I was 9 years old when I found out my father was 36 . It was 1994, but I can remember my mother’s words as if it 37 yesterday: “Kerrel, I don’t want you to take food 38 your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”
AIDS wasn’t 39 we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family 40 . My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father’s 41 children lived far away, so it 42 to me to look after him. We couldn’t afford all the necessary medication for him, and 43 Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn’t 44 buy food for dinner. I would sit 45 feeling completely 46 , the teacher’s words muffled as I tried to figure out 47 I was going to manage.
I didn’t share my burden with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids 48 classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was 49 weak to feed himself. I had known that he was going to die, 50 after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and 51 , I 52 a woman at the non profit National AIDS Support. That day, she 53 me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.
I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn’t want to call attention to 54 . I 55 .
36.A.bad | B.ill | C.good | D.well |
37.A.were | B.was | C.had been | D.has been |
38.A.to | B.from | C.in | D.on |
39.A.anything | B.everything | C.something | D.all |
40.A.secret | B.problem | C.trouble | D.matter |
41.A.another | B.other | C.the other | D.others |
42.A.came | B.fell | C.felt | D.turned |
43.A.before | B.after | C.because | D.so |
44.A.still | B.even | C.yet | D.already |
45.A.at home | B.in the hospital | C.on the chair | D.in class |
46.A.lost | B.sad | C.puzzled | D.curious |
47.A.what | B.where | C.how | D.when |
48.A.laughed at | B.smiled at | C.played a joke about | D.made fun of |
49.A.too | B.so | C.enough | D.very |
50.A.and | B.but | C.however | D.yet |
51.A.hopeful | B.excited | C.disappointed | D.hopeless |
52.A.visited | B.called | C.asked | D.advised |
53.A.kept | B.told | C.spoke | D.talked |
54.A.him | B.me | C.disease | D.AIDS |
55.A.do | B.did | C.am | D.will |