I was cleaning out an old box when an old card caught my eye：Queen City Casket Company．“What is it?” I wondered．I 　36　 it over．There，in faded ink, was a hand-scrawled(手寫的) 　37　. Immediately my mind traveled  38   many years．
I was nine years old, walking down the cold，wet streets of Springfield，with a bag of magazines on my shoulder．On my   39  that day．I came to that Company finally, whose owner, Mr. Rader，had always taken me there to ask his workers  40  they wanted any magazines．
Shaking off the  41  like a wet dog．I entered Mr. Rader's office．After a quick glance ,he  42  me over to the fire-place．Noticing the  43   in the top of my  44  ，he said，“Come with me!”，pulling me into his pickup  45 ．we pulled to a stop before a shoe store．Inside，a salesman  46   me with the finest pair of Oxfords I had  47  seen．I  48  about 10 feet tall when I got up  49  them．“We’d like a pair of new socks too．” Mr Rader said．
Back in his office, Mr Rader took out a  50  ，wrote something on it, and handed it to me．With   51  eyes，I read，“Do to others as you would have them do to you．” He said affectionately(深情地)，“Jimmy，I want you to　52　　I  love  you”．
I said good-bye, and for the first time I  53    a flicker of hope that somehow things would be  54 ．With people like Mr Rader in the world，there was hope，kindness and love，and that would always make a   55 ．

Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog. But we were too busy to buy one. One day, Becky ran in, shouting, “Mom! Come to see my dog!” Her face was red with   36 .

　　I followed her to the bush and found a   37 ! He was hurt. Seeing me, he stood up   38 ! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth felt dry. “Don’t be afraid. That’s Mom. She  39 you, too.” Becky said. Then he became friendly. It was  40 !

　　I   41  to find my husband and told him about the wolf. We should have  42  the wolf, but Becky loved him. Besides, he was gentle(溫柔的) to Becky. So we called the vet finally.

　　Becky named the wolf (狼) Ralph ,  43  she carried food to him every day. Later, Ralph got well. They played together in the daytime. At night, Ralph would return to the mountains. Sometimes he   44  but came back several days later.

　　On Becky’s first day of school, we could see Ralph’s   45 . After the school bus left, Ralph lay by the side of the road and   46  . When Becky returned, he got happy again. This    47  throughout Becky’s school years.

　　Twelve   48  passed.

　　One day we heard that a she-wolf was killed. The other wolf was hurt and ran away. We were   49  about Ralph. That night, Ralph returned with a wound (傷). Fifteen-year-old Becky held his head and   50  him. We hope he could come through. However, he   51 .

　　Becky cried. I noticed something strange in the bush — two little yellow eyes! Ralph’s  52 ! Before he died, Ralph   53  his child to us! He knew he would be  54  here, as he had been. Ralph, Ralph... I was   55 .

　　“Don’t be afraid, little ... Ralphie. That’s Mom. She loves you, too.”

1.                A．encouragement  B．entertainment    C．a(chǎn)greement    D．excitement

2.                A．dog            B．fox            C．wolf D．tiger

3.                A．lovely          B．finally          C．suddenly  D．patiently

4.                A．hurts          B．loves           C．kills  D．hates

5.                A．wonderful      B．unhappy        C．unbelievable   D．normal

6.                A．prepared       B．rushed         C．pretended D．wanted

7.                A．loved          B．found          C．damaged  D．killed

8.                A．a(chǎn)nd            B．but            C．so   D．or

9.                A．disappeared     B．turned         C．passed   D．came

10.               A．sadness        B．dream         C．understanding  D．a(chǎn)nger

11.               A．slept           B．left            C．sang  D．waited

12.               A．stopped        B．joined          C．lived  D．continued

13.               A．days           B．weeks          C．months    D．years

14.               A．surprised       B．puzzled         C．worried   D．careful

15.               A．comforted      B．beat           C．washed   D．a(chǎn)mused

16.               A．succeeded      B．died           C．cried D．woke

17.               A．mother         B．father          C．wife  D．child

18.               A．posted         B．brought        C．sold  D．threw

19.               A．safe           B．happy          C．warm D．friendly

20.               A．confused       B．disappointed    C．moved    D．frightened

By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   16  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.
　　The morning bell rang. I walked   17  through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces  18  me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   19  their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   20 , comparing plans for the   21  . I had to remove one student from each arm   22  I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book（點(diǎn)名冊） my desk was covered with   23  and gifts followed by a   24  of “Merry Christmas” wishes.
　“Oh, thank you,” I must have  25  a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   26  mood. It was kind of them to  27  me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   28  say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   29  by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”
　 “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.
　“Um, could you   30  it now?”
　I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  31  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament（裝飾物）, complete with a hook already 32 . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   33  back.
　Later that day, I sat   34  the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   35  pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.
【小題1】.

A．eagerly

B．a(chǎn)imlessly

C．gently

D．heavily