When milk arrived on the doorstep

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note----“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”----and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.

Recently, I saw an old milk box in the countryside. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊). Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer____.

A. to show his magical power           

B. to pay for the delivery  

C. to satisfy his curiosity                

D. to please his mother 

2.What does “this” in the third paragraph refer to?

    A. The milkman’s magic power

    B. The milkman’s kindness to me

    C. The note to change an order

    D. The home delivery service

3.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?

A. He wanted to have tea there.  

B. He was a respectable person.

C. He was treated as a family member.

D. He was fully trusted by the family.

4.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A. Nobody wants to be a milkman now.  

B. It has been driven out of the market.

C. Its service is getting poor.            

D. It is forbidden by law.

5.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A. He missed the good old days.        

B. He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C. He missed it for his milk bottles.        

D. He planted flowers in it.

 

Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I said.

“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”

1. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.

A.show she was familiar with the city

B.see some places for the last time

C.let the driver earn more money

D.reach the destination on time

2.The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.

A.wanted to do her a favor

B.shut off the meter by mistake

C.had received her payment in advance

D.was in a hurry to take other passengers

3.What can we learn from the story?

A.Giving is always a pleasure.

B.People should respect each other.

C.An act of kindness can bring people great joy.

D.People should learn to appreciate others’ concern.

 

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