23、An old man lived alone in a town．He wanted to dig up his potato garden ,but it was very hard work．His only son who would have helped him was in prison．So the old man wrote a letter to his son and said:

Dear Son,

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant potatoes in my garden this year．I’d hate to miss doing it ,because your mother always loved planting time．I’m just getting too old to dig up a garden．If you were here ,all my troubles would be over．I know you would dig up the garden for me if you weren’t in prison．

Love, Dad

Soon the old man received a letter: Dad don’t dig up the garden! That’s where I buried the guns!”

At 4 a．m． the next morning some policemen showed up and dug up the whole garden without finding any guns．The old man was surprised and wrote another note to his son ．He told him what had happened and asked him what to do next．

His son’s reply was: Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad．It’s the best I could do for you from here．”

No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart, you can do it．It is the thought that matters．

1．What was the old’s trouble?

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2．How was the old man’ feeling when he was writing to his son ?

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3．Could the old man plant his potatoes at last ?

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4． What do you think of the old man’ son ?

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5．What is the title of this passage？

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23、1． He couldn’t dig up his potato garden．   2． Pretty bad      3．Yes, he could．

4． Clever          5． the thought that matters