Question

It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking, and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. My parents lived nearby, and Dad had visited us several times already. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.

He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything. A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.

Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise.

Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out of the window. Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番紅花), throughout the front lawn. Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink --- little faces moved up and down in the cold wind.

Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?

My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived: hard times was almost over. Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon.

Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses. I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs. But I never did.

He died suddenly one October day. My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith. I missed him terribly.

Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed. “You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year.” I told myself.

It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual --- my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.

Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.

How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.

Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime.

1. According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that _________.

A. the writer was unpacking when her father was making the surprise

B. the writer knew what the surprise was because she knew her father

C. it was not the first time that the writer’s father had made a surprise

D. it kept bothering the writer not knowing what the surprise was

2. Which of the following would most probably be the worst time of the year as seen by the writer?

A. Spring. B. Summer.

C. Autumn. D. Winter.

3. The writer’s father should be best described as_________.

A. a full-time gardener with skillful hands

B. a part-time jobber who loved flowers

C. a kind-hearted man who lived with faith

D. an ordinary man with doubts in his life

4. At the end of the passage, crocus was viewed as the symbol of _________ by the writer.

A. belief B. family C. love D. friendship

Answer 1

1.C

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

試題分析：本文通過對(duì)父親的回憶，表現(xiàn)對(duì)父親的愛與懷念，還有父親留給我堅(jiān)定的生活信念。

1.；根據(jù)第二段最后一句When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.當(dāng)我們是小孩子的時(shí)候，他總是制造各種驚喜給我們，推斷這不是他第一次制造驚喜了。 故選C

2.；根據(jù)第五段第二句He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down.父親知道冬天的黑暗和肅殺總是讓我沮喪，可知我覺得冬天最糟糕。故選D

3.；根據(jù)第十段第三句my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.我的家人經(jīng)常談起父親，記得他這樣帶著信念生活。有一次我看到他把他的外套給了一個(gè)無家可歸的人，推斷父親是一個(gè)有信念的熱心腸的人，故選C

4.；根據(jù)最后一段Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime.堅(jiān)持住，繼續(xù)前進(jìn)，光明就要來臨。粉色的番紅花只綻放了一天。但是它卻堅(jiān)定了我一生的信念。整段都在講父親雖然逝世了，可是他種的番紅花就像同樣有信仰的父親一樣堅(jiān)定了我一生的信念。故選A

考點(diǎn)：考查記敘文閱讀