When a special occasion arrives, a colorful gift bag or a box often finds its way to a doorstep, an office desk or a mailbox. But once in a while, a present arrives at an unexpected moment to remind us that someone is thinking about us.
Wanda Anderson of Richland, US, remembers such a gift.
The rosebushes were finally in full bloom on that day in spring.
Seeing roses always brings to mind Wanda’s childhood memories. To this young girl, those flowers were extra special. “We never had money to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to cherish,” Wanda said.
Nowadays, to have a garden filled with many different roses is pure enjoyment. Wanda especially loves the very first blooms.
Her husband, Dale, devotedly takes care of the roses and knows this little fact about his wife. So, on this special morning, he picked the very first flowers of spring, fresh from the garden. But as Dale came back into the house, he was met by a neighbor who had stopped in for a quick visit. As the woman turned to go, Dale handed the roses to her. And even though their visitor insisted she didn’t want to take them, she was repeatedly told that the flowers were hers to keep.
“I told her I was happy for her to have the roses, but I really wasn’t,” Wanda said, remembering the emotions she was feeling right then.
Seeing her very precious first blooms go out the door filled her with regret, and a bit of selfishness.
Throughout the rest of the morning, Wanda argued with herself, knowing it was “better to give than to receive.” Nevertheless, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself.
Later that day, the couple headed to the post office, where Wanda waited outside in the car. Then, without warning, an older woman suddenly appeared at the car’s open window, with a bunch of roses in her arms.
“These are for you,” she said, giving the flowers to Wanda. “They’re my first blooms this spring.”
Totally surprised, Wanda thanked the woman and took a moment to smell the roses’ rich fragrance. When she looked up, the mysterious visitor was gone.
To this day, that “special delivery” changed Wanda. Now, her very first blooms always go to someone else, as a reminder that someone is thinking of them.
1. Why does Wanda love roses so much? (no more than 15 words)2. What does the underlined word “devotedly” mean in Paragraph 6? (no more than 5 words)
3. How did Wanda feel after the neighbor left? (no more than 10 words)
4. What changed Wanda’s opinion of giving gifts? (no more than 10 words)
5. What’s your opinion about the saying “It was better to give than to receive”? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
2 . When I tell people I wrote a book with my dad, they usually say, “It must be nice to think of the legacy (留下来的东西) you created with someone who means so much to you.”
This was a beautiful idea, but it was not the way I, or my dad, ever thought about the cooperation. Though we created something we’re proud of, “nice” is not the word either of us uses to describe the process.
“It was more confrontation than cooperation,” my dad likes to say. I agree. When we landed a book deal, we began a writing journey that was more difficult than either of us had anticipated, but also far more rewarding.
For almost three years, we met once or twice a week at my parents’ house and talked daily to plan and outline each chapter. After these meetings, one of us would write a rough draft that the other would build on. I wanted the book to focus on positive vices (不良习惯), such as moderate chocolate. However, my dad felt the book should include chapters dealing with things like walking and spending time with family. Ultimately, I saw it his way. He said the book was about more than just good vices. It was about encouraging people to enjoy life in healthy ways.
Writing this book was a reminder that our family members share not only our faults but also our strengths. My dad is smart, funny, critical and caring. He has a strong passion for the truth. I hope I share these great qualities. For this book, he researched each topic with an enthusiasm I’d never seen from him, and he insisted that we constantly question and critically analyze every piece of information — even our own conclusions. He was determined to cooperate with me on a book, not because he couldn’t write one on his own, but because he believed that we could create something better together than we could alone.
I’m not sure if our cooperation led to better writing, but I’m sure it led to a better writing experience. Writing this book was difficult, sometimes more difficult than past projects, but it was never lonely.
1. How would the author describe the writing process according to the first three paragraphs?| A．Nice. | B．Struggling. |
| C．Relaxing. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．chapters focusing on positive vices |
| B．chapters focusing on having much chocolate |
| C．chapters focusing on enjoying life in healthy ways |
| D．chapters focusing on reading the interesting legends |
| A．A healthy lifestyle. |
| B．The theme of the book. |
| C．Why the author wanted to write a book. |
| D．How the author and his father worked together. |
| A．He is not good at writing. |
| B．He lacks confidence in himself. |
| C．He likes to criticize others’ works. |
| D．He likes to get to the bottom of things. |
| A．It’s important to make a plan before work. |
| B．Communicate more when there is an argument. |
| C．It’s worthwhile to work with someone close to you. |
| D．Their cooperation resulted in a better book than the author expected. |
In June 2011, my life changed and so did my family’s. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I came downstairs all ready for the family swim. Right before I got into the pool, my mom called me inside. She sat me down and waited for my dad and brothers to come to join us. Then, our parents told us the worst news imaginable-- my dad had been diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer(结肠癌).
The news hit hard of course. However, in my head, my dad was a superman. As his daughter, I knew that cancer wasn’t going to beat him. I just went out and swam.
As weeks went on, life didn’t change much within our house. My mom still went to work; my brothers and I still went to school; and my dad still worked while also meeting his doctor. However, I didn’t realized how much this new diagnosis was going to change my life.
As treatment progressed with my dad’s cancer, I couldn’t depend on him for things he usually did. And with my brothers being away at college, I had to take on a lot more responsibility. But that was not the hardest part of this new journey. It was the fear. The fear that I could lose my Dad. The fear that I could get a call saying that he was in bad condition. The fear that I could never talk to him again. Yet with all these fears, there was never a doubt in my mind that my dad would beat this cancer. He was a superman.
The day of my dad’s surgery finally came. It was Father’s Day and I had my soccer game that day. I won my battle on the field and my dad won his in the hospital.
May 2013, my dad was completely cancer free. Though this journey proved to be a few of the hardest years of my life, it also proved to me how wonderful my dad really is.
1. What happened to the author’s family in June 2011? (no more than 10 words)2. How did the author behave after hearing the news from her mother? (no more than 10 words)
3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “surgery” in Paragraph 6? (no more than 5 words)
4. When did the author’s father completely recover from cancer? (no more than 5 words)
5. What’s your father like? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
