Don't wait Until Flowers Fade

   Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches(路沟) along the highway I travel daily to work.

   There is one  36  blue flower that has always  37  my eye. I've noticed that it blooms only in the morning hours, the afternoon sun is  38  warm for it. Every day for  39  two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.

   This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the  40  window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I've often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look  41  in that bed alongside  42  wildflowers.

Everyday I  43  past the flowers thinking, "I'll stop on my way home and dig them." "Gee, I don't want to get my good clothes  44  ..." Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband  45  gave me a folding shovel(铲) one year to be used for that  46  purpose.

   One day on my way home from work, I was  47  to see that the highway department had moved the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, "Way to go, you   48  too long. You  49  it when you first saw them blooming this spring."

   A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister-in-law has a terminal brain tumor(脑瘤晚期). She is 20 years older than my husband and unfortunately,          50  age and distance, we haven't been as  51   as we all would have liked. I couldn't help but  52  the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the  53  between my husband's sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful  54  that will bloom every year for us.

   And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I'll stop and  55  them to my wildflower garden.

 36.  A. sweet           B. interesting         C. different         D. particular

 37.  A. fascinated       B.struck             C. caught           D. charmed

 38.  A. too             B. very              C. much            D. enough

39.  A. extremely       B. approximately      C. hardly           D. rarely

40.  A. bedroom        B. main hall          C. classroom        D. kitchen

 41.  A. great           B. well               C. horrible          D. ugly

 42.  A. many           B. various            C. other            D. colorful

 43.  A. walked          B. drove              C. went             D. ran

 44.  A. damaged        B. ready              C. dirty             D. smelly

 45.  A. ever            B. once               C. never             D. even

 46.  A. expressed       B. temporary          C. unfinished         D. long-term

 47.  A. annoying       B. saddened           C. interested           D. helpless

 48.  A. wasted         B. ignored            C. thought            D. waited

 49.  A. could have done B. need have done      C. should have done    D. must have done

 50.  A. in spite of       B. regardless of        C. because of         D. in terms of

 51.  A. close           B. far               C. closed              D. near

 52.  A. see            B. to see             C.seeing               D. saw

 53.  A. friendship      B. relationship       C. support             D. relative

 54.  A. trees           B. memories         C. species              D. grass

 55.  A. dig            B. rescue            C. transmit            D. transplant