阅读理解 I lie there, listening to my four brothers．James, the youngest, laughs in his sleep．His dreams are comical．Sometimes he wakes himself up laughing, but he never remembers the joke．The light comes in through the window．A bird begins its song． “How can you live in that place, all together like olives(橄榄)in a jar?”This is Max talking．He’s an only child．He knows only space and light and science．But we don’t complain．No one gets lonely．The window can’t hurt us with all that body heart． A month ago, six relatives came．I didn’t even know their names．I slept in the bathtub with a towel for a sheet．In the summer, when my distant cousins arrived, I slept in the yard, in an old tent．The air was cool, and the tent full of holes, so I could see the stars．They stayed a month, like a traveling circus, all shouts and action and fighting until the sun went down．When they left, it felt like a storm passing over the hills．I returned to my bed, my sleepless nights, and James’ laughter． The bird sings louder now．It’s finding its voice． My mother is a window．She’s raising us alone．You could say I’m the man of the house．That’s why I take care of the boys．She cleans all day in a rich man’s apartment, comes home and carries on cleaning．There’s always one of us with blood on his knees or a face full of dirt．If she had six pairs of hands, it wouldn’t be enough．I work after school, with my friend Max and his father-in-law．We move furniture from house to house：tables, chairs, pianos as big as cars．They say I’m a good worker．I take after my mother． Suddenly the light hits me in the face and someone says,“Get up, sleepyhead．”The bird’s song is lost in the sound of running water and yawns and bodies moving．James laughs．A new day begins． |
