7．Bobby was sitting out in his back yard in the snow．The thin shoes he wore had a few holes in them and they did a （31）B job of keeping out the cold．Try as he might，he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift．
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago，his mother worked nights at the hospital，but the small money she made could （32）D be enough for their needs．
Although the family was short of money，they made up for in love and family unity instead．The children （33）C the household （家庭） when their mother was away．All three of Bobby's sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother．
It was Christmas Eve already，and he had nothing．Bobby started to walk down to the street．He walked from shop to shop．Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of （34）A．Suddenly he found something shinning on the ground．He reached down and（35）C a shiny dime （一角幣）．Never before has anyone felt so （36）D as Bobby did at that moment．He held his new found treasure and went inside a flower shop，but his excitement quickly turned cold when he saw the （37）A of flowers．
When the owner asked if he could help him，Bobby（38）B the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother as a Christmas gift．The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent （39）D，and said，"You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you．"
The shop owner returned holding 12 red roses．"That will be ten cents，young man，"he said．
Bobby's heart beat fast．Slowly，he moved his hand to give the man his dime and （40）Bfor his home．
Then the shopkeeper's wife appeared．"Where are the roses you were fixing？"
The shop owner replied，"While I was setting up things to open the shop，I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift．When I saw that little boy tonight，I knew who that voice was．"
| 31．A．good | B．poor | C．serious | D．clear |
| 32．A．nearly | B．normally | C．typically | D．hardly |
| 33．A．did | B．controlled | C．ran | D．operated |
| 34．A．reach | B．mind | C．sight | D．breath |
| 35．A．examined | B．checked | C．discovered | D．received |
| 36．A．crazy | B．safe | C．cool | D．rich |
| 37．A．prices | B．names | C．colors | D．kinds |
| 38．A．noticed | B．presented | C．explained | D．collected |
| 39．A．a(chǎn)llowing | B．choosing | C．serving | D．offering |
| 40．A．looked | B．headed | C．searched | D．drove． |
