对外经济贸易大学考博英语阅读理解习题5.pdf

中国考博辅导首选学校 对外经济贸易大学考博英语阅读理解习题（5） In taking up a new life across the Atlantic, the early European settlers of the United States didnot abandon the diversionswith which theirancestorshad traditionallyrelieved thetediumof life.Neither theharshnessofexistenceonthenew continentnor thescattered population nor the disapproval of the clergy discouraged the majority from the pursuit of pleasure. City and country dwellers, of course, conducted this pursuit in different ways. Farm dwellers intheir isolationnot only found itharder to locatecompanions inplay but also, thanks to the unending demands and pressures of their work, felt it necessary to combine fun with purpose. No other set of colonists took so seriously an expression of the period, Leisure istimefor doing somethinguseful. Inthe countryside farmers thereforerelieved the burden of the daily routine with such double-purpose relaxations as hunting, fishing, and trapping. When a neighbor needed help, families rallied from miles around to assist in building a house or barn, husking corn, shearing sheep, or chopping wood. Food, drink, and celebration after the group work provided relaxation and soothed weary muscles. Themosteagerlyanticipatedsocialeventswere theruralparties.Hundredsofmen,women, and children attended from far and near. The men bought or traded farm animals and acquired neededmerchandisewhile thewomen displayed foodprepared intheirkitchens, and everyone, including the youngsters, watched or participated ina variety of competitive sports,with prizesawardedtothewinners.Theseeventstypicallyincludedhorseraces,wrestlingmatches, and foot races, aswell as somenonathletic events suchaswhistling competitions.No other occasions did so much to relieve the isolation of farm existence. With the open countryside everywhere at hand, city dwellers naturally shared in some of （PS:The waytocontactyumingkaoboTEL: