It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle．As Christmas drew near, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade, or so we thought．We bought the latest rages．Baby-Sitter’s Club dolls, and a doll house．Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else．”
It was just too late, what will all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last-minute gifts, to take the time to select the “right bike” for our little girl．So here we were－Christmas Eve around 9∶00 p. m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, nested snug in their beds．Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child．“What if the bicycle out of clay(a kind of earth)and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?” her dad asked．“This is an expensive item and she is ‘such a big girl,’ and it would be much better for her to pick it out．”So he spent the next four hours painstakingly working with clay to make a tiny bike．
On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little heart-shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note．Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud．“Does this mean that I trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?”Beaming, I said,“Yes．”Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied,“I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me．I’d rather keep this than get a real bike．”At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy every bicycle on the planet!
(1)
Which is the right time order of the following events?
a．The girl asked for a new bike
b．The girl opened the little heart-shaped package
c．The parents bought the girl a modern and popular doll．
d．The father made the girl a bike with clay．
e．The girl would rather keep the clay bike than get a real one．
[ ]
A．
b, c, e ,d
B．
a, c, d, b, e
C．
a, c, b, d, e
D．
a, b, d, c, e
(2)
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
The parents wanted the girl to have the clay bike forever．
B．
Tears were in the girl’s eyes because she didn’t like the present at all．
C．
The girl never lost her desire for a bike．
D．
The parents paid little attention to the daughter’s desire for a bike．
(3)
Why did Dad make the clay bicycle?
[ ]
A．
Because he wanted to buy a real one, but he had no money．
B．
Because he didn’t want to disappoint his daughter．
C．
Because he thought his daughter would like it．
D．
Because he wanted to give his daughter a surprise．
(4)
What can be inferred from the last sentence of the text?
[ ]
A．
The parents were happy and encouraged．
B．
The parents felt comfortable and relaxed．
C．
The parents were moved and felt proud of the girl．
D．
The parents felt disappointed and sorry for the girl．
I always got a flower on my suit on Sunday service, I really didn’t think much of it．
One Sunday a little boy 1 me when I was leaving．He walked right up to me and said, “What are you going to 2 with your flower?” At first I did not know 3 he was talking about, but then I understood．
I said, “Do you mean this?” as I pointed to the rose 4 to my coat．
He said, “Yes sir．I would use it 5 you are just going to throw it away．” At this point I 6 and gladly told him that he could have my flower, casually(顺便) 7 him what he was going to do with it．The little boy said, “Sir, I am going to 8 it to my granny．My mother and father got divorced two years ago, my grandmother 9 me and so I want to give that 10 flower to her．”
When he finished I could 11 speak．And my eyes were filled with tears and I knew I had been 12 in the depth of my soul．I 13 up and unpinned my flower．With the flower in my 14 , I looked at the boy and said, “Son you 15 have this flower because it’s not enough．If you 16 in front of the pulpit(教堂讲坛), you’ll see a big bouquet(束)of flowers．Please take those 17 to your granny because she deserves(应得)the very 18 ．”
The boy made one last 19 ．He said, “What a 20 day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet．I’ll always cherish(珍惜)it．”
