“When
are you going on holiday? And where? ”are usual questions in the office before
the summer holiday, and the answer often is: “In one week, to the beach. ”“Aha!
You have a beautiful tan（＝brown
by sunshine）! How was your holiday? ”These
continue for days after you return. Many Europeans have not only
weekends and bank holidays but also five to seven weeks paid leave. おUsually parents in the summer plan to spend
three or four weeks with the family. Because of my earlier years in China, I
found it difficult to understand the European attitude （態度）toward holidays.
During
my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings.
They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters,
my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on
Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could
be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly,
but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty
and that we could not have our own small family without a big family. Later I was a
hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone
at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my
parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”.
Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I
took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.
I
spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this
company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I
called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred
talking about work with me in the office.
When
the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and
also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right. Giving up a holiday for the company
is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.
Today
my parents are retired （退休）and
stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and
live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very
much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able
to take care of us when we were young.
Nowadays,
Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their
holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and
Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a
family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my
parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is
nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t
have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.
1. What
do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?
A. You
have to pay when you take a holiday.
B.
Someone will pay for your holiday.
C. You
are still paid when you have your holiday.
D. You
can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.
2. What
is the main idea of this passage?
A.
Working is the only part of the life.
B.
Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.
C.
Enjoying holidays is as important as working
D.
Sharing happiness with your family is more important
3. The
writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will
_______.
A. plan their holiday beforehand B. get used to long holidays and
enjoy themselves
C. give up a holiday for their work D. bring business home after
work hours
