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Both my parents came from towns in Mexico. Then I was born in El Paso, Texas,
and when I was four, my family moved to a housing project in East Los Angeles.
Even though we struggled to make ends meet, my parents stressed to me and my
four brothers and sisters how fortunate we were to live in a great country with limitless
opportunities. They influenced us with the concepts of family, faith and nationalism.
I got my first real job when I was ten. My dad injured his back working in a cardboard-
box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist. He rented space in a little shopping mall
and gave his shop the fancy name of Mr Ben's Coiffure.
The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning the
parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m.. To pick up rubbish,
Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower. Mom and I emptied garbage
cans and picked up litter by hand. It took two to three hours to clean the lot. I'd sleep
in the car on the way home.
I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime. I acquired
discipline and a strong work ethic (道德), and learned at an early age the importance of
balancing life's competing interests-in my case, school, homework and a job. This really
helped during my senior year of a high school, when I worked 40 hours a week flipping
burgers at a fast-food joint while taking a full load of college preparation courses.
The hard work paid off. I attended the US Military Academy and went on to receive
graduate degrees in law and business from Harvard. Later, I joined a big Los Angeles
law firm and was elected to the California State Assembly (州议会). In these jobs and
in everything else I've done, I have never forgotten those nights in the parking lot. The
experience taught me that there is dignity in all work and that if people are working to
provide for themselves and their families that is something we should honor.
1. Before my father got injured，we _____. [ ]
A. didn't like living in the USA
B. lived a poor but happy life
C. were lucky to move to the USA
D. had many ways to make money
2. When he recovered，to make a living my father _____. [ ]
A. ran a small shopping mall
B. did a part-time job
C. worked as a barber
D. became a street cleaner
3. Working in the parking lot for two years had taught me _____. [ ]
A. how to obey school discipline
B. how to do two things well at a time
C. that discipline and work were of equal value
D. that I must do as many things as possible at a time
4. The author tells us in the last paragraph that we should be proud of those who _____. [ ]
A. have done all kinds of jobs
B. are cleaning the parking lot
C. have achieved a lot in their lives
D. are bearing their responsibilities
