December 24 arrived along with a heavy snow. It was my first Christmas Eve without my mother, and the day’s usual  36  had disappeared.

The telephone rang. I  37  it and went to my bedroom to bury the continuous 38 , knowing it must be my friend Rebecca calling. How could I be  39  ? I wanted to be left  40 .

My heart felt as  41  as the falling snow.  42  can I stop missing my mother?

I  43  the window. Seeing Rebecca’s car parked out front, I went back to my bed and drew the covers over my head.

“Lucy!” she shouted. “I know you’re in there. Answer the door!”

“Leave me alone!” I  44  back. I heard paper rustling(沙沙作响) as she slid  45   under the door.

“Merry Christmas, ” she called out.

Not answering the  46  made me even 47 . It wasn’t fair to my best friend. Her father and sister  48  in a car accident when she was eight years old.  49 , her mother had to return to  50 , and Rebecca was left to look after herself.

When she left, I carried the small package, sat down and  51  it. Inside was a golden pen and a journal. When I opened the journal’s front cover, out fell a bookmark with a(n)   52   written on it:

Dear Lucy,  

My words won’t heal（治愈）the  53  . But your own words can.

                                                  Love,

                                                  Rebecca

As I stared at the journal’s blank pages, a single tear fell on the page which quickly absorbed it.

That night, I  54  the phone and dialed her number.

“Looks like the snow is melting(融化), ” I said. “Spring was just ___55____the corner.”

1.A. excitement       B. disappointment C. fright             D. pity

2.A. answered         B. covered        C. picked             D. ignored

3.A. pleasure         B. puzzled        C. sadness        D. interest

4.A. regretful        B. joyful         C. comfortable    D. careful

5.A. alive            B. active         C. alone          D. crazy

6.A. light            B. white          C. heavy          D. clear

7.A. Why              B. Where          C. Whether        D. How

8.A. looked through B. looked into C. looked out D. looked up

9.A. brought          B. shouted        C. took           D. turned

10.A. anything        B. something      C. everything     D. nothing

11.A. phone           B. question       C. letter         D. door

12.A. more helpful B. more attractive C. worse            D. better

13.A. survived    B. escaped    C. lived                  D. died

14.A. As a whole B. As a result C. In all                 D. In general

15.A. work            B. wash         C. repair           D. learn

16.A. closed          B. folded       C. opened           D. painted

17.A. article         B. poem         C. notice           D. message

18.A. failure   B. pain        C. wish                    D. shame

19.A. picked up  B. picked out C. pushed back             D. put away

20.A. around     B. over        C. on              D. at