阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。?

During the years of depression(萧条), food and money were very hard to find and people had to trade things with each other.

One day I was   36   some potatoes from Mr Miller. I noticed a small poor boy hungrily   __37   a full basket of freshly picked green peas. Then I was _ 38   to see that Mr Miller sold the boy a bag of peas for just a marble (弹球).

Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby,   39__ and told me that Mr Miller loved to trade with the three boys in the village for peas, tomatoes, and other things  _40   he didn’t really need any marbles. I left the stand, smiling to myself,   41   by this man.

Several years went by. One day I learned that Mr Miller had died. I took part in the funeral(葬礼), _ 42__  three young men. They came over to Mrs Miller, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke with her and moved on, __43__ their eyes.

Our __44__ came to meet Mrs Miller. I mentioned __45_  she had told me about the __46__ . She told me, “Those three young men above were the boys I told you about. They just told me    how they appreciated the things Jim ‘_ 47 _ ’with them. Now, at last, they came to pay their debt.”

“We’ve _ 48__ had a great deal of the wealth in this world,” she __49__, “but right now, Jim wouldW#W$W%.K**S*&5^U consider himself to be the __50__ man.”

Then she gently lifted the  _51_  fingers of her husband. Resting underneath were three red marbles.

At that time I realized that we would not be  _52   by our words, but by our kind  _53 _ . It is said that it takes a minute to find a  _54_  person, an hour to appreciate him, a day to love him, but an entire life to _55  him.

A.buying                   B. selling                      C. borrowing                D. hunting

A.reaching for            B. glancing at               C. staring at                  D. picking up

A. astonished              B. pleased                     C. annoyed                   D. worried

A.turned over      B. went over                 C. came over                D. looked over

A.but                         B. otherwise                 C. or                            D. although

A.suspected         B. impressed               C. regretted          D. embarrassed

A.discovering             B. watching           C. finding                     D. seeing

A.closing                   B. rolling                            C. cleaning                   D. wiping

A. time                   B. chance                      C. turn                         D. decision

A. the story          B. the proverb            C. the legend                D. the joke

A. marbles                B. men                         C. debt                         D. life

A. talked           B. traded                      C. shared                      D. left

A. ever                    B. always                         C. never                       D. seldom

A. laughed            B. cried                        C. sighed                      D. added    

A. honest                 B. happiest                   C. coldest                         D. richest

A. lifeless                 B. regretless                  C. useless                     D. hopeless

A. thought                B. touched                    C. remembered             D. affected

A. deeds                   B. things                      C. remarks                    D. rewards

A. strict                   B. honest                      C. special                         D. learned

A. ignore                 B. forget                      C. recognize                 D. remind

My husband is a born shopper. He loves to look at things and to touch them. He likes to compare prices between the same items in different shops. He would never think of buying anything without looking around in several different shops. On the other hand, I’m not a shopper. I think shopping is boring and unpleasant. If I like something and I have enough money to take it, I buy it at once. I never look around for a good price or a better deal. Of course my husband and I never go shopping together. Doing shopping together would be too painful for both of us. When it comes to shopping, we go our different ways.
Sometimes I ask my son Jimmy to buy some food in the shop not far from our home. But he is always absent-minded. This was his story.
One day I said to him, ” I hope you won’t forget what I have told you to buy.” “ No,“ said Jimmy. “I won’t forget. You want three oranges , six eggs and a pound of meat.”
He went running down the street to the shop. As he ran, he said to himself over and over again, “three oranges , six eggs and a pound of meat.”
In the beginning he remembered everything but he stopped several times. Once he saw two men fighting outside a clothes shop until a policeman stopped them. One of them was badly hurt. Then he stopped to give ten cents to a beggar. Then he met some of his friends and he played with them for a while. When he reached the shop, he had forgotten everything except six eggs.
As he walked home, his face became sadder and sadder. When he saw me he said, “I’m sorry, Mum. I have forgotten to buy oranges and the meat. I only remembered to buy six eggs, but I’ve dropped three of them.”
【小题1】The husband likes shopping because _______.

A fried of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a naughty street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked..
Paul nodded, “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything? I wish…” He hesitated（犹豫）.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said made Paul think all the way.
“I wish ,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”
Paul looked at the boy in surprise, adding, “Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?”
“Yes, I’d love that.” After a short ride, the boy turned and said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled, He thought he knew what the boy wanted. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a while Paul heard him coming back, but he didn’t come fast. He was carrying his little crippled（伤残） brother. He pointed to the car and said, “There it is, Buddy, just like I told you up stairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas. And some day I’m going to give one just like it and then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying tell you about. ”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what “It is more blessed to give” means.
【小题1】The naughty street boy wished to _____________ .

I’m certain David’s told you his business troubles. _________, it’s no secret that he owes a lot of money to the bank.

Why are you always making the same mistake? Think of _____ I told you.

   A. that B. when C. how D. what