1) For the speaker and his friends summer work was a way to
escape from family chores
active and useful pastime
earn for the living

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2) The three boys decided to go to Wisconsin for the summer work because
they could not stand the heat at home any more
it was a chance to travel and see the country
it was a financially tempting adventure

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3) Five weeks the boys worked for 16-18 hours a day because
they decided to compete with professional farmers from the South
seasonal harvest necessity required it
they wanted to earn as much as possible

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4) The boys worked in
fields, cutting and loading pea vines
the factory, processing and canning peas
different places doing all sorts of work

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5) The next summer the boys managed to get a job
on several pea canneries, moving from place to place
in the same factory, but in a bigger company of friends
in a different cannery farther north, but on the same terms

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6) In two years pea picking became
the only summer work for teenagers from this southern town
a special brand mark among the school students
a very risky and challenging way to spend the summer

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7) Pea-picking developed a unique sense of brotherhood among the boys and they
still can’t talk of anything else
became really interested in agriculture
are eager to reflect on that experience years after