The bank closes first. Mr. Fisher locks
the bank doors promptly at four o’clock. Miss Mary Smith leaves the post office
an hour after that. A half hour later Barney Jones locks his grocery store, and
Miss Minnie mason leaves school. If the three-thirty train is on time, Ben Cook
walks past the Farmers’ Bank at five thirty. By six o’clock everything is closed
along Main Street except the gas station, the restaurant, and the drugstore. By
six o’clock most people are at home getting ready for dinner.
Saturday is different,
especially in summer. Then most stores stay open all evening and people from
the nearby farms come to town to shop or to visit with their friends. Sometimes
they go to a movie.
But every weekday, Monday through Friday, people go to bed early in Fairfield. The streets are quiet, and the houses are dark when the big clock over the Farmers’ Bank strikes ten o’clock. The small town is getting ready for tomorrow.
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