18．As a young boy，I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad．He was a rural mail carrier，and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him．Driving through the countryside was always an adventure：There were animals to see，people to visit，and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop，and Dad did．
In the spring，Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens，and when I was a boy it was such a fun to stick your finger through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers．
On Dad's final day of work，it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service．"Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route．"he used to say，"and a story at every one．"One lady had no mailbox，so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind．Once inside，he read her mail and helped her pay her bills．
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail．One note left in a mailbox read．"Nat，take these eggs to Marian； she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs．"Mailboxes might be buried in the snow，or broken，or lying on the groom，but the mail was always delivered．On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate．A young wrote letters but had no stamps，so she left a few buttons on the envelope in the mailbox； Dad paid for the stamps．One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank．Once，the amount came to 32，000．
A dozen years ago，when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad's death，the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories．I thought I knew them all，but that wasn't the case．
As I drove home，I noticed two lamp poles，one on each side of the street．When my dad was around，those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground．One box was painted green and the other was red，and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering：SANTA CLAUS，NORTH POLE．For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes．
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house．Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps．There，at the door，stood Frank Townsend，Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years．So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories．
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes．"What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas？"he asked．
"The letters？"
'I guess you never knew．"
"Knew what？"
"Remember，when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street？It was your dad who answered all those letters every year．"
I just sat there with tears in my eyes．It wasn't hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one．I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood，and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families．
For me，just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime．
46．It can be inferred（推斷） from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad asC．
A．great chances to help other people
B．happy occasions to play with baby chickens
C．exciting experience with a lot of fun
D．good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies
47．The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show thatB．
A．Dad had a strong sense of duty
B．Dad was an honest and reliable man
C．Dad had a strong sense of honor
D．Dad was a kind and generous man
48．According to the passage，which of the following impressed the writer most？D
A．Dad read letters for a blind lady for years．
B．Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl．
C．Dad delivered some eggs to Marian．
D．Dad answered children's Christmas letters every year．
49．What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply from Santa Claus every year？D
A．Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole．
B．Santa Claus answered all their letters every year．
C．Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children．
D．Santa Claus had so much information about their families．
50．Which of the following is the best title for the passage？A
A．The Mail
B．Christmas Letters
C Special Mailboxes
D．Memorable Travels．
分析 本文主要講述了郵遞員爸爸的簡單、豐富而又充實、有趣的郵遞生活，尤其是給孩子們回復給圣誕老人的郵件更是感人至深．
解答 46．C，推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章的前兩段的描述和句子when I was a boy it was such a fun，作者和父親一起大家經(jīng)歷的所見所聞所感，可知那些是愉快的經(jīng)歷，故答案C符合文意．
47．B，推理判斷題．根據(jù)句子One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank．Once，the amount came to 32，000．商人把那么多錢放在郵箱里托付給爸爸存入銀行，可見爸爸是一個誠實的、可以信賴的人，故答案B符合文意．
48．D，推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章最后幾段對父親給孩子們回復圣誕老人的回信的回憶的大段描述，可以推斷出答案D符合文意．
49．D，細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段最后一句：and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families．可知他們驚訝于圣誕老人對他們家庭很了解，故答案為D．
50．A，標題歸納題，根據(jù)文章的整體理解，本文主要講的是郵遞員爸爸的簡單而又樸實的郵遞生活，故答案A符合文意．
點評 解答任務型閱讀理解題，首先對原文材料迅速瀏覽，掌握全文的主旨大意．因為閱讀理解題一般沒有標題，所以，速讀全文，抓住中心主旨很有必要，在速讀的過程中，應盡可能多地捕獲信息材料．其次，細讀題材，各個擊破．掌握全文的大意之后，細細閱讀每篇材料后的問題，弄清每題要求后，帶著問題，再回到原文中去尋找、捕獲有關(guān)信息．最后，要善于抓住每段的主題句，閱讀時，要有較強的針對性．對于捕獲到的信息，要做認真分析，仔細推敲，理解透徹，只有這樣，針對題目要求，才能做到穩(wěn)、準．
