Question

【2011·河南省鄭州市第二次質量預測】A

    Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils （水仙花）before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.

    The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible （看不見的）in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”

    My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, Mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

    After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden”.

    We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most beautiful sight! There were five acres of flowers! “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio （庭院）, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

    The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs （鱗莖）,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

    I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun -- one bulb at a time -- to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.

56. The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because _________.

    A. she was not interested in them

    B. they were growing on the mountain top

    C. the weather was not good enough

    D. it was not easy for her to drive there

57. What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?

    A. She must be out of mind.

    B. She acted as a gardener there.

    C. It took her great determination to grow the daffodils.

    D. She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils.

58. What could the author probably learn from this experience?

    A. Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.

    B. We must put the interests of others above our own.

    C. We can change the world by growing flowers.

    D. It’s never too late to learn.

59. What would be the best title for the passage?

    A. An Unforgettable Experience.         B. Beautiful Daffodils.

C. One Bulb at a Time.                 D. I Love Daffodils.

  

Answer 1

56.D 57.C 58.A 59.C