Unit 3 Under the sea Learning about language课时作业

第一节 阅读理解

　　Fun is hard to have.

　　Fun is a rare jewel.

　　Somewhere along the line people got the modern idea that fun was there for the asking, that people deserved fun, that if we didn't have a little fun every day, we would turn into puritans (清教徒).

　　"Was it fun?" became the question that overshadowed all other questions. When the pleasure got to be the main thing, the fun fetish (迷恋) was sure to follow. Everything was supposed to be fun. If it wasn't fun, then we were going to make it fun, or else.

　　Think of all the things that got the reputation of being fun. Family outings were supposed to be fun. Education was supposed to be fun. Work was supposed to be fun. Walt Disney, church and staying fit were supposed to be fun.

　　Fun got to be such a big thing that everybody started to look for more and more thrilling ways to supply it. One way was to step up the level of danger so that you could be sure that, no matter what it was,you would manage to have a little fun.

　　Big occasions were supposed to be fun, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. But we ended up going through every big event we ever celebrated, waiting for the fun to start. So I should tell you just in case you're worried about your fun capacity while you are sitting around waiting for the fun to start, that's not much of fun. I don't mean to put a damper on things. I just mean we ought to treat fun reverently. It is a mystery. It cannot be caught like a virus. It cannot be trapped like an animal. When fun comes in on little dancing feet, we probably won't be expecting it. In fact, I bet it comes when we're doing our duty, our job.

I remember one day, long ago, on which I had an especially good time. Pam Davis and I, aged 12, walked into a store that morning to buy some candy. She got her Bit-O-Honey. I got my malted milk balls, chocolate stars. Then we started back to her house. It was a long way to Pam's house but every time we got weary, Pam would put