How old was I? I can’t remember. Maybe I was only 10. It was the first    16   without my father because he was away for something. He left me to fill that sad place in my mother’s heart. It was the Christmas when I stopped being a    17   and tried to play Father Christmas myself. I really wanted to make it happy and bright again. It was the Christmas of the    18  .
Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, a nice    19   shop in our town’s little shopping mall. It was dark green. And it was a    20  , heavy, wool dress coat. Mom pulled it out from the rack(架) and held it up. “Long enough,” she said in a low voice and    21  .
“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the mirror. She looked good on any clothes,       22   this coat suited her much better. She looked at the    23  , then hung the coat back on the rack, standing there once more to    24   
Eighty-seven dollars. But I decided to buy it for her. As we moved on    25  the mall, I found some excuse to return and asked one of the Tobias ladies to    26   the coat.
I helped clean every yard(庭院) in our neighbourhood—some yards twice, and soon I got the coat. The store ladies helped me put it in their biggest    27   with bright blue paper and thick silver ribbon(丝带). I don’t remember    28   I got it home, but I can still feel the wonderful    29   and pride that filled me. I would imagine the big space which the box would take up under our tree. Here it was—joy, peace and    30  —all in the box, waiting for Mom’s surprise.

Long long ago, a king had a big rock placed in the middle of a very busy road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would move the rock out of the way to make it convenient for others. Some of the king’s wealthiest supporters came past and simply walked around it. Many others complained about the rock and some blamed the king for the problem. To the king’s surprise, no one did anything about moving it out of the way.
Finally, a poor farmer came along, carrying a load of old vegetables. When he saw the rock, he put down his load, and tried to move the heavy rock to the side of the road. No one stopped to help him. Many laughed at him and made jokes as they walked past. Finally, after much pushing and straining, and with no help , the farmer managed(设法) to get the rock to the side of the road. As he bent down to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a small bag lying in the road, exactly where the rock had been. There was a lot of money and a note in the bag. The note was from the king saying that the money was for the person who moved the rock out of the way.
Taking responsibility(责任) is about solving hard problems. The farmer takes responsibility when no one else is prepared to. It does not always mean that you will get an instant reward, but it is a value that builds up a community, and makes life better for all of us.
【小题1】The word “convenient” in Paragraph1 means        in Chinese.

Long long ago, a king had a big rock placed in the middle of a very busy road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would move the rock out of the way to make it convenient for others. Some of the king’s wealthiest supporters came past and simply walked around it. Many others complained about the rock and some blamed the king for the problem. To the king’s surprise, no one did anything about moving it out of the way.

Finally, a poor farmer came along, carrying a load of old vegetables. When he saw the rock, he put down his load, and tried to move the heavy rock to the side of the road. No one stopped to help him. Many laughed at him and made jokes as they walked past. Finally, after much pushing and straining, and with no help , the farmer managed(设法) to get the rock to the side of the road. As he bent down to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a small bag lying in the road, exactly where the rock had been. There was a lot of money and a note in the bag. The note was from the king saying that the money was for the person who moved the rock out of the way.

Taking responsibility(责任) is about solving hard problems. The farmer takes responsibility when no one else is prepared to. It does not always mean that you will get an instant reward, but it is a value that builds up a community, and makes life better for all of us.

1.The word “convenient” in Paragraph1 means        in Chinese.

A．重要的           B．方便的           C．必要的           D．有用的

2.Why did the king put a big rock in the middle of the road?

A．To see if anyone would move the rock away.

B．To see who was the most powerful.

C．To find out who was the most poorest.

D．To see how people walked around it.

3.Who moved the rock away？

A．The king                              B．The king’s supporters.

C．The wealthy                           D．A poor farmer

4.The story mainly tells us that           .

A．everyone should learn to take responsibility

B．nobody likes to solve hard problems

C．taking responsibility always means getting a reward

D．the poor always take more responsibility than the rich

Long long ago, a king had a big rock placed in the middle of a very busy road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would move the rock out of the way to make it convenient for others. Some of the king’s supporters came past and simply walked around it. Many others complained(抱怨) about the rock. To the king’s surprise, no one tried to move it out of the way.
Finally, a poor farmer came along, carrying a load of old vegetables. When he saw the rock, he put down his load, and tried to move the heavy rock to the side of the road. No one stopped to help him. At last, after much pushing and straining, and with no help, the farmer got the rock to the side of the road. As he bent down to pick up his vegetables, he found a small bag lying in the road. There was a lot of money and a note in the bag. The note was from the king. It said that the money was for the person who moved the rock out of the way.
Taking responsibility（责任）is about solving hard problems. The farmer takes responsibility when no one else is prepared to. It does not always mean that you will get a reward(报酬), but it is a value that builds up a community, and makes life better for all of us.
【小题1】Why did the king put a big rock in the middle of the road?