Local Activities
Every year, Sarah’s town holds a big volunteer event. People of all ages living in the town get together to clean up local parks. This year, Sarah ( 26 ). Early on Saturday morning, Sarah gathered at Memorial Park with the other volunteers. She was on a team with five other people. The team’s job was to paint the fence around the park.
While she was talking to one of the volunteers, she found out that her town holds many exciting events. For example, they have summer concerts in the park and a fashion show in the winter. She also learned that her town has a basketball team, and there are games every month at a local gym. Sarah ( 27 ) these activities. Now, she is planning on participating in more activities in her community.
Working Longer
When people get older, it becomes more and more difficult for them to work for long hours. As a result, many people stop working for their company between the ages of 60 and 65 years old. This is called retirement. However, nowadays, the age when people start retirement is changing. For example, a U.S. government survey shows more and more people between 65 and 69 years old are ( 28 ). In 1984, only about 18 percent of such people were still working. However, by 2014 this was almost 32 percent.
Many older people enjoy working and want to keep earning money. They also want to spend more time with their families, do hobbies, and go to see their doctors. To make their workers happy, some companies have started a new style of working called “phased-in retirement.” In such companies, workers can work fewer hours and choose their own schedule. This way, older workers can easily work and ( 29 ).
Phased-in retirement can be good for companies, too. Erda, a company that produces handbags, has many older workers who participate in the company’s phased-in retirement plan. Because these workers stay at the company longer, they can share their knowledge with younger staff. Susan Nordman, one of the owners, says that this has made her company’s products better, and now she can sell more handbags. This shows that phased-in retirement can actually help companies ( 30 ) and also make their workers happier.
From: Ann Shutler ＜a-shutler9@pmail.com＞
To: Pete Shutler ＜pshutler135@umail.edu＞
____________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Pete,
How are you doing at college? Everyone was happy to see you when you came home last month. Also, your sister said thank you for helping her with her science project while you were home. Her project won first place at the school science fair today! Also, she’s very excited that you’re going to come home for three weeks for winter break.
Anyway, I wanted to tell you about some family plans for Christmas. This year Grandma and Grandpa will be staying at our house for the holiday. They usually go to Aunt Paula’s place, but this year she’ll be visiting her son in Hawaii. Grandma and Grandpa will be staying in your room for a few days, so you’ll have to share a room with your sister.
For New Year’s Eve, we’ll be having a big party at our house. Everyone is invited, but Grandma and Grandpa will be going home to Ohio on December 27. That’s because Grandma has a doctor’s appointment on December 28. Grandpa is a little sad, but he says he can’t stay awake until midnight anyway! Good luck on your college exams, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Australian Success Story
In the 1900s, the population of Australia started growing quickly. Many people moved there from other countries. They started families and built new homes. Because most families did their laundry by themselves, they needed places to hang wet clothes at their homes. The solution was to make a long line with rope called a clothesline in every garden on which laundry could be hung to dry.
The first clotheslines were straight, and they could not be moved. They took up a lot of space, so people could not see the plants and flowers that they had planted. Many people felt that the clotheslines did not look good in their gardens. In addition, people had to walk up and down the clotheslines carrying heavy, wet clothes, which was hard work. Later, smaller devices for hanging clothes were made that people could spin around. These new types of clotheslines were more convenient and took up less space in the garden.
The most popular spinning clothesline is called the Hills Hoist. It was made by a car mechanic named Lancelot Leonard Hill in 1945. Hill’s design was a big success. Every family with a small garden wanted a Hills Hoist because it was easy to use. By 1994, 5 million Hills Hoists had been sold, making it the most popular clothesline in the country.
The Hills Hoist became so famous in Australia that it was printed on a postage stamp in 2009. These days, more Australian families are living in apartments that do not have gardens. As a result, fewer Hills Hoists are used in modern cities. However, for many Australians, seeing such a clothesline still brings back memories of their childhood, and many people still use one in their daily lives.
