Question

On Christmas Eve, 1944, my grandmother urged my uncle, then 12 years old, to slip out of the concentration camp where they were imprisoned near 15 miles east of Vienna to go to Deutsch-Wagram. “People are charitable around Christmastime,” Grandma Lili said to her son, Gyuri. “Ask for some food. Anything they can spare. Tell them that we’re on the edge of starvation. Tell them that your 3-year-old sister can not get off the bed because she’s outgrown her shoes.”

In the dark of that night, Gyuri secretly left the camp and walked nearly four miles to Deutsch-Wagram, the closest town. He happened upon a house and knocked on the front door. A woman opened that door. She was probably alone, her man far away, fighting in the war, her children asleep in their beds. The 12-year-old pieced together in German exactly what his mother had told him to say.

“Come back tomorrow," whispered the woman. The next day, my uncle returned. The woman opened the door with a smile. She piled his hands with bread, clothing, a pair of shoes that her child had outgrown and a pair of socks. The woman had knitted warm socks for my mother. After putting on the socks and shoes that fit, my mother got off the bed in delight. Her ragged shoes were passed on to a younger child who was also living in the camp. They shared their unexpected harvest with the entire camp. It was a quiet celebration of human kindness around Christmastime.

In April 1945, my mother, uncle and grandmother were liberated. And it was those very socks and shoes that my mother wore as she walked some 28 miles over two days to Bratislava on her walk to a new life.

To the unknown giver, I thank you. In the desperation of a cold and snowy land, when many hearts were closed and death was more likely than life, especially for Jews, you gave them hope and comfort.

1.What did Gyuri manage to do on Christmas Eve?

A. Get permitted to go out.

B. Receive food and clothing.

C. Express what his family needed.

D. Celebrate Christmas in the camp

2.Why does the author mention shoes so many times?

A. To prove the truth of the story.

B. To help the development of the story.

C. To attract readers’ attention to the story.

D. To make clear the background of the story.

3.What feeling did the author write the text with?

A. Desperation. B. Gratefulness.

C. Excitement. D. Sorrow.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Light in darkness. B. Peace to common people.

C. Courage in face of danger. D. The influence of Christmas.

Answer 1