As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mail carrier. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and especially chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.

One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail into her house every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.

Mailboxes were sometimes used for other things. One note left in a mailbox read, "Nat, take these eggs to Marian. She’s baking a cake and doesn’t have any eggs. "A young girl wrote letters but had no stamps, so Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank.

Later, father died. As I drove home, I noticed two green and red mailboxes made by father were still on each side of Main Street. Each box had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.

When I saw Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. He asked, " What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?"

“The letters?”

“I guess you never knew.”

"Knew what?”

Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year.”

I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.

For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.

1.It can be inferred (推断) from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad as________.

A. great chances to help other people B. happy occasions to play with animals

C. exciting experiences with a lot of fun D. good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies 9)

2.The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show that

A. Dad had a strong sense of duty B. Dad was an honest and dependable man

C. Dad had a strong sense of respect D. Dad was a kind and generous man

3.What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply from Santa Claus every year?

A. Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole.

B. Santa Claus answered all their letters every year.

C. Santa Claus had unique(独一无二的) mailboxes for the children.

D. Santa Claus had so much information about their families

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