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I began working in journalism (新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother's idea. She wanted me
to "make something" of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping
up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two
gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure
everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.
When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
"How many did you sell, my boy?" my mother asked.
"None."
"Where did you go?"
"The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues."
"What did you do?"
"Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post."
"You just stood there?"
"Didn't sell a single one."
"My God, Russell!"
Uncle Allen put in, "Well, I've decided to take the Post." I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle (五分
镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with
self-confidence (自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be
without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I'd changed my mind. I didn't want to make a success in the magazine business.
" If you think you can change your mind like this," she replied, "you'll become a good-for-nothing." She
insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said
no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had foughtthis battlealmost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with
my father's plain workman's life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did
she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband's people
for true life and love.
1. Why did the boy start his job young?
A. He wanted to be famous in the future.
B. The job was quite easy for him.
C. His mother had high hopes for him.
D. The competition for the job was fierce.
2. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _____.
A. excited
B. interested
C. ashamed
D. disappointed
3. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _____.
A. excited
B. interested
C. ashamed
D. disappointed
4. What does the underlined phrase "this battle" (last paragraph) refer to?
A. The war between the boy's parents.
B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.
C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.
D. The fight between the boy and his father.
5. What is the text mainly about?
A. The early life of a journalist.
B. The early success of a journalist.
C. The happy childhood of the writer.
D. The important role of the writer in his family.

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