Przeczytaj tekst. Z podanych odpowiedzi wybierz właściwą, zgodną z treścią tekstu. Zakreśl jedną z liter: A, B, C albo D.
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For some people, living in a place full of books sounds like a dream. But when the Clarks decided to move into the Washington Heights Library in the late 1940s, their teenage son Ronald was anxious. He imagined that the kids at school would make jokes about the place where he was going to live. On the other hand, the idea of moving to a big city and having many new friends sounded wonderful to him.
The Clarks moved to New York from a small town because Ronald’s father had been offered the job of a librarian in the Washington Heights. At the time it was common for the libraries to provide accommodation for their employees: librarians on the top floor and people taking care of the building on the ground floor. Today, only a small number of such apartments are left. They’re slowly changing their appearance to create modern areas for technology and language programs that the library wants to invest in.
Ronald Clark said that living in the library had been a life-changing experience. Before moving to Washington Heights Library, he had not been interested in books, and no one in his family had got a high school diploma, not even his father. At that time being able to read and write was enough for librarians. They weren’t required to have much education. When the family started living at the library, Ronald began to pay attention to books. One day he walked past
the shelves, picked out a title and took it to a library table. The story was so exciting that he couldn’t put it down and read until midnight. His father was surprised when he found him there asleep the next morning. This was the beginning of Ronald’s fascination with books. Thanks to this passion, he became the first person in his family to get a university degree, and he later became a journalist.
The family left the apartment 30 years ago. In 2016, after over 70 years, the apartment that Ronald Clark grew up in was renovated. It became a bright and open programming zone for teenagers. Although the inside was different, it felt familiar to Ronald, because the space and the windows were still the same. Ronald and his daughter, Jenny, who had spent the first five years of her life in this apartment, were invited to the opening ceremony for the transformed rooms.
During the ceremony, Jenny spoke about one of her favourite memories. “I was going down to the children’s section of the library. I often went downstairs to hang out and read books. I also used to lie on children’s mats and play with the puzzle pieces,” said Jenny. “Living in a library didn’t seem strange to me because it was all I knew,” she added. “I realized when I was older that not everybody lives in a place with tons of books everywhere. I’m happy that the place has been modernised. It’s as cosy as it used to be but brighter and with up-to-date technological equipment.”
adapted from www.atlasobscura.com
- When Ronald’s family was going to move to Washington Heights Library, he was
A. afraid of a big city.
B. upset about leaving his old friends.
C. worried that he would be laughed at.
D. happy about the idea of having books around him. - The apartment where the Clarks lived at the library
A. had to be adapted for the family’s needs.
B. was typical accommodation for librarians at that time.
C. was located on the ground floor of the library building.
D. had been used as a language classroom before they moved in. - Which is TRUE about Ronald?
A. He discovered that reading could be enjoyable.
B. He got his favourite book as a present from his father.
C. He started reading because he wanted to go to university.
D. He surprised his father by reading a few books in one night. - What did Jenny say about living in the library?
A. She couldn’t recognise the apartment after the renovation.
B. She liked to read books while lying on children’s mats.
C. She always felt that it was a strange kind of home.
D. She didn’t know that other homes weren’t like hers. - Which is the best title for the text?
A. THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES
B. THE BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ
C. HOW TO BECOME A LIBRARIAN
D. LIVING WITH BOOKS
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