Question

It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking，and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.

He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” I thought it could be just about anything. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us. Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught up in the busyness of our new life , I eventually forgot about his surprise.

Until one gloomy day the next March when I glanced out of the window，I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花）throughout the front lawn — blue, yellow and my favorite pink，with little faces moving up and down in the cold wind. I remembered the things Dad secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?

My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next five seasons, always bringing the same assurance: Hard times are almost over. Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon.

Then a spring came with the usual blooms but the next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses, so I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs (植物球茎). But I never did. He died suddenly one October day. My family were in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith.

On a spring afternoon four years later, I was driving back when I felt depressed. It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual — my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived up to his faith. Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. There on the muddy grass with small piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.

How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years ago, one that hadn’t bloomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.

Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day, but it built my faith for a lifetime.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The author usually felt depressed in the season of winter.

B. The crocuses bloomed each spring before her father died.

C. The author often thought about her father after he died.

D. The author’s father planted the crocuses to lift her low spirits.

2.According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that ______.

A. it was not the first time that the author’s father had made a surprise

B. the author was unpacking when her father was making the surprise

C. it kept bothering the author not knowing what the surprise was

D. the author knew what the surprise was because she knew her father

3.The author’s father should be best described as ______.

A. a part-time worker who loved flowers

B. a kind-hearted man who lived with faith

C. a full-time gardener with skillful hands

D. an ordinary man with doubts in his life

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A. Crocuses — My Source of Faith

B. Crocuses— Father’s Surprise

C. A Pink Crocus — My Memory

D. Crocuses in Blossom — My Favorite

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：文章讲述了一个感人的故事，父亲在庭院种下番红花，每年春天美丽的番红花就会迎风摇曳，仿佛在说：艰难的时期就会过去，坚持！光明即将到来。每当作者看到绽放的番红花时，都会想起慈爱的父亲，想起父亲一直坚持并且通过番红花告诉她的信念：坚持！光明即将到来。

1.B 细节理解题。根据文章第五段Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses.可知，父亲在世时番红花并不是每年都开花，所以判断B选项正确。

2. 细节理解题。由文章When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.可知，作者父亲经常为她制造惊喜，故选A。

3. 推理判断题。从文章内容可知，父亲知道女儿冬天容易情绪低沉，所以种了番红花，让它在春天到来时点缀女儿的心情，提醒她要相信美好时光即将到来，由此可知父亲是个kind-hearted man，而且文中也提到my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith，由此判断B选项正确。

4. 主旨大意题。父亲在院里种下番红花，是想通过番红花告诉她：坚持！光明即将到来。番红花就是作者坚持自己信念的来源。故选A。

考点：考查故事类短文阅读。