阅读理解

　　A soldier named John Blanchard struck up(建立)a pen pal friendship with a woman, Sally Maynell, who he had never met in the months before World War II．When the fighting began, their correspondence still continued．

　　Over the next year or so the two got to know each other through their letters．Even so, when Blanchard asked for a photograph, the woman refused．She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like．

　　When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting－7∶00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York．“You’ll recognise me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my suit．”

　　At the station a beautiful young woman approached him．She was wearing a green suit and was everything that he hoped Miss Maynell would be．But there was no red rose．There was another woman．She was well past 40 and had her hair tucked(塞)under a worn hat．She was more than plump, her fat feet thrust(挤)into shoes．Her pale face was gentle and her gray eyes had a warm twinkle(闪光)．On her coat, there was a red rose．

　　He did not hesitate．His fingers gripped the small worn copy of the book that was to identify him to her．“This will not be love, but it will be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a feeling for which I have been and must ever be grateful．” he thought．

　　“I’m John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell．I am so glad you could meet me．May I take you to dinner?” he asked．

　　The woman’s face broadened into a smile．“I don’t know what this is about, son．” she answered, “But the young lady in the green suit who just went by begged me to wear this rose on my coat．And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street．She said it was a kind of test!”