When he was 16, his father seriously said to him, “I’ll give you whatever you want before you are 18. But after that, I won’t care much about you, and you should give me whatever I want.” When his 18th birthday was coming, the young man began thinking about looking for a job. So he sent resumes(簡歷) to many companies he liked on the Internet. But, most got no reply, he said, “Maybe they were surprised about my primary school education.”
By chance, one of his friends was looking for someone, who could work as an egg porter(搬運(yùn)工) in the supermarket, for 0.5 Yuan a box. Facing lots of difficulties in getting a job, he said, “I’ll take this job. At least I can make some money for my petrol(汽油).” Then every day, he drove his car, his 18th birthday gift, to work in the supermarket. He did that for three months.
Later, he heard that a newspaper was looking for a network technician(網(wǎng)絡(luò)技術(shù)員), so he asked for it. But they were also worried about his school education. He practiced his skill right in front of the computer, and showed the managers web pages he had designed. He started to work the next day, and became the director of network department in less than a year.
And now, the 23-year-old man is a boss. In January 2005, he started a magazine for children, with himself as the editor in chief（主編）. And the only writer was his father.
【小題1】It was difficult for the young man to get a job because _______.

用括號內(nèi)所給單詞的正確形式填空。

1．When is           birthday? （Sally）

2．My English          （teach） is an old American．

3．I think you need to buy a sweater for           （you）． Your sweater is too old．

4．Let Peter           （stay）at home and read books．

5．The price of the pants          （be）very low．

6．         （that） socks are twelve yuan．

7．Does he want           （listen）to music?

8．Lucy and Lily's father          （have）a black car．

9．Thanks for         （write） to me．

10．The          （run） stars like healthy food very much．

 Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12,a white gardenia（梔子花）was sent to my house. No card came with it．Calls to the flower shops were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender's name and was just very pleased with the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

    But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be, Some of my happiest moments were  spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged this imagining. She'd ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man who I looked afier when he was ill. As a girl, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy.

    One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt very sad and didn't want to go to the  coming graduation dance at all. And I didn't care whether I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia-lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery.

    My mother died ten days after l was married.1 was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.

1.Which statement is true according to the passage?

A. The author found the sender by calling the flower shops.

B. In fact, the flower was sent by a boy.

C. It was a pleasant moment for the girl to imagine the sender.

D. The author got a gardenia every year after she was married.

2.The mother let her daughter go to the graduation dance because_______.

A. She hoped she would miss her father.   

B. She thought education was most important.

C. She hoped she would find a friend.   

D. She wanted her to be happy and strong.

3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. A Childhood Dream.                     B. A Mother's Love.

C. A Graduation Party.                      D. A Special Birthday.