Reading
Does This Sad Story Sound Familiar?
Maybe something like this has happened to you. What follows could be just one more example of a story that is common enough.
Once years ago a sort of commune was formed. Its site was an apartment located in a city with a university. Its founders were young people, whose backgrounds varied widely. The stated goal of this group was to provide reasonably priced accommodation in a peaceful setting for all who were members.
It is never easy for young people to find places to live in a city where there is a university. No one who was a member of this group had an unlimited amount of money. All were outsiders, who were trying to make their way in a strange city. There were even members of the group who were living in a foreign country. Rational self-interest should have kept the group together.
These young people, who were rather idealistic, even had intellectual interests in common. The area that lay behind the Iron Curtain fascinated all of them. Some were interested in languages that were spoken there. Others admired the socialism they said existed there. The young people even discussed a possible trip to the fabled city of Samarkand, a project that would have required pooling assets, contacts and abilities.
Yet in spite of shared interest and possible projects these young people failed. In fact they failed so miserably that bitter accusations of dishonest intentions and allegations of unfairness were made within the first twenty-four hours that this group spent together. Ugly, petty actions and scenes followed. I am sorry to have to report that some members of the group felt unwelcome in the shared kitchen. Those who felt unwelcome in the kitchen actually considered trying to block use of the only bathroom by their former friends.
All soon left the apartment for other quarters, each suffering a loss of time, money, and energy as a result. Friendship ended, but hard feelings remained. One slender young woman spent years gloating over occasional glimpses of a certain former friend, who had become quite plump and unattractive. As far as I know, none of these young people ever saw Samarkand.
As I said, it is a sad but familiar story for many young people who have attended a university or taken a job away from home.
What can we learn from this sad story? Perhaps that those who indulge in petty quarrels will lead lives that are also petty. Only those who overcome pettiness have a chance to see the fabled city of Samarkand.
Questions
Choose the best explanation...
- "It is a sad but familiar story for many young people who have attended a university." There is no comma in this sentence because:
- "What follows could be just one more example of a story that is common enough." In this sentence "that":
- "What follows could be just one more example of a story that is common enough." In this sentence "what":
- "These young people, who were rather idealistic" Why is there a comma after people?
- One relative clause, "that were spoken there,” has a relative pronoun. The other, "said existed there,” does not need one. Why not?
Are the following statements about the article correct?
1. The narrator thinks the young people behaved foolishly.
2. In this story Samarkand is a symbol, not a place.
3. It was not hard for the people in the story to find places to live.
4. The narrator thinks the story is common but significant.
5. The narrator takes sides in the quarrel she describes.