Ice cream can’t cure cancer or bring back a lost love, but it can make one feel better for a while.
A bout 18 months ago, my father was in hospital recovering from a major lung operation. My mother had recently
36 , and my father had taken the loss of his partner of 55 years very hard and had lost interest in
37 . Trying to get him to
38 each day was quite a chore as he didn’t want anything. The one thing,
39 , that he would ask us to bring him was ice-cream.
One evening, to our
40 , he refused to eat the ice-cream,
41 I placed it in a staffroom freezer. A little while later, my son decided he wanted it, so I
42 it for him.
As I passed another ward（病房）, a
43 asked, “Are there more where that came from?” When I explained the
44 , she apologized. She then said that she had cancer and could eat very little,
45 the occasional ice-cream.
The next evening, I decided to buy two ice-creams. On the way to Dad’s room, I stopped in at the
46 woman’s room, and
47 her the ice-cream I’d bought for her. She was
48 stunned that I had thought of her, and
49 the gift with tears in her eyes. I spoke with her for a few minutes,
50 what was happening in my family and listened to her
51 story of pain and suffering. It was apparent that she did not
52 many visitors, and the ice-cream and our short chat meant a great deal to her.
I
53 the gesture a few days later, and this time was
54 with a huge hug.
I never even thought to ask her name, and never saw her again, but it made me realize that an act of
55 can be more rewarding when you give it, rather than receive it.
| 小题1: | | A．passed away | B．gone out | C．come back | D．calmed down |
|
| 小题2: | | A．work | B．life | C．studies | D．games |
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| 小题3: | | A．speak | B．laugh | C．drink | D．eat |
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| 小题4: | | A．though | B．however | C．instead | D．therefore |
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| 小题5: | | A．joy | B．satisfaction | C．surprise | D．relief |
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| 小题6: | | A．if | B．unless | C．so | D．because |
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| 小题7: | | A．borrowed | B．bought | C．made | D．fetched |
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| 小题8: | | A．woman | B．granny | C．girl | D．child |
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| 小题9: | | A．question | B．situation | C．process | D．decision |
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| 小题10: | | A．better than． | B．more than | C．rather than | D．other than |
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| 小题11: | | A．pretty ’ | B．honest | C．sick | D．shy |
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| 小题12: | | A．offered | B．told ． | C．sold | D．charged |
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| 小题13: | | A．hardly | B．finally | C．gradually | D．totally |
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| 小题14: | | A．accepted | B．stored | C．exchanged | D．gave |
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| 小题15: | | A．remembering | B．denying | C．explaining | D．forgetting |
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| 小题16: | | A．ordinary ’ | B．similar | C．interesting | D．i’great |
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| 小题17: | | A．have | B．like | C．expect | D．J attract |
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| 小题18: | | A．reported | B．expressed | C．noticed | D．^repeated |
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| 小题19: | | A．covered | B．connected | C．rewarded | D．filled |
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| 小题20: | | A．politeness | B．kindness | C．selflessness | D．willingness |
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