Tim, the Second son

The third child in the family was able to watch an older brother and sister. Tim could learn many things from them. Soon, he developed his own way of doing things by developing his mind through his interest in creating stories. He would read more than most children and he gathered his inspiration from history books.

　　In school, athletic interests were basketball and track, especially high jumping. When he found he could jump a little higher than most students, he decided that jumping over a high bar would he his specialty. In high school he jumped 7 feet (2.17 meters). He jumped a little higher in college.

　　His music interest in high school was the viola, which looks like a large violin. In graduate school, he began playing the bass guitar in a combo, a four-member popular music group. His wife, Kelli, is the singer in the combo. There is also a lead guitar player and a drummer.

　　Tim continued his academic interest in history which included serious college study, and a Master's degree. He is now writing a major paper the length of a book for a Ph.D.(doctor of philosophy) in history from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a city near Los Angeles.

　　Tim is now a university professor at a small university in Los Angeles. In the United States, there are many schools that have history departments. There are large universities with as many as 60 thousand students, universities with as few as 2,000 students and colleges which are even smaller. His degree from a large university with a strong history department has helped him get a good job.

　　Tim and Kelli like cats. They have two of them and they are special members of the family. Their gray and white cat is called Toby. The coal black colored cat is called Buddha because he sits so quietly. Cats are popular with many people in America.

　　Graduate students often wait to have children because of the hard work and long hours in school. So, Tim and Kelli decided to have pets that could take care of themselves while they are at school.

　　Words and Phrases

　　create v.创造;引起,产生

　　inspiration n.鼓舞,激励

　　athletic a.运动的,体育的

　　track n.径赛

　　bar n.棍,杆;横木

　　specialty n.专长;特色

　　guitar n.吉他

　　combo n.小型爵士乐队,小型伴舞乐队

　　drummer n.鼓手

　　academic a.学术的,专业上的

　　pet n.玩赏动物,宠爱物

　　Buddha n.佛,如来佛