20. Elsie Eiler is the head of Monowi, a tiny town in northern Nebraska, U. S. A. , and that isn't her only job. She is also the town secretary, the town treasurer, the librarian, and she works in the café. Why has she got a lot of different jobs? Because there's nobody else to do them. Monowi has got a population of one — Elsie.
Monowi is an unusual sight. There are about twelve old wooden houses there. They are all empty and are surrounded by a few trees, several old cars and lots of rubbish. The town is silent. An old yellow school bus, with no wheels or seats, stands next to the small school. The school closed 40 years ago. Opposite Elsie's café is an old building, filled with rubbish. It was a shop but it closed in the 1950s.
The busiest time for Monowi was in the 1930s. Then, the population was 150, and was made up of mostly farmers and their families. There was a railway too. However, the farmers couldn't compete (竞争) with the large industrialized (工业化的) farms, and left the town to look for other work. In 1971, the railway closed and the town began to die. Three years ago, the last people that lived there, except Elsie's family, moved away. Then, Elsie's husband died, and then her son and daughter left to find work in bigger towns, leaving Elsie the only person in the town.
(4)_______. Her food is good, her beer is cold, and farmers and truck drivers travel a long way to eat at her café. "One day Monowi will just be memories, and it will probably turn to dust," she says. "But I like it, and as long as I can take care of myself, I will stay here."