Young men often give flowers to young women when they are in love. This tradition may have come from Turkey.

  In the 1700s in Turkey, it was quite popular for people in love to send each other baskets full of strange things. The baskets were delivered secretly to the person who was receiving it. Usually, an old woman who sold flowers or fruit on the street left the basket beside the person’s door.

  These baskets included a variety of “gifts”: flowers, stones, feathers, wax, and even charcoal. Each thing in the basket had a special meaning. By figuring out the secret message contained in each item, the person who received the basket began to understand little by little the true feeling of the person who sent it.

  This idea of sending gifts of love with secret meanings quickly spread to Germany, France, and England. However, as time passed, only flowers remained popular.
  An innocent bunch of flowers told young ladies about the feeling in the hearts of young men. Each different flower held a different meaning. For example, the flowers from an orange tree meant, “You are beautiful and pure.” Pink carnations meant, “My love for you is strong and great.” Yellow roses, on the other hand, meant, “I saw you with someone else.”

  Many flower dictionaries were made to help young people in love understand the meaning of the flowers they received. Not all of the dictionaries agreed, however, on the meaning of each flower, so a person had to be careful about the flowers they chose to send.

  By the 1880s, using flowers to send messages had fallen out of fashion, and the more direct way of sending love letters began. Today, flowers are still considered a lovely gift, but the meaning for each kind of flower has been lost.

60. What did the items in the basket explain to the receiver?

  A. The receiver’s appearance.                  B. The sender’s emotions.

  C. The feeling of the receiver.                    D. The love between them.

61. If a French young man of the 1850s wanted to send his beloved girl a gift, he would probably choose       .

  A. flowers and feathers                                 B. yellow roses

  C. pink carnations                                         D. nothing except a love letter

62. The text suggests that       .

  A. Turks still keep their tradition of sending baskets

  B. flower dictionaries were made to help young ladies

  C. people still use flowers to send secret messages

  D. people don’t use flower dictionaries any longer

63. What is likely to be the title of this text?

    A. Say it with Flowers                                  B. Flowers and Secrets

C. Strange Tradition                                      D. Love for Flowers