When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d   36  known. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t   37  lives, he was planting trees.
The good doctor had some   38  theories on planting trees. He believed in “No pains, no gains”. He never   39  his new trees, which was   40  many people. Once I asked why. He   41  that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each following tree generation will   42  weaker and weaker. So you have to make things   43  for them. He talked about how watering trees   44  shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in   45  of water. I came to understand that he meant deep roots were to be   46 . I planted a couple of trees a few years back and I took good care of them. Two years of   47  has resulted in trees that expect to be waited on hand and foot. Whenever a cold wind blows, they   48  and tremble their branches. Funny things about those trees of Dr. Gibbs’. The lack of water seemed to   49  them in ways comfort and ease never could.
I used to   50  for my sons that their lives will be easy. But   51  I’ve been thinking that it’s time to   52  my prayer. I know my children are going to meet   53 , and I’m praying they will be strong. The prayer for comfort is seldom met. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots,   54  when the winds blow, we won’t be   55  away.

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d   36  known. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t   37  lives, he was planting trees.

The good doctor had some   38  theories on planting trees. He believed in “No pains, no gains”. He never   39  his new trees, which was   40  many people. Once I asked why. He   41  that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each following tree generation will   42  weaker and weaker. So you have to make things   43  for them. He talked about how watering trees   44  shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in   45  of water. I came to understand that he meant deep roots were to be   46 . I planted a couple of trees a few years back and I took good care of them. Two years of   47  has resulted in trees that expect to be waited on hand and foot. Whenever a cold wind blows, they   48  and tremble their branches. Funny things about those trees of Dr. Gibbs’. The lack of water seemed to   49  them in ways comfort and ease never could.

I used to   50  for my sons that their lives will be easy. But   51  I’ve been thinking that it’s time to   52  my prayer. I know my children are going to meet   53 , and I’m praying they will be strong. The prayer for comfort is seldom met. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots,   54  when the winds blow, we won’t be   55  away.

Growing roots

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs．He didn’t look like any doctor I’d   1   known．When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t   2   lives, he was planting trees．

The good doctor had some interesting theories   3  planting trees．He believed in “No pains, no gains”．He never  4   his new trees, which was 5   many people．Once I  6  why．He answered that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each following tree generation will grow  7   ．So you have to make things   8   for them．He talked about how watering trees  9  shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in  10  of water．I took him to mean that deep roots were to be  11  ．I planted a couple of trees a few years back and I took good care of them．Two years of devotion has  12  trees that expect to be waited on hand and foot．Whenever a cold wind blows, they  13  and tremble their branches．Funny things about those trees of Dr. Gibbs’．The lack of water seemed to  14  them in ways comfort and ease never  15  ．

  I used to pray for my sons that their lives will be  16  ．But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my  17  ．I know my children are going to meet 18  , and I’m praying they will be strong．The prayer for comfort is  19  met．What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the winds blow, we won’t be  20  away．

1．A．even                         B．ever                 C．never                      D．hardly

2．A．taking                B．making            C．enjoying                  D．saving

3．A．dealing                     B．covering          C．concerning              D．considering

4．A．watered                    B．spoiled             C．loved                     D．cared

5．A．against                     B．beyond            C．within                     D．from

6．A．wondered                 B．asked               C．wandered                D．guessed

7．A．weaker and weaker                    B．stronger and stronger

     C．taller and taller                       D．happier and happier

8．A．easy                  B．comfortable             C．tough                            D．wonderful

9．A．made for           B．made out                 C．brought down         D．brought up

10．A．charge             B．favor                      C．case                       D．search

11．A．treasured          B．challenged               C．respected                D．liked

12．A．resulted in        B．resulted from           C．grown up                D．grown into

13．A．dance              B．shake                      C．spread                    D．stretch

14．A．harm               B．raise                       C．benefit                    D．hurt

15．A．could               B．might               C．should                    D．must

16．A．hard                B．sweet                            C．rewarding               D．easy

17．A．mind               B．thought                   C．idea                       D．prayer

18．A．hardship          B．tragedy                   C．disaster                   D．needs

19．A．never               B．seldom                    C．always                    D．often

20．A．given              B．turned                     C．let                          D．swept

When I was a child, I had an old neighbour named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any other doctor I’ve ever known. He never  11__ at us for playing in his yard. I remembered him as a kind and  _12_ person
When Dr. Gibbs didn’t work, he planted trees. His house covered an area of ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it _ 13_ .
He had some interesting _ 14 _ concerning planting. He belonged to the “No pains, no gains”  __15  of plant growing. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked  _16__, he said, “Watering plants will spoil them, and if you water them, each successive tree_ 17_ will grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things 18__for them and weed out the weak ones.” So he never watered his trees. He would _19__a pine, and instead of _20__it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I __21__ him why he did so, and he said it was to get the tree’s _22__.
I planted a couple of trees a few _23__ ago. I carried water to them for a solid summer, sprayed them and prayed over them. Two years of careful tending has _24__ in trees that expect to be _25__ to hand and foot. Whenever a cold wind blows in, they tremble their branches.
Dr. Gibbs passed away a _26__of years after I left home. Now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees. They’re _27__ now, big and healthy.
Funny things about Dr. Gibbs’ trees. Hardship and difficulty seemed to benefit them _28__
comfort and ease never could.
Life is tough, whether we want 29_ to be or not. Too many times we pray for ease, but that’s a prayer seldom met. What we need to do is to pray for 30_ that reach deep into the earth, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be swept away.