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    For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets, and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue, the elevator's role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk, the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally(水平地), and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的) columns.

    If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we're hanging from a cable in a long passage.

    In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it, ”Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.

    Today, as the world's urban population explodes, and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America's total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine's “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”—are a force that's becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.

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    Emily was an eighth grader. To pass her Civics course, she had to do some volunteer services in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would spend an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily stood awkwardly(别扭地)in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said, "Good afternoon. I'm Emily."

    "Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat, please." Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then,1filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    "Tell me about yourself, Emily," Mrs Blair said suddenly.

    "Well," Emily started, "I don't have any grandparents, so I don't know how to get on well with elderly people. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to volunteer here to get a good grade for my Civics class."

    Mrs Blair didn't seem to mind. 'Many people, especially teens, don't seem to2old people like me. Now you are here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything."

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, "What was your job?"

    "I was a Broadway star in the 1950s."MrsBlair answered.

    Cool! Can you tell me about it?" Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs Blair smiled. "Back then3the lead actress had the honor to wear a special bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it."

    Emily smiled along with Mrs Blair and listened to the other stories attentively. She had become very4Mrs Blair's stories. She decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really upset to say goodbye.

    "Don't be sad. You can still visit me," Mrs Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily, "It's my gift to you."

    Emily5opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. "It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!" Emily said, with tears in her eyes free.

    I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm on the way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and6that she would keep her word to Mrs Blair.