at the mercy of the good Lord. Since old Ms. Parker lived so far up that hill, not a lotof traffic drove by us. It had been about fifteen minutes since the last car passed when weheard the rattling and puttering of an old pickup truck as it pulled over to assist us.

　　The Spellman boys ran up on our car like a NASCAR pit crew. Before my mother couldeven protest, they had taken the tire off. "Her spare is flat, " said the middle one to the big one. " Give her ours"replied the big one, barely acknowledging the sacrifice. My mother wasstunned. "I don, t know what to say, "she stammered. The big one said, "Well, the Lord saidlove your neighbor, and we are neighbors, right?

The next day when the Spellman's dogs went through my mother's flower garden, sheput out a bowl of water for them. When she saw the Spellman girls walking out with nothingbut a halter on, she lectured them about being upright ladies and offered them sweaters. Andwhen she heard the Spellman's music through our walls, she tried to dance a little bit. Sheeven invited the Spellmans to be part of the good neighbors committee. Now theneighborhood was a better place.

21. What was the authors mother mad at?

　A. The Spellmans' improper behavior.

　B. The Spellmans'attending church alone.

　C. The Spellmans'constantly asking for help.

　D The Spellmans 'dogs making too much waste.

22. How did the author's mother feel about being helped by the Spellman boys?

　A. Delighted B Concerned. C. Frightened D. Surprised

23. What can we learn from the experience of the author's mother?

　A. Every man has his weak side. B. Doubt is the key to knowledge.

　C. Don't judge a book by its cover. D. Actions speak louder than words

　　Ms. O'grady, the head of Britains Trades Union Congress, issued a challenge onSeptember 10th. "We can win a four-day working week, "she told members. The demand isfar from new. Shorter working weeks have been tried in New Zealand and Sweden, wherein happier, healthier and more motivated employees. Those who work shorterweeks are also reported to be more productive. Should weekends, therefore, be lengthened?

　　France's experience suggests workers may not leap at the chance of working for fewerhours. The government reduced the full-time workers week to 35 hours in 2000. Last yearthe French worked 38.9 hours a week on average, seeming happy to labor above the requiredlevel and pocket the extra pay or holiday allowance.

　　And businesses may not seize the opportunity either. Working less may be linked tohigher productivity (on a per-hour basis), but overall output could still fall because of thesmaller number of hours worked. That will not get governments or employers excited.

Advocates of a four-day week could claim that improving people's quality of life is moreimportant than boosting the economy. In an essay published during The Great Depression,John Maynard Keynes wrote of an"age of leisure and abundance"in which technologicaladvances would allow people to work 15-hour week.