Reading
The Summer Hole
Before you start reading, study the following vocabulary:
Hole
Vacation
Conditions
Deserve
Lettuce
Suggest
Branch
Clutch
I don't know any English word for it. That is why I use the name I learned in Germany. There this time of year is called the summer hole. Perhaps the Czechs have a name for this time too. Every July and August Central Europe goes through the summer hole. This is the time when people take vacations. Services are cut back. Some shops and offices actually close.
Of course, every human being deserves a vacation. No one should have to work all the time. But does my vegetable dealer have to close his shop and fly to Canada? Must the public library close? How can I live until September under such conditions?
Things do not close down this way in the States. No, I am not saying that everything is better in the United States. Any American who keeps saying that has no excuse for staying here. Planes leave the airport for the States every day. I want to stay here. I love Central Europe, but I hate the summer hole. It causes problems for me.
For example, my vegetable dealer has left for a month. I was reasonable when we discussed this problem. I saw his side of things. I agreed that he deserved a vacation. I was sorry that he had not seen his sister in Canada for years. I understood that he needs some family time.
However, I also told my vegetable dealer that I would have no fresh fruit or vegetables after he had been gone for four days. I said I would need some potatoes, tomatoes, apples, lemons and lettuce long before he got back. He suggested that I try some other shop for a few weeks. Perhaps he has a point. I must admit that there are some other shops in Prague that sell fruit and vegetables.
But what about the main branch of the public library? How many main branches of the public library are there? Only one, as far as I know. That one main branch always closes for some of July and most of August.
Naturally, I take out some books every summer before the library closes. In fact I take out twenty. The library allows every borrower twenty books. The problem is that twenty books are not enough for five or six weeks. Every summer after two or three weeks I have no more books to read with my coffee. I have no books to read on the bus. I have no books to read when I can't get to sleep. Being without books is even worse than being without fresh fruit and vegetables.
People tell me I should take some vacation time in August. Then I would have no problem with the summer hole, they say. Why should I take a vacation in August? There aren't any rooms free at hotels. Airlines have no free seats. Every vacation spot is already full. Friends tell me to book my vacation early when there are still many free places. Until now I have never booked early.
So every summer I complain while Central Europe goes through the summer hole. I have complained for years and Central Europe has not changed yet.
Perhaps next year I will listen to my friends, book early and go on vacation in August. If you are on vacation next summer in August, you may see me. I could be that person clutching a bag of books and asking where I can buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
Questions
Choose the correct explanations…
- The narrator knows that words and expressions…
- The narrator thinks Czech customs…
- The narrator talks about fresh vegetables and books because…
- The narrator...
- August is not a good month for vacations…
Are the following statements about the article correct?
1. The narrator does not want other people to have vacations.
2. The narrator hates vacations.
3. The narrator does not usually plan her vacations far in advance.
4. The narrator does not know the customs in Central Europe.
5. The narrator sometimes finds it hard to shop in summer.