In pioneer days, being a good neighbor was very important. Neighbors helped one another raise a house, build a barn, and clear fields.Families depended on one another for friendship and entertainment. But today in our cities and suburbs, neighboring is not common. A family may not even know the other families that live close by.
We live in an age of machines, and each family may have its own car, TV set, and washing machine. People no longer depend on neighbors as much as they once did.
Machines keep people apart in other ways. In our grandparents` time, women met while they hung out their washing, and men stopped and talked while they mowed their lawns. Today, women stay in the house with their automatic dryers. The men can`t hear anything above the roar of their
power lawn mowers. And the children are inside watching their favorite TV show.
Is the idea of being neighborly old-fashioned? In 1965, a power failure hit New York City, and many thousands of people were left stranded. Suddenly, everyone shared the same problem, and our largest city became a group of eight million neighbors. People with cars offered rides to those walking.Other persons helped direct traffic. Trapped in elevators,people played word games and helped keep each other in good spirits.
In times of trouble, people still depend on one another.As time goes on, people may once again feel that being a good neighbor is important.
邻居重要吗?
在拓荒时代，成为好邻居非常重要。邻居们相互帮助养家糊口，修建谷仓，清理农田。家庭之间相互依赖获得友谊和娱乐。但如今在市区或者市郊，比邻而居并不常见。 一个家庭可能甚至不认识附近居住的其他家庭。
我们生活在一个机器时代，每个家庭都可能有自己的汽车、电视和洗衣机。人们不再像以前那样依赖邻居。
机器还在其他方面把人们分离开来。在我们的祖父母时代，女人们出去晾衣服的时候都能相互见面，男人们在除草的时候也停下来聊天。现在，女人们和她们的自动烘干机呆在家里。 男人们则除了他们电动除草机的轰鸣声外什么都听不到。孩子们则呆在家里观看他们最喜欢的电视节目。
与邻居友好相处的想法是否过时了?1965年，纽约城停电，使得成千上万的人手足无措。突然，所有的人都有着共同的问题，我们最大的城市变成了八百万人互为邻里的大集体。开车的人让走路的人搭载。另外有些人帮忙指挥交通。陷在电梯里的人们做着文字游戏，相互帮忙保持良好情绪。
遇到麻烦时，人们仍然相互依赖。随着时间的推移，人们有可能会再次感到成为好邻居的重要。
