A mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia (白血病). Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and realize all his dreams. She took her son's hand and asked, "Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be when you grew up?"
"Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up."
Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true." Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, well make him an honorary fireman for the whole day, He can come down to the fire station;, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And, if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform made for him."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted(护送)him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy got to sit up on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Bopsy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines and even the fire chief's car. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished(慷慨给予)upon him, Bopsy lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop and the head nurse began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Bopsy bad spent as a fireman, so she called the fire chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition. The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens(警报器)screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that it's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time? And will you open the window to his room? Thanks?"
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy's third floor open window and 14 firemen and two fire-women climbed up the ladder into Bopsy's room. With his mother’s permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?"
"Bopsy, you are," the chief said. With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.
45. Bopsy's mother went to the local fire department and asked if
.
A.her son could get a fire uniform |
B.Fireman Bob could make her son a real fireman |
C.her son could see a fire engine |
D.they could give her son a ride on a fire engine |
46. What did Fireman Bob probably mean by saying "the whole nine yards"?
A.The fire engine was nine yards long. |
B.The whole journey that day was very upsetting. |
C.Bopsy could experience everything as a fireman, |
D.All the sirens of the fire engines would scream that day. |
47. According to Paragraph 4 and 5, Bopsy managed to do many things EXCEPT
.
A.driving the hook and ladder truck | B.going out on all the three fire calls that day |
C.riding in the fire chef's car | D.living longer than he was supposed to be |
48. Why did the head nurse want a fireman in uniform to be sent to the hospital?
A.Because Bopsy begged her to do so. |
B.Because Bopsy saw the firemen as his family members. |
C.Because she wanted to do something for Bopsy before he died, |
D.Because she wanted Bopsy to be approved as a real fireman. |
49. Which of the following statements best shows the theme of the passage?
A.Where there is a will, there is a way. |
B.Sometimes there are miracles because of love. |
C.Great things may be done by painstaking efforts. |
D.A mother understands what a child does not say. |