She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. Outside, it was pouring so heavily.
We all stood there just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others annoyed because nature messed up their hurried day. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance (昏昏欲睡) we were all caught in. “Mom, let’s run through the rain,” she said.
“ No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit.” Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated, “Mom, let’s run through the rain. ”
“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.
“ No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,”  the young girl said as she tore at her Mom’s arm.
“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”
“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!”
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I dare say you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s lifetime when innocent trust can be developed so that it will bloom into faith. “Honey , you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If get wet, well maybe we just need washing.” Mom said. Then off they ran.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they rushed past the cars and they held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, l did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
You may lose your material possessions, your money and even your health, but no one can ever take away your precious memories. So don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories.
【小题1】 Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “affirmation”?

Theodore, the manager of the Paradise Hotel, told a middle-aged couple that they would have to leave the hotel after just one night. The couple, visiting from Texas, had booked a room for eight nights.

“They wanted a sterile (消毒了的) environment, ”Theodore said, “They should have rented a room in a hospital，maybe an operating room. This hotel is clean, but it isn’t that clean.”

Theodore said that, on the very first day, the couple brought all the sheets, pillowcases, and bedspreads down to the main hall and just dropped them next to the front desk. They stood there next to this pile of bedding while other guests looked, pointed, and murmured. The hotel got three cancellations within the hour from people who witnessed this strange, event.

When Theodore asked the couple what the problem was, they said that their bedding was filthy and they wanted it replaced. The couple could not identify any specific “filth” on the bedding. The wife just said, “We’re paying good money to stay here. How dare you doubt us？We know the filth is there. That’s all the proof you need.” Theodore called room service, and the bedding was replaced immediately.

Early the next evening, however, the couple marched to the front desk again and demanded seven cans of sterilizer, “We need a can for each night. We have to spray the phone, the TV, all the door handles, the toilet handle, the shower stall, the faucet, the sink, and any hotel staff entering our room. ”

Worried, Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around the corner. He then called ahead to reserve a “very clean” room, and gave them free transportation in the hotel Rolls-Royce. Also, he told the couple that they wouldn’t he charged for the second day.

The couple were surprised but they really liked the idea of free room for a night and that expensive car service.

56. The underlined word “filthy” means     in this article．

A. clean                               B. smelly                             C. dirty                        D. old

57. Why was Theodore worried?

A. The hotel would run out of cleaning stuff.

B. The hotel was not clean enough.

C. The couple might have more demands the following days.

D. More guests would make the same requests.

58. What word could best describe the couple?

A. Generous.                       B. Expensive.                       C. Easy-going.                     D. Particular.

Theodore，the manager of the Paradise Hotel，told a middle-aged couple that would have to leave the hotel after just one night．The couple，visiting from Texas，had booked a room for eight nights．

“They wanted a sterile （消毒了的） environment，”Theodore said，“They should have rented a room in a hospital，maybe an operating room．This hotel is clean，hut it isn't that clean．”

Theodore said that，on the very first day，the couple brought all the sheets，pillow eases，and bedspreads down to the main hall and just dropped them next to the front desk．They stood there next to this pile of bedding while other guests looked，pointed，and murmured．The hotel got three cancellations within the hour from people who witnessed this strange，event．

When Theodore asked the couple what the problem was，they said that their bedding was filthy and they wanted it replaced．The couple could not identify any specific“filth”on the bedding．The wife just said，“We’re paying good money to stay here．How dare you doubt us？We know the filth is there．That's all the proof you need，”Theodore called room service，and the bedding was replaced immediately．

Early the next evening，however，the couple marched to the front desk again and demanded seven cans of sterilizer，“We need a can for each night．We have to spray the phone，the TV，all the door handles，the toilet handle，the shower stall，the faucet，the sink，and any hotel staff entering our room．”

Worried，Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around the corner．He then called ahead to reserve a“very clean”room，and gave them free transportation in the hotel Rolls-Royce．Also，he told the couple that they wouldn’t he charged for the second day．

The couple were surprised but they really liked the idea of free room for a night and that expensive car service．

1．The underlined word“filthy”means     in this article．

       A．clean                   B．dirty                    C．smelly                 D．old

2．Why was Theodore worried?

       A．The couple might have more demands the following days．

       B．The hotel was not clean enough．

       C．The hotel would run out of cleaning stuff．

       D．More guests would make the same requests．

3．What word could best describe the couple?

       A．Narrow-minded.        B．Expensive          C．Particular         D．Easy-going

Theodore，the manager of the Paradise Hotel，told a middle-aged couple that that would have to leave the hotel after just one night．The couple，visiting from Texas，had booked a room for eight nights．

“They wanted a sterile (消毒了的) environment，”Theodore said，“They should have rented a room in a hospital，maybe an operating room．This hotel is clean，hut it isn't that clean．”

Theodore said that，on the very first day，the couple brought all the sheets，pilloweases，and bedspreads down to the main hall and just dropped them next to the front desk．They stood there next to this pile of bedding while other guests looked，pointed，and murmured．The hotel got three cancellations within the hour from people who witnessed this strange，event．

When Theodore asked the couple what the problem was，they said that their bedding was filthy and they wanted it replaced．The couple could not identify any specific“filth”on the bedding．The wife just said，“We’re paying good money to stay here．How dare you doubt us？We know the filth is there．That's all the proof you need，”Theodore called room service，and the bedding was replaced immediately．

Early the next evening，however，the couple marched to the front desk again and demanded seven cans of sterilizer，“We need a can for each night．We have to spray the phone，the TV，all the door handles，the toilet handle，the shower stall，the faucet，the sink，and any hotel staff entering our room．”

Worried，Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around the corner．He then called ahead to reserve a“very clean”room，and gave them free transportation in the hotel Rolls-Royce．Also，he told the couple that they wouldn’t he charged for the second day．

The couple were surprised but they really liked the idea of free room for a night and that expensive car service．

56．The underlined word“filthy”means　　 in this article．

A．clean　　　　　　　 B．dirty　　　　　　　 C．smelly　　　　　　　　　 D．old

57．Why was Theodore worried?

A．The couple might have more demands the following days．

B．The hotel was not clean enough．

C．The hotel would run out of cleaning stuff．

D．More guests would make the same requests．

58．What word could best describe the couple?

A．Narrow-minded.　　　　　　 B．Expensive　　　 C．Particular　　　　 D．Easy-going