By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   36  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.

    The morning bell rang. I walked   37   through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces   38   me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   39   their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   40  , comparing plans for the   41  . I had to remove one student from each arm   42   I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book(点名册) my desk was covered with   43   and gifts followed by a   44   of “Merry Christmas” wishes.

   “Oh, thank you,” I must have   45   a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   46   mood(情绪). It was kind of them to   47   me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   48   say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   49   by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”

    “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.

   “Um, could you   50   it now?”

   I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  51  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament(装饰物), complete with a hook already   52  . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   53   back.

    Later that day, I sat   54   the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   55   pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.

A. excited           B. tired                           C. amazed             D. relaxed

A. eagerly         B. aimlessly                    C. gently              D. heavily

A. watched          B. greeted                       C. delighted           D. warned

A. return             B. forget                            C. ignore               D. refuse

A. calmed           B. settled                           C. chatted              D. argued

A. study              B. weekend                     C. vacation            D. lesson

A. before            B. when                          C. after                 D. because

A. letters             B. books                            C. chalks               D. cards

A. knowledge      B. collection                  C. series                D. bunch

A. confirmed       B. assessed                      C. responded          D. explained

A. pleased           B. low                            C. thrilled              D. angry

A. talk about           B. think of                      C. turn to                     D. connect with

A. call                B. sound                            C. shout                D. voice

A. shyly              B. bravely                       C. rudely               D. sadly

A. classify           B. collect                           C. open                 D. arrange

A. Careful           B. Dangerous                         C. Patient                     D. Hasty

A. exposed          B. adapted                      C. adjusted            D. attached

A. trees            B. hooks                            C. gifts                  D. tears

A. looking into    B. turning over                C. giving away       D. packing up

A. anxiously B. hurriedly                        C. delicately          D. casually

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a passage from the Bible about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “do you know something I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that medical checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me?Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?” It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

 

1.From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage __________.

A. with his family                              B. with Evelyn

C. all by himself                               D. with his children

2. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because __________.

A. she looked lovely in her new clothes

B. he could afford time to care for her

C. he was willing to be a good husband

D. she was seriously ill

3.The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What was the one thing that went wrong?

A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D. He was so good to her that she thought she would be dying.

4.By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that __________.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to regret what he did to his wife before

 

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.?

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “ I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.In the first paragraph, “No ifs, ands or buts” probably means ______.

A. Unintentionally                               B. Independently

C. Impressively                                  D. Unconditionally

2.From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

A. with his family                               B. with Evelyn

C. alone                                            D. with his children

3.During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.

A. he was determined to be a good husband

B. he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C. she looked lovely in her new clothes

D. the doctor said his wife was seriously ill

4.The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?

A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D. He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

5.By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that ______.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before

 

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