Alice’s mother died when she was five. Although her brothers and sisters were loving and caring, their love couldn’t take the place of a mother’s. In 1925 Alice became my mother and told me that her family couldn’t even afford her a doll.
One afternoon in December 1982, when I was getting ready for Christmas, I suddenly decided to buy two dolls, one for my five-year-old daughter, Katie, and one for my old mother.
Things went smoothly when a friend told me that his dad, who played Santa Claus in my area, would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home with the gifts! Knowing that my parents would also e to my house, I began to get ready for the most memorable day of my mother’s life.
Christmas Day arrived and so did Santa Claus at the planned time. Katie was very excited and happy all the time to wele the Santa. My mother was enjoying watching Katie weling this special guest. As Santa turned to leave he looked again into his bag and took out one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, without thinking of her name being called, said that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift with a message card that read:
For Alice:
I was cleaning out my sleigh (雪橇) before my trip this year and came across this package that should be sent on December 25, 1925. The gift inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.
Love,
Santa Claus
My mother was very excited and deeply moved to tears. She couldn’t speak but only held tightly in her arms the doll she had waited fifty-seven years to receive as tears of joy flew down her face. That doll made my mother the happiest “child”.
【小题1】Why couldn’t Alice get a doll as a child?A．Because her mother died quite early.B．Because her family disliked her.C．Because her family was very poor.D．Because Alice didn’t love dolls.【小题2】What did the friend’s father do that Christmas morning?A．He acted as Santa Claus to send Christmas gifts.B．He went to her home to see Alice.C．He bought some Christmas gifts for Katie.D．He helped her to get Christmas gifts ready.【小题3】Why didn’t Alice expect there was also a gift for her?A．The gifts from Santa Claus were usually for children.B．The gift was forgotten many years ago.C．The gift for her was bought by accident on the way.D．The gifts for Katie were enough to share with her.【小题4】The author wrote the message card in order to .A．show her deep apology to her motherB．make it clear that Santa Claus didn’t forget herC．show that Santa Claus was hard-workingD．make Alice believe the gift was exactly for her【小题5】From the last paragraph we can infer that .A．old people still keeps something of childishnessB．we should always give our parents a surpriseC．old people usually feel lonely on festivalsD．we should spend more time with our parentsC
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(答案→)C
解析：
作者母亲早年丧母、家境贫寒，连一个玩具娃娃都买不起。作者57岁那一年的圣诞节，作者为母亲买了一只玩具娃娃送给母亲作为圣诞礼物，让母亲深为感动。
【小题1】细节题。由文章第一段and told me that her family couldn’t even afford her a doll.可知，作者母亲因为家境贫寒而买不起玩具娃娃。故C项正确。
【小题2】细节题。由第三段…a friend told me that his dad, who played Santa Claus in my area, would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home with the gifts可知，作者朋友的父亲扮演圣诞老人。故A项正确。act as: 扮作、充当。
【小题3】推断题。由第四段my mother, without thinking of her name being called, said that she in fact was Alice一句可知，作者母亲没有想到会叫到她的名字，这是因为圣诞礼物通常是不送给成年人的。故A项正确。
【小题4】推断题。因为圣诞礼物通常送给儿童，作者担心母亲不相信玩具娃娃会送给一个老人，所以以圣诞老人的口吻写了那张纸条。故选择D项。
【小题5】细节题。由文章最后一句That doll made my mother the happiest “child”.可知，母亲当时快乐得像个“孩子”。老人身上也还保持着某种童真童趣。故选择A项。