Passage 3 Behind the phrase, “keeping up with the Joneses”, lies a human story that is found, in one form or another, in every country of the world. In the United States many have been told that anyone can become rich and successful if he works hard and has some good luck. Yes, getting rich creates some problems. 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's what “Keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tries to look as rich and as successful as his neighbors. The expression was first used in 1913 by a struggling young American by the name of Arthur Momand. He told the story about himself: He began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood on Long Island, outside New York City. But just moving there was not enough. For when Momand and his wife saw that their neighbors belonged to a country club they too joined a country club. And when he saw that rich people were expected to ride horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave very grand 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. Momand and his wife could not do that. The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They left their wealthy neighborhood and moved back to an inexpensive New York apartment. Momand later said that his experience had been a cruel awakening for him. Neverthelss, he was able to see the funny side of it. He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors. He decided that this would make a good comic series for newspapers. So in 1913 he started writing one appeared in many papers across the country. 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 people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years. People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read the “right” books, go to the “right” universities and eat in the “right” restaurants. Every city has an area where people want to live because others will think better of them if they do. 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. (530 words) 91. Why do people want to be keeping up with the Joneses?
Passage 3 Behind the phrase, “keeping up with the Joneses”, lies a human story that is found, in one form or another, in every country of the world. In the United States many have been told that anyone can become rich and successful if he works hard and has some good luck. Yes, getting rich creates some problems. 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's what “Keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tries to look as rich and as successful as his neighbors. The expression was first used in 1913 by a struggling young American by the name of Arthur Momand. He told the story about himself: He began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood on Long Island, outside New York City. But just moving there was not enough. For when Momand and his wife saw that their neighbors belonged to a country club they too joined a country club. And when he saw that rich people were expected to ride horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave very grand 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. Momand and his wife could not do that. The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They left their wealthy neighborhood and moved back to an inexpensive New York apartment. Momand later said that his experience had been a cruel awakening for him. Neverthelss, he was able to see the funny side of it. He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors. He decided that this would make a good comic series for newspapers. So in 1913 he started writing one appeared in many papers across the country. 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 people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years. People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read the “right” books, go to the “right” universities and eat in the “right” restaurants. Every city has an area where people want to live because others will think better of them if they do. 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. (530 words) 91. Why do people want to be keeping up with the Joneses?