人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT13-3

A housemaid worked very long hours and only had half a day off each week. Rosanna had to start work at 5:00 am in order to clean and light the fires before the family of the house woke up. Then she laid the table for breakfast while other servants took Rachel and her mother cups of tea and helped them to get dressed. After the family had finished breakfast, the servants would eat theirs downstairs in the servants' hall. This was usually a plain¹ room with simple wooden furniture. The food "downstairs" was basic², not the rich food from the "upstairs" dining room.

        After breakfast Rosanna would clean the rooms, serve meals and be "on call" whenever she was needed. Her day would end after she had served evening tea at about 9:30 pm. She might sit in the servants' hall to play cards or chat for a while before going to bed. Servants had little private³ life or free time of their own, so they were interested in everything that happened "upstairs" and would gossip⁴ about the family and their guests.

        Despite⁵ the hard work required⁶ of them, servants were paid very little, and there were some families who treated their servants badly. However, in many houses the servants had great affection⁷ for the "upstairs" family, and felt part of a "downstairs" family too. Most servants had a safe environment to work in, plenty of food and a clean bed to sleep in. This was very different from the dirt⁸ and poverty⁹ that thousands of unemployed¹⁰ people were living in at the time. It was also different from the dangerous conditions¹¹ in many of the factories. In fact, a lot of people thought that working as a servant for a kind family was a good job.

1 plain   

n.平原，草原；adj.简单的，明白的，平常的；

参考例句：

• She's in plain clothes.她的穿着很朴素。
• The book is written in plain English.那本书是用简明英语写的。

2 basic   

adj.基本的；n.基本；要素

参考例句：

• The family is the basic unit of society.家庭是构成社会的基本单位。
• These rules of playing basketball are basic.这些篮球规则是基本的。

3 private   

adj.私人的，私有的，个人的

参考例句：

• She never spoke about her private life.她从未谈论她的私生活。
• He was being followed by a private detective.他正被私家侦探跟踪。

4 gossip   

n.流言蜚语，爱说长道短的人；vi.传播流言

参考例句：

• She broadcast the gossip all over the town.她将这个流言传遍全镇。
• They spread a lot of tacky gossip about his love life.关于他的爱情生活，他们散播了许多不堪的闲言闲语。

5 despite   

n.轻视，憎恨；prep.虽然，尽管

参考例句：

• Despite the difficulties he threw himself into the research.尽管困难重重，他还是全心投入了调查研究。
• All the people on the ship were in safety despite the storm.虽然遇到风暴，船上所有的人都安然无恙。

6 required   

adj.必须的，（学科）必修的v.要求( require的过去式和过去分词 )；需要；想要；命令

参考例句：

• Fluency in French is required for this job. 这个工作要求法语熟练自如。
• A senior certificate with matric exemption is required for entry to university. 上大学需要有中学毕业的资格证书。

7 affection   

n.喜爱；爱慕，感情；倾向，意向

参考例句：

• The handsome young man excited affection in a girl.那位英俊的年轻男子引起了一个女孩的爱慕之情。
• He has a deep affection for his old friend.他对老朋友感情很深。

8 dirt   

n.泥土；污物；污垢

参考例句：

• The children were outside playing happily in the dirt.小孩在外面的泥土里玩得很开心。
• She swept the dirt out.她扫除了灰尘。

9 poverty   

n.贫穷， 贫困， 贫乏， 缺少

参考例句：

• We must continue to war against poverty and disease.我们一定要继续同贫穷和疾病作斗争。
• He showed his poverty in his knowledge of agriculture.他表现出缺乏对农业知识的了解。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 conditions   

n.（居住、工作或做事情的）环境；（影响某事发生的）物质环境；承保险别；条件( condition的名词复数 )；状况；健康状况；环境

参考例句：

• The prisoners were living in appalling conditions. 囚犯的居住条件极为恶劣。
• TV pictures showed the arctic conditions. 电视画面显示了严寒的环境。