What was going on when I was born?

''We state: 'Soviet territory, the borders of the Soviet Union are sacred.'

A week after a South Korean 747 airliner took off from Kennedy International Airport on a journey that was ended by a Soviet air-to-air missile, there are many unanswered questions. Although American officials have pieced together much of what happened to Flight 7 over East Asia, there are still these questions: - Why did a South Korean jetliner with 269 people aboard enter Soviet airspace, apparently in disregard of well- known aviation warnings? Was it an accident or was it deliberate? - Did air traffic controllers or intelligence people know that the jetliner was off course before its final communications with the control tower at Narita airport near Tokyo? - What did air controllers do when they determined that the jetliner was missing? - Did the pilot of the Soviet SU-15, who had visual contact with the jetliner, fail to identify the Boeing 747 as a commercial airliner before shooting it down?

In the mid-1960's, the American Stock Exchange was the place to go for market action. At one point, trading got so heated that the president of the exchange issued a statement warning against excessive speculation in Amex stocks. The late 1970's sparked investor interest in the the exchange, too. The focus then was on the Amex's energy stocks, which helped push the exchange's index to new highs. Today, however, the Amex has lost some of its momentum. While the index again registered strong gains in the past year's bull market, the number of listed companies has steadily slipped. The volume of stock trading has also failed to grow as rapidly as that of its two main competitors, the New York Stock Exchange, which has started a push for the growth companies traditionally attracted to the Amex, and the over-the- counter market, whose sophisticated electronic trading systems are becoming more popular.

Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko of the Soviet Union, staunchly defending his Government's actions, today repeated the Soviet contention that the United States was ultimately responsible for the loss of the Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 in Soviet airspace on Sept. 1. Speaking at a session of Eastern and Western foreign ministers here, Mr. Gromyko said Soviet borders were inviolable. He said that the South Korean airliner, which was shot down by a Soviet fighter, had been spying for the United States and that Washington had ''unleashed a wave of slander'' and ''falsehood'' over the incident. Before the session, foreign ministers from Atlantic alliance countries met to discuss a suspension of at least a week to 10 days on air travel to the Soviet Union in response to the downing of the airliner. (Page A10.)

An art review in Weekend last Friday of ''Twentieth Century Masters: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection'' incorrectly identified the organizer of the show. The exhibition and its tour were organized by the International Exhibitions Foundation of Washington, D.C.

Early last Friday, Sarah G. McHale, a 68-year-old widow, was suffocated by an intruder in her living room in Apartment 31 in a quiet garden apartment complex here. Mrs. McHale, who had lived in the apartment only two weeks, was the third woman to have died alone there since November 1981. The police said today that each death occurred during a burglary, and all three are being investigated as homicides. Autopsies by the Essex County Medical Examiner's office had found that the two other women - one 83, the other 51 - died of heart attacks.

Companies A group led by Lockheed and including Grumman won a contract to provide launching and landing services for future flights of the space shuttle. The award, perhaps worth billions, was a major upset for a group led by Rockwell International, which built the shuttle and until now has been its chief provider of services. NASA did not explain its choice. (Page D1.) Turkey plans to buy the F-16 jet fighter from General Dynamics, a victory for the St. Louis military contractor. It is the first time the F-16 has beaten out the F-18 of Northrup and McDonnell Douglas in international competition. Turkey said it will buy some 160 of the F-16's for about $4 billion. (D1.) Boeing won a $640 million order for jetliners from Qantas Airways. (D4.)

The Treasury Department's chief tax writer said today that the Reagan Administration's proposal for a contingency tax to reduce future budget deficits was ''dead for this year.'' It was unlikely, he added, that there would be any major tax increase approved until 1985. In a speech here, John E. Chapoton, the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, also ruled out Administration support at this time for any of the major revenue-raising options now being talked about in Congress or the Administration. ''I would anticipate no major revenue-raiser this fall or next year,'' he said. ''It is possible but not likely.''

A third of a century after computers began their dizzying development as the central engines of American government, business and communications, the rules to prevent the misuse of computers are still murky and incomplete. Five years ago, for example, the Association for Computing Machinery adopted a provision under which any member who violated its vaguely worded code of ethics could be censured or expelled. So far, not a single case has been brought against any of the 60,000 computer specialists who belong to the association. Three weeks ago the New York Legislature approved a bill giving all New Yorkers the right to see and correct the information held about them in the generally computerized files of state agencies, and the bill has been signed by Governor Cuomo. But 40 states have no such ''fair information practice'' laws.

For three months, the Governor's Commission on Shoreham has held hearings, quizzed experts and struggled to make sense of the economic and safety issues involving the Shoreham nuclear power plant. Now, like Shoreham, the commission is behind schedule, and some members say it will be a miracle if the group reaches a consensus on the questions it is considering. ''The most important thing about this whole job is that it's so unbelievably complicated,'' said Dr. John H. Marburger, chairman of the commission. ''What the role of the Governor and the state should be in the issues relating to Shoreham is still not entirely clear.'' Governor Cuomo appointed the 13- member panel to serve without salary and to study the state's role in emergency planning at Shoreham. He formed the group after Suffolk County refused to approve an evacuation plan, leaving the state disaster officials with nothing to forward to their Federal counterparts and effectively blocking the normal licensing process.

Artillery shells rained over West Beirut today, killing a French paratroop colonel and his driver. In response, the French sent two warplanes on warning flights over the city and Moslem Druse artillery positions in the nearby mountains. Later, two fighter planes from the American aircraft carrier Eisenhower also swept over the city and the mountains on reconnaissance and warning flights. Tonight United States Marine positions near Beirut International Airport came under artillery fire, and the marines responded with six 155-millimeter artillery rounds. A Marine spokesman said there were no casualties.

Despite rising concern over literacy and widespread fears that television and other electronic media are undermining the influence of the written word, Americans seem to be doing as much reading as ever. Sales of books and magazines have increased steadily in recent years, and library use is at a record. The amount and difficulty of the reading required to live and work in modern society is increasing, and reading remains a major form of recreation and relaxation for millions of Americans. While there are few reliable statistics on American reading habits, largely because of the complexity of the subject and the difficulty of obtaining accurate data, extensive interviews with scholars, educators, publishers and readers reveal changes in who does the reading and what is read. Increased Specialization Women, who used to read less than men, now read more than men. Nonfiction may be prospering at the expense of some fiction. And, as in areas of American society from politics to academia, reading is becoming more specialized.