1 . Our family moved to Texas in 1996, when my husband Jerry got a job in a factory as a pipe-fitter. We lived in a small mobile home. When the job in Texas ended, he was out of _________. Months went by. Rent was _________ on the mobile home.

“At least we would have a nice _________,” I thought as I drove the girls to the supermarket on Christmas Eve to buy some food. Amanda was two years old and Kimberly was five years old. In the supermarket, I was _________ by different items. The _________ wrapped with shiny paper looked especially beautiful. I wished the girls weren’t _________ by them. Kimberly _________ alongside the cart with excitement. “Maybe she forgets this Christmas,” I thought.

_________, we got to the checkout counter. When we wheeled the cart out, we saw a wall of Christmas trees, each waiting to be _________ so its branches could __________ in a special spot at home. “Look, Mom!” said Kimberly. “Sweetie, we can’t get a tree this year,” I replied. Amanda was too young to have any __________, and Kimberly seemed to be calm, but I felt terrible. We pushed our cart through the parking lot. Halfway to the car, Kimberly stopped and pointed, “Look, Mom! That can be our tree!” At first, I wasn’t sure what she was pointing at. Then I saw a pine __________ lying on the ground. I couldn’t say no again. “Okay.”

I said. “We will bring it home.”

Back home, I found a coffee can to __________ it in. Kimberly collected some rocks and filled the can. While I made dinner, the girls colored some stars and bells. Jerry __________ their artwork for the tree. We set the display on the table in our tiny kitchen. “That branch was a lucky find,” Jerry said when we sat down for dinner.

__________, it was luck. My family and I celebrated many other Christmas holidays with real trees later, but it is the Christmas in the mobile home that we all remember most.

1.

A．control

B．mind

C．breath

D．work

2.

A．due

B．low

C．limited

D．enough

3.

A．style

B．dinner

C．table

D．pet

4.

A．burdened

B．surrounded

C．confused

D．cheated

5.

A．shelves

B．ceilings

C．decorations

D．walls

6.

A．misled

B．defeated

C．threatened

D．attracted

7.

A．skipped

B．lay

C．hid

D．slept

8.

A．Amazingly

B．Desperately

C．Proudly

D．Eventually

9.

A．painted

B．untied

C．unloaded

D．replaced

10.

A．turn up

B．fan out

C．grow up

D．look out

11.

A．talents

B．imaginations

C．expectations

D．hobbies

12.

A．seed

B．box

C．branch

D．root

13.

A．set

B．throw

C．blow

D．pull

14.

A．cut up

B．tore down

C．cut out

D．tore up

15.

A．Indeed

B．Roughly

C．Otherwise

D．Narrowly

4 . Why should the woman contact Ruth?

A．To get on the guest list.

B．To ask her out for dinner.

C．To ask for the organizer’s number.

5 . The annual South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held on Sunday, March 17, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. This is the 119th-annual parade for the historically-Irish city, and always falls on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day. This year, it luckily falls on the day of the holiday itself.

The Route

According to the Allied War Veterans Council, the parade will start at 1 p.m. at Broadway station and move up West Broadway. It will continue on East Broadway, take a right on P Street, then a right onto East Fourth Street.

From East Fourth Street, it will turn left onto K Street, then right onto East Fifth Street, where it will continue until taking a left onto G Street. It will stay left of South Boston High School to Thomas Park, and follow the park until it takes a left at Telegraph Street and another left to Dorchester Street. The parade will stay on Dorchester Street until its end in Andrew Square.

How to participate

If you’re local to the area or traveling especially to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you can, of course, attend the parade in person. But for everyone else, there are a few options on how to watch it live.

Local stations NBC10 Boston and NECN will air the parade on television or stream on various platforms starting at 1 p.m. ET, including on Peacock, Roku and on its YouTube channel.

USA TODAY is also providing coverage for the parade in Boston, as well as celebration in other U.S. cities over the weekend, including New York City and Chicago. You can watch the parade at the top of this page or on USA TODAY’s YouTube channel.

1. Where will St. Patrick’s Day parade start?

A．Broadway station.	B．Dorchester Street.
C．K Street.	D．South Boston High School.

2. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To call for donations.	B．To recommend a traditional holiday.
C．To inform people of an activity.	D．To explain a period of history.

3. Where does the passage probably come from?

A．A magazine.	B．A history book.
C．The internet.	D．A travel brochure.