The Doll and the White Rose
I was walking around in a mall, when I saw a cashier hand this little boy some money back．The cashier said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll．”The little boy seemed very disappointed．
I walked toward him and asked him who he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll that my sister wanted so much for Christmas．She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her. But Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there．"His eyes were so sad．"My sister has gone to be with God．Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."
My heart nearly stopped．The little boy looked up at me and continued, "I told Daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall."
I quickly reached for my wallet and said," Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll．"
"OK, I hope I do have enough," he said．I put some of my money with his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money．
Surprisingly, the little boy cried, "Thank you God for giving me enough money!" Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much．But he gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose ! "
Then I remembered two days before a local newspaper reported an accident in which a woman and a little girl were badly injured．The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state．Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after I met the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the woman had passed away．I couldn't stop myself from going to the funeral. Teary-eyed, I felt that my life had been changed forever．

1. 1.

   The boy wanted to buy the doll because______.

   1. A.
      he had always been eager for such a doll
   2. B.
      Santa Claus didn't give him any Christmas gift
   3. C.
      he would give it to his mother as a birthday surprise
   4. D.
      he wanted to turn his sister's Christmas wish into reality
2. 2.

   We can learn from the story that______.

   1. A.
      the boy's sister died after staying in hospital for two weeks
   2. B.
      the boy's family were all seriously injured in a car accident
   3. C.
      the author gave the boy some extra money without his notice
   4. D.
      the boy's mother always wished to receive a white rose on Christmas
3. 3.

   The story most probably conveys the message that______.

   1. A.
      a kind act can bring joy and hope to others
   2. B.
      a gift is a perfect way to express love for others
   3. C.
      losing a family member is a heavy blow to children
   4. D.
      a religiou s belief can help one solve problems in his life

I have recently completed my college degree. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around I smelled a horrible body odour （气味）and saw two poor homeless men standing behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled（摸索）with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it－I embraced（拥抱） the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals on and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.” When I sat down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that because of the good fortune that we had been given.
I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to heal people and to be healed.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.
【小题1】Why did people around the author in the McDonald step back?

Sitting in the play area of the doctor’s office，my children，Paul，four，and Bailey，three，built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul’s examination.

“Good job，you guys，”I said，trying not to sound too tired.My husband was away on business，and it was difficult being alone with the kids.At times I felt like I was living in the jungle (丛林) rather than the suburbs.

“Don’t put the Lego in your mouth，Bailey，” I said.Paul grabbed (抓取) it from him.“That’s not nice，Paul，” I said.He gave back the Lego.I looked around the waiting room.A woman was eating something，a couple were talking，and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine.I wished I could sit quietly for a while.I wanted to be able to take a rest，or go shopping alone.At once，I was ashamed of myself.What kind of mother was I？“God，” I thought，“help me to be the very best mom I can be.”

The nurse came into the waiting room to get us.Just at that moment，the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me.With a smile on his face，he said，“Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.”“Thank you，”I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat.We followed the nurse into the examination room.While she weighed Paul，I told her how that man had made my day.

Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes，but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman.

56．The writer went to the doctor’s office because________.

A．one of her children liked to play there

B．her son Paul needed an examination

C．she was tired and needed to see her doctor

D．she wanted to have all her children examined

57．From Paragraph 2，we know the writer felt that looking after her children alone was________.

A．unfair                                  B．happy 

C．hard                                    D．interesting

58．In the old gentleman’s opinion，the writer________.

A．lived a very hard life

B．was a very good mother

C．didn’t love her children enough

D．was lucky to have so lovely children

59．What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer often went shopping alone.

B．The writer’s husband was always on business.

C．The writer doesn’t know how to be a good mother.

D．The writer was greatly encouraged by the old gentleman’s words.

Sitting in the play area of the doctor’s office，my children，Paul，four，and Bailey，three，built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul’s examination.

“Good job，you guys，”I said，trying not to sound too tired.My husband was away on business，and it was difficult being alone with the kids.At times I felt like I was living in the jungle (丛林) rather than the suburbs.

“Don’t put the Lego in your mouth，Bailey，” I said.Paul grabbed (抓取) it from him.“That’s not nice，Paul，” I said.He gave back the Lego.I looked around the waiting room.A woman was eating something，a couple were talking，and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine.I wished I could sit quietly for a while.I wanted to be able to take a rest，or go shopping alone.At once，I was ashamed of myself.What kind of mother was I？“God，” I thought，“help me to be the very best mom I can be.”

The nurse came into the waiting room to get us.Just at that moment，the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me.With a smile on his face，he said，“Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.”“Thank you，”I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat.We followed the nurse into the examination room.While she weighed Paul，I told her how that man had made my day.

Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes，but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman.

46．The writer went to the doctor’s office because________.

A．one of her children liked to play there

B．her son Paul needed an examination

C．she was tired and needed to see her doctor

D．she wanted to have all her children examined

47．From Paragraph 2，we know the writer felt that looking after her children alone was________.

A．unfair                                              B．happy 

C．hard                                                D．interesting

48．In the old gentleman’s opinion，the writer________.

A．lived a very hard life                           B．was a very good mother

C．didn’t love her children enough            D．was lucky to have so lovely children

49．What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer often went shopping alone.

B．The writer’s husband was always on business.

C．The writer doesn’t know how to be a good mother.

D．The writer was greatly encouraged by the old gentleman’s words.