It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that
she wanted a new bicycle. As Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade (消退), or so
we thought. We bought her a lovely doll, and a doll house. Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd,
she said that she "really wanted a bike more than anything else." But it was just too late. With such a lot of
preparations to do for the Christmas dinner we did not have the time to buy our little girl a bike. So, here we
were Christmas Eve around 9:00 p.m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, sleeping in their beds.
Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child. "What if I make a little bicycle
out of clay (泥) and write a note that she could trade (交易, 交换) the clay bike in for a real bike?" her dad
asked. So he spent the next four hours making a tiny clay bike. On Christmas morning, we were excited for
Almie to open the little gift box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. Finally, she opened it
and read the note aloud. "Does this mean that I can trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?" I
said, "Yes." Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that
Daddy made me. I'd rather keep this than get a real bike." At that moment, we would have moved heaven and
earth to buy her every bicycle in the world!

1. Choose the right time order of the following events.
    a. The girl asked for a new bike.
    b. The girl opened the little gift box.
    c. The parents bought the girl a modern and popular doll.
    d. The father made the girl a bike with clay.
    e. The girl would rather keep the clay bike than get a real one.

A. a, b, c, e, d 　　　　　
B. a, c, d, b, e
C. a, c, b, d, e 　　　　　
D. a, b, d, c, e

2. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. The parents wanted the girl to have the clay bike for ever.
B. Tears were in the girl's eyes because she didn't like the present at all.
C. The girl never lost her desire for a bike.
D. The parents paid little attention to the daughter's desire for a bike.

3. Why did Dad make the clay bicycle? 

A. He wanted his daughter to buy a real one.　
B. He didn't want to disappoint his daughter.
B. He thought his daughter would like it.　　
D. He wanted to give his daughter a surprise.

4. What can we know from the last sentence?

A. The parents were sad and encouraged.　　　
B. The parents felt nervous and shy.
C. The parents were moved and felt proud of the girl.
D. The parents felt unhappy for the girl.

5. Which do you think is the best title (标题) for the story?

A. A lovely little girl　　　　　　　　　　
B. A great and serious father
C. A clay bike　　　　　　　　　　　　
D. Christmas shopping