As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mill carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.
In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when 1 was a boy it was such a fun to stick your finger 'through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.
On Dad' s final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route." he used to say, "and a story at every one. " One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read. "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs. " Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the groom:. bat the mail was always delivered On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few button on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to 8 32,000.
A dozen years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad’s death,  the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the case.
As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles, one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green and the other was red, and each 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.
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. " What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.
"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.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad us_____.

阅读下面短文，第1至5题表述了Anna、Smith、Wilkins、Crick和June在自己的生活及学习中遇到的问题，他们需要你的帮助，请从A、B、C、D、E和F中为其选出最合适的建议，选项中有一项是多余选项。

1．Anna: I get really frustrated easily, and sometimes I end up yelling at people I love．I'm not very sure why it happens, but I have no control over it．How can I stop?

2．Smith: Some kids are making fun of me because I'm doing very well at school．Isn't that something to be proud of? I need advice．

3．Wilkins: I can't sociaize．I am really shy, and I am already a freshman in high school. I have some new friends, but I am still shy to the cool kids．Can you help me, please?

4．Crick: I always say what I feel immediately and without thinking．Sometimes I get in trouble for it or feel sorry about it later．Is speaking your mind a good or a bad thing?

5．June: I love to read! But I don't have any time to read because of all of my activities．I don’t want to quit anything．What should I do?

A

       Instead of feeling upset, you should definitely be proud of yourself．Intelligence is a quality that everyone wants, and as you get older it's going to be what people love and respect about you．Still water runs deep．I'm sure as time goes by, some of those kids making fun of you might realize how cool you actually are．

B

       Everyone has to leam how to adapt to society and mix socially with others．No man is an island, as the saying goes．To become a sociable person, you must be naturally friendly．Besides, do something for a social situation．A teacher once gave me this great advice: Prepare a conversation in your head before going into an uncomfortable social situation．It sounds like a lot of work, but it's easy and it works! Get involved in activities that interest you and you will make new friends fast．

C

       Always keep a book with you so that you can read during pockets of free time．Turn some of your TV or computer time into reading time．Read for a little while right before bed, and find time to read on weekends．Also, talk to your parents about your schedule．You might not want to quit anything, but you might need to find more free time in order to have a happy balance in your life．

D

       That feeling is your conscience, and it's telling you that you need to confess what you did．Be brave and tell your parents．Even if they get upset when they hear about it from you, they would be even more upset to hear about it from your friend's mom．So pick a quiet time and say．Mom, Dad, I need to tell you something, but I'm afraid．Then spill the beans．No matter what they say, you'll be relieved not to have this secret any more．

E

       First, identify what is frustrating you, then learn to calm yourself down．The next time you start feeling frustrated, stop what you're doing and breathe deeply．Count to ten．Get up and walk around．Clear your mind before you come back to the frustrating task．If you keep a cool head, you'll be less likely to snap at others．And if you do yell at someone, apologize and admit that it's not that person's fault．Then calm down and try again．

F

       Speaking your mind can be a really good thing．Far too many people don't, except when talking about someone behind that person's back．However, there are times when honesty does more than good like when a girl asks if she looks fat．So in situations in which there's no real good, you are better off keeping your thoughts to yourself．In situations in which that is not the case like when your brother asks if his breath stinks feel free to tell the truth．Just be prepared to take it in return．