A．It is known that the“Great Water”has also been a frontier river（边境河）.
B．Probably the river remembers many happy things，and also many sad things.
C．The Mississippi is the greatest river in the United States.
D．The Mississippi has always had an important part in American
history．
E．Great rivers are likely to suffer floods.
F．As we know．it's the third longest river in the world．
The Mississippi
The
Mississippi is a romantic river whose relationship with man goes back beyond
its discovery by the Spaniards in the 16th century．Indians
used the river as a highway and as a source of food．and
it was they who gave it its name“misi-sipi”，meaning“river
of many fishes”．European explorers called it the
Mississippi．Today, it is often called“Old Man
River”．
45 ．Flowing from north to south，it
gathers many waters on its way．You will easily
understand why it is called“Old Man River”，or the“Father of
Waters”．A lot of early setters built
their homes on the land along its waters．The Mississippi was
and is the old man of all American people，too
46 ．In 1927 the Mississippi flooded
26 thousand acres，sweeping away farms，towns，everything
in its path．In 1938 its floods drowned or
killed 200 people and made millions homeless．Today
the river has largely been controlled．
47 ．Pioneers who first reached its
banks wondered not only where it went，but what lay beyond．In
1764 the French founded a city on the right bank of the river, and named it
after their king，Louis XV．This
city, named St Louis，became the jumping-off
place for the adventurous men and women who opened up the Great Plains，and
the way to the Far West．
48 ．One of the saddest memories may
be that of the blacks who were carried down the river and sold as slaves．The
river also remembers that their sobbing and crying voices once passed over its
waters．
49 ．Today, the river is still an
important part of the American economy．Goods are carried up
and down the river to get to other parts of the country and the world．
After Mom died, I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work．He was frail(衰弱)and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed(挤榨的)orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note reading, “Drink your juice．” Such a gesture(表示), I knew, was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love．In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned Mom “Why doesn't Dad love me?” Mom frowned(皱眉), “Who said he doesn't love you?”“Well, he never tells me,” I complained．He never tells me either,” she said, smiling． “But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house．That's how your father tells us he loves us．”
I nodded slowly．I understood in my head, but not in my heart．I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me．Dad owned and operated a small scrap(小片)metal business, and after school I often hung around while he worked．Dad handfed scrap steel into a device(装置)that chopped(切)it as cleanly as a butcher(屠夫)chops a rack of ribs(肋骨)．The machine looked like a giant pair of scissors(剪刀), with blades(刃)thicker than my father's body．If he didn't feed those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury．“Why don't you hire someone to do that for you?” Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed(搓)his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment(涂剂)．“Why don't you hire a cook?” Dad asked, giving her one of his rare smiles．
Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said,“I love you, Dad．” From then on I did this every morning．My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them．
(1)
What would be the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A．
I just couldn't understand my father
B．
My father never loved me
C．
Silent fatherly love
D．
My hard－working father
(2)
The author's father always prepared a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for him because ________．
[ ]
A．
that was the author's favorite
B．
he was sure the author would be thirsty
C．
the author was always complaining
D．
that was a gesture of love
(3)
The author's father didn't hire a helper because ________．
[ ]
A．
his job was too dangerous
B．
his job required high skills
C．
he wanted to save money
D．
he was not good at communicating with others
(4)
We may infer from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
the author's father lacked a sense of humor
B．
the author quite understood his father as time went on