Learning to Accept
I learned how to accept life as it is from my father. 36 , he did not teach me acceptance when he was strong and healthy, but rather when he was 37 and ill.
My father was 38 a strong man who loved being active, but a terrible illness 39 all that away. Now he can no longer walk, and he must sit quietly in a chair all day. Even talking is 40 . One night, I went to visit him with my sisters. We started 41 about life, and I told them about one of my 42 . I said that we must very often give things up 43 we grow --- our youth, our beauty, our friends --- but it always 44 that after we give something up, we gain something new in its place. Then suddenly my father 45 up. He said, “But, Peter, I gave up 46 ! What did I gain?” I thought and thought, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. 47 , he answered his own question: “I 48 the love of my family,” I looked at my sisters and saw tears in their eyes, along with hope and thankfulness.
I was also 49 by his words. After that, when I began to feel irritated (愤怒的) at someone, I 50 remember his words and become 51 . If he could replace his great pain with a feeling of love for others, then I should be 52 to give up my small irritations. In this 53 , I learned the power of acceptance from my father.
Sometimes I 54 what other things I could have learned from him if I had listened more carefully when I was a boy. For now, though, I am grateful for this one 55 .
36. A. Afterwards | B. Therefore | C. However | D. Meanwhile |
37. A. tired | B. weak | C. poor | D. slow |
38. A. already | B. still | C. only | D. once |
39. A. took | B. threw | C. sent | D. put |
40. A. impossible | B. difficult | C. stressful | D. hopeless |
41. A. worrying | B. caring | C. talking | D. asking |
42. A. decisions | B. experiences | C. ambitions | D. beliefs |
43. A. as | B. since | C. before | D. till |
44. A. suggests | B. promises | C. seems | D. requires |
45. A. spoke | B. turned | C. summed | D. opened |
46. A. something | B. anything | C. nothing | D. everything |
47. A. Surprisingly | B. Immediately | C. Naturally | D. Certainly |
48. A. had | B. accepted | C. gained | D. enjoyed |
49. A. touched | B. astonished | C. attracted | D. warned |
50. A. should | B. could | C. would | D. might |
51. A. quiet | B. calm | C. relaxed | D. happy |
52. A. ready | B. likely | C. free | D. able |
53. A. case | B. form | C. method | D. way |
54. A. doubt | B. wonder | C. know | D. guess |
55. A. award | B. gift | C. lesson | D. class |