When I was 17, I read a magazine article about a museum called the McNay, once the home of a watercolorist named Marian McNay. She had requested the community to turn it into a museum upon her death. On a sunny Saturday, Sally and I drove over to the museum. She asked, “Do you have the address? “”No, but I’ll recognize it, there was a picture in the magazine. “
当我17岁的时候，我读到一篇杂志文章，讲述了一个名为麦克奈的博物馆，这个博物馆曾经是一位名叫玛丽安·麦克奈的水彩画家的家。她在去世后请求社区将其改造成博物馆。在一个阳光明媚的星期六，萨莉和我开车去了那个博物馆。她问：“你有地址吗？”“没有，但我能认出来，杂志上有张照片。”

“Oh, stop. There it is!”
“哦，停下。就是那里！”

The museum was free. We entered, excited. A group of people sitting in the hall stopped talking and stared at us.
博物馆是免费的。我们兴奋地走了进去。一群坐在大厅里的人停止了谈话，盯着我们看。

“May I help you?” a man asked. “No, “I said. “We’re fine.” Tour guides got on my nerves. What if they talked a long time about a painting you weren’t that interested in? Sally had gone upstairs. The people in the hall seemed very nosy(爱窥探的), keeping their eyes on me with curiosity. What was their problem? I saw some nice sculptures in one room. Suddenly I sensed a man standing behind me. “Where do you think you are? “ he asked. I turned sharply. “The McNay Art Museum!” He smiled, shaking his head. “Sorry, the McNay is on New Braunfels Street.” “What’s this place?” I asked, still confused. “Well, it’s our home.” My heart jolted(震颤). I raced to the staircase and called out, “Sally! Come down immediately! “
“需要帮忙吗？”一个男人问。“不用了，”我说。“我们很好。”导游让我感到烦恼。如果他们长时间讲解一幅你并不感兴趣的画作怎么办？萨莉已经上楼了。大厅里的人似乎很好奇，用好奇的眼光盯着我。他们的问题是什么？我在一个房间里看到了一些漂亮的雕塑。突然，我感觉到有一个男人站在我身后。“你以为你在哪里？”他问。我猛地转身。“麦克奈艺术博物馆！”他微笑着摇了摇头。“抱歉，麦克奈在新布朗费尔斯街。”“这是什么地方？”我仍然感到困惑。“嗯，这是我们的家。”我的心猛地跳了一下。我跑到楼梯口，喊道：“萨莉！立即下来！”

“There’s some really good stuff(艺术作品) up there.” She stepped down, looking confused. I pushed her toward the front door, waving at the family, saying, “Sorry, please forgive us, you have a really nice place.” Outside, when I told Sally what happened, she covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn’t believe how long they let us look around without saying anything.
“楼上有一些真正好的艺术作品。”她走下来，看起来很困惑。我把她推向前门，挥手向家人说：“对不起，请原谅我们，你们有一个非常漂亮的地方。”在外面，当我告诉萨莉发生了什么事时，她捂着嘴笑了。她不敢相信他们让我们四处看看，却没有说任何话。

The real McNay was splendid, but we felt nervous the whole time we were there. Van Gogh, Picasso. This time, we stayed together, in case anything else unusual happened.
真正的麦克奈博物馆非常壮观，但我们在那里的整个时间都感到紧张。梵高，毕加索。这一次，我们一直在一起，以防发生其他不寻常的事情。

Thirty years later, a woman approached me in a public place. “Excuse me, did you ever enter a residence, long ago, thinking it was the McNay Museum? “
三十年后，一位女士在公共场所走近我。“打扰一下，很久以前，你有没有误入一个住所，以为那是麦克奈博物馆？”

“Yes. But how do you know? We never told anyone. “
“是的。但你是怎么知道的？我们从未告诉过任何人。”

“That was my home. I was a teenager sitting in the hall. Before you came over, I never realized what a beautiful place I lived in. I never felt lucky before. You thought it was a museum. My feelings about my home changed after that. I’ve always wanted to thank you.”
“那是我的家。我当时是一个坐在大厅里的青少年。在你们来之前，我从未意识到我住的地方有多美。我以前从未感到幸运。你们以为它是一个博物馆。你们改变了我对家的感觉。我一直想感谢你们。”

1. What do we know about Marian McNay?
   A. She was a painter.
   B. She was a community leader.
   C. She was a museum director.
   D. She was a journalist.
   答案：A

2. Why did the author refuse the help from the man in the house?
   A. She disliked people who were nosy.
   B. She felt nervous when talking to strangers.
   C. She knew more about art than the man.
   D. She mistook him for a tour guide.
   答案：D

3. How did the author feel about being stared at by the people in the hall?
   A. Puzzled. B. Concerned. C. Frightened. D. Delighted.
   答案：A

4. Why did the author describe the real McNay museum in just a few words?
   A. The real museum lacked enough artwork to interest her.
   B. She was too upset to spend much time at the real museum.
   C. The McNay was disappointing compared with the house.
   D. The event happening in the house was more significant.
   答案：D

5. What could we learn from the last paragraph?
   A. People should have good taste to enjoy life.
   B. People should spend more time with their family.
   C. People tend to be blind to the beauty around them.
   D. People tend to educate teenagers at a museum.
   答案：C