About this time every year, I get very nostalgic(怀旧的). Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air, children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end. When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become. Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors.
It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won’t be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to those people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever.
The “comings and goings” of the younger generation of my street are now mostly “goings” as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.
Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for now homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my street will be just another pea in the pod.
There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.
【小题1】The writer calls up the memory of the street _____________.

The family had just moved. The young woman was feeling a little __1__. It was Mother’s Day – and 800 miles separated her from her parents.

She had called them that morning, and her mother had __2__ how colorful their backyard was __3__ spring had arrived. Later, she told her husband how she __4__ those lilacs (丁香花) in her parents’ yard. “I know where we can find some,” he said. “Get the __5__ and come on.” So off they went.

Some time later, they stopped at a hill and there were lilacs all round. The young woman rushed up to the nearest __6__ and buried her face in the flowers. Carefully, she __7__ some. Finally, they returned to their car for the __8__ home. The woman sat smiling, surrounded by her __9__.

When they were near home, she shouted “Stop,” got out quickly and __10__ to a nearby nursing home. She went to the end of the porch (门廊), where a(n) __11__ patient was sitting in her wheelchair, and put the flowers into her lap. The two __12__, bursting into laughter now and then. Later the young woman turned and ran back to her __13__. As the car pulled away, the woman in the wheelchair __14__ with a smile, and held the lilacs __15__.

“Mom,” the kids asked, “__16__ did you give her our flowers?”“It is Mother’s Day, and she seems so __17__while I have all of you. And anyone would be __18__ by flowers.”

This satisfied the kids, but not the husband. The next day he __19__ some young lilacs around their yard.

I was the husband. Now, every May, our yard is full of lilacs. Every Mother’s Day our kids __20__ purple lilacs. And every year I remember that smile of the lonely old woman. And that has become a lasting touching memory of my life.

1.                A．moved         B．worried         C．angry D．depressed

2.                A．learned        B．imagined        C．mentioned    D．realized

3.                A．now that        B．so that          C．as if  D．even if

4.                A．missed         B．planted         C．watered  D．showed

5.                A．cars           B．kids            C．clothes   D．lilacs

6.                A．bush           B．hill            C．yard D．door

7.                A．bought         B．picked          C．sent D．raised

8.                A．break          B．holiday         C．trip  D．dinner

9.                A．friends         B．memory        C．flowers   D．honor

10.               A．responded      B．pointed        C．drove D．hurried

11.               A．loving          B．elderly         C．serious    D．sensitive

12.               A．hesitated       B．waited         C．sat   D．chatted

13.               A．family          B．mother         C．path  D．home

14.               A．nodded        B．waved         C．left   D．continued

15.               A．weakly         B．politely         C．quickly    D．tightly

16.               A．why           B．when          C．how  D．where

17.               A．quiet          B．confused       C．alone D．patient

18.               A．calmed         B．persuaded      C．disappointed   D．cheered

19.               A．arranged       B．dried          C．grew D．hid

20.               A．find           B．gather         C．receive   D．sell

I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed. It was time. The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights. I’d procrastinated（拖延，耽搁）long enough.

I got up, went to the garage and dragged all the boxes into the room. The garland(花环)was the first to come down. The tree looked naked(光秃秃的)already. I took the large ornament（装饰物）off next. They made a large pile on our bed. An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories. Each pile contained an ornament along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago.

I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favorite. “Hey, little Santa!” I held the Santa from my childhood. “Thanks for being my friend for almost fifty years.” He was a little ragged but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories. “Until next year, my dear friend.”

There was a collection of handmade ones. My children made in the their first years of school, more than twenty years ago. Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree－memories of young giggles(咯咯地笑)on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work. “Look what we made, Daddy!”

“Oh! It is beautiful. Let’s find a special spot on the tree for it.” Every year since, they are displayed.

A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed(用吸尘器清扫)and I sat staring at a barren(空荡荡的)corner. The room seemed so empty. It took me two days of work to assemble(收集)and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart.

My tree is like a good marriage or a great friendship. Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly.

Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships. I take great care of those. They get to glow in the corner of my life for as long as I live. I get to analyze my tree and find memories for a few weeks every year. I can do the same with the loves in my life every day. Take great care of your friendships and your marriage. Once they come down, they aren’t as easy to put back together as a Christmas tree. Stand them in that special spot in the corner of your heart and admire their glow.

1.In the author’s eyes, the Christmas tree      .

A．is a collection of childhood memories

B．is a symbol of long-lasting relations

C．takes too much time to decorate

D．is full of out-of-date ornaments

2.To the author, a Christmas tree is similar to a good marriage in that      .

A．both take time to build but fall apart easily

B．both remind him of bittersweet memories

C．both need to be admired for some time

D．both get less attractive over the years

3.What is the main theme of the article?

A．We’d better put away Christmas decorations and recycle them each year.

B．Friendships and marriages should be valued and managed carefully.

C．Memories with friends and family should be cherished and relived.

D．We should decorate Christmas trees with personal stuff and recycle.

The family had just moved. The young woman was feeling a little __1__. It was Mother’s Day – and 800 miles separated her from her parents.
She had called them that morning, and her mother had __2__ how colorful their backyard was __3__ spring had arrived. Later, she told her husband how she __4__ those lilacs (丁香花) in her parents’ yard. “I know where we can find some,” he said. “Get the __5__ and come on.” So off they went.
Some time later, they stopped at a hill and there were lilacs all round. The young woman rushed up to the nearest __6__ and buried her face in the flowers. Carefully, she __7__ some. Finally, they returned to their car for the __8__ home. The woman sat smiling, surrounded by her __9__.
When they were near home, she shouted “Stop,” got out quickly and __10__ to a nearby nursing home. She went to the end of the porch (门廊), where a(n) __11__ patient was sitting in her wheelchair, and put the flowers into her lap. The two __12__, bursting into laughter now and then. Later the young woman turned and ran back to her __13__. As the car pulled away, the woman in the wheelchair __14__ with a smile, and held the lilacs __15__.
“Mom,” the kids asked, “__16__ did you give her our flowers?”“It is Mother’s Day, and she seems so __17__while I have all of you. And anyone would be __18__ by flowers.”
This satisfied the kids, but not the husband. The next day he __19__ some young lilacs around their yard.
I was the husband. Now, every May, our yard is full of lilacs. Every Mother’s Day our kids __20__ purple lilacs. And every year I remember that smile of the lonely old woman. And that has become a lasting touching memory of my life.

I looked at my beautiful Christmas tree and sighed. It was time. The New Year was a week old and my tree still stood in the corner of our room with its collection of memories proudly displayed in a shower of colorful lights. I’d procrastinated（拖延，耽搁）long enough.
I got up, went to the garage and dragged all the boxes into the room. The garland(花环)was the first to come down. The tree looked naked(光秃秃的)already. I took the large ornament（装饰物）off next. They made a large pile on our bed. An hour later, our bed was covered with Christmas memories. Each pile contained an ornament along with its matching brothers and sisters from sets purchased many years ago.
I prepared the boxes and carefully placed ornaments in their protective packaging, pausing every few minutes to admire a favorite. “Hey, little Santa!” I held the Santa from my childhood. “Thanks for being my friend for almost fifty years.” He was a little ragged but still gives me a flood of wonderful memories. “Until next year, my dear friend.”
There was a collection of handmade ones. My children made in the their first years of school, more than twenty years ago. Made by tiny hands, they are far from perfect in design, but every year they go on my memory tree－memories of young giggles(咯咯地笑)on Christmas morning and a smiling face when they handed them to me when I came home from work. “Look what we made, Daddy!”
“Oh! It is beautiful. Let’s find a special spot on the tree for it.” Every year since, they are displayed.
A few hours after I started, the filled boxes were back in the garage, the room was vacuumed(用吸尘器清扫)and I sat staring at a barren(空荡荡的)corner. The room seemed so empty. It took me two days of work to assemble(收集)and decorate my tree, but only a few hours to take it apart.
My tree is like a good marriage or a great friendship. Like the tree, they take a long time to assemble and decorate with memories, but can be torn down quickly.
Every year I have to put my tree away, but not my marriage or friendships. I take great care of those. They get to glow in the corner of my life for as long as I live. I get to analyze my tree and find memories for a few weeks every year. I can do the same with the loves in my life every day. Take great care of your friendships and your marriage. Once they come down, they aren’t as easy to put back together as a Christmas tree. Stand them in that special spot in the corner of your heart and admire their glow.
【小题1】In the author’s eyes, the Christmas tree      .