Reading
Read the following passage and then answer questions 1-6.
The splintered steps leading to the tenement’s entrance were rotted and uneven. They led to an unlocked door which wobbled on its hinges and shrank from its frame. It creaked open to a dank, dark hall which smelled of urine and sweat. The paint was peeling off cracked walls. The faint yellow light hung low in the night.
Mr. and Mrs. Gomes lived on the second floor with their three young children. Their four-room apartment was immaculate and tidy. The kitchen floor glistened, and the flowered plates and glasses were neatly stacked in the drainer.
In the living room, the sheer curtains were always drawn back, filtering sunlight throughout the room, passing over a color television and several porcelain icons. Besides the freestanding gas heater was a brand name stereo system recently purchased on an “easy pay” credit plan.
The soft pine floors were all warped but recently painted. The wide floorboards, once loose in many places, were now nailed down securely. Clear plastic sheets were tacked over the windows to prevent heat loss.
The children, two girls and a boy, shared a large room with one small window that was separated from the kitchen by a curtain. The gas stove “warmed” them at night. Their toys were piled high in wooden crates. The children did not dare turn on the kitchen light for fear that the six-legged, brown-bodied pests would dart out in front of them.
The Gomes family had rented this apartment for ten years, ever since they came to this country. They had known no other home, although they had dreamed of many. Some day they hoped to live in a quiet neighborhood with open yards and spotless sidewalks, where people get into cars each weekday morning and commute to work.
1. You can infer that the story takes place in the
Select one of the following:
