Arthur lives in Portsmouth with his wife and three children. He has a good job but he isn't happy. Arthur is the captain of a large tanker[1]. He loves ships and the sea and is good at his job. He earns a lot of money and has a lot of free time at work to study languages and write. So what's the1 ?
Arthur has a "three months on-two months off" contract[2], which means that he goes to sea for three months and then has two months of holiday. This means that some years he isn't at home for Christmas, some years he is away during the summer holidays and every year he misses someone's birthday, school shows and other important days. His children are 12,10 and 6 and they grow2 at that age.
When Arthur comes home, the children spend a day or two just looking at him and trying to3 what to say. There are also good times. The family have parties to celebrate any birthdays missed and they sometimes have Christmas dinner in November or January but there is always a feeling of sadness that they can't happen at the right time. It is obvious that the last week of his leave is filled with4 .
Life is also difficult for his wife, Theresa. She is a teacher and, for three months, has no husband to help her with shopping, cooking, cleaning and checking homework. She is very5 , so the children help with the housework, go to bed at nine o'clock and get up for school without any problems. Theresa prepares dinners in advance and makes the most of every hour of the day. Then, Arthur comes home. He ignores the normal bedtimes because he wants to tell his children stories and play with them. The children stop doing housework and, because they go to bed late, they are tired when they get up in the morning. Of course, Theresa understands and is pleased to see her family so happy, but it takes a week or more to get life back to normal when Arthur goes back to sea.
Now, Arthur wants to find a job on land but he knows it isn't easy. What can a ship's captain do when he isn't on a ship? Arthur's dream is to be a writer of children's books and work from home. This dream6 him up when he is on the other side of the world and still has two months before he sees his family again.
| Word box [l]tanker n.游轮 [2]contract n.合约 |
