For as long as I can remember, Grandma’s plentiful tomato garden has been a sign of summer’s end. Each September, just as the decreased heat of the sun suggests cooler days, Grandma requests (ask for something) my help in her tomato garden. I’m sure that she cannot pick tomatoes without my youthful eyes and quick mind. She says we need to examine each tomato and agree on its readiness for picking. While Grandma’s request for my help in the tomato garden is always the same, her desire for my help seems to increase each year.
　　Grandma has eyes for finding even the tomatoes hidden by undergrowth and other tomatoes. I, however, just turn circles looking for the ones I think Grandma will like. I spot what looks like a ripe（成熟的）tomato, head in its direction, and then get sidetracked by another that appears to be equally ripe. I usually end up watching Grandma and trying to stay out of her way, which seems the only way my eyes and mind are useful.
　　There we are, lost in the tomato vines（藤）. Grandma’s eyes are always knowing, and they are no different in the vegetable garden. From afar she spots (notice) what looks like a ripe tomato. As she walks toward the garden, she evaluates the tomato for a second time, but from a different angle. I already know it will end up in the basket with the pile of others Grandma has carefully chosen. However, Grandma acts as if she needs a final look to be sure. She calls me to her side, kneels beside the vine while enjoying the warmth of the fading sunlight on her face, and grasps the tomato in her hand. She turns each round, red ball toward the sunlight before disconnecting it from the vine with a half-hearted smile.
　　She then looks at me. I nod my head and smile. Grandma assumes I smile in agreement with her tomato selection. I know I smile, instead, at her.
【小题1】Why does Grandma ask the author to go to the tomato garden with her?

Joe lost his arms in an accident that killed his father. Since then, he has had to depend on the     1   of his younger sister Ella. In order to take care of him, Ella became his shadow, never leaving him     2    for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life.
As they grew up together, they had their share of     3   and they would often quarrel. Then one day, Ella wanted to separate from Joe, living    4    own life. So Joe was heart-broken and didn't know what to do.
A     5    misfortune (不幸) struck Rosa, too. One night her mother, who suffered(受苦) from mental illness,     6    . So her father went out looking for her mother. She tried to cook meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in a fire which took her hands away.
Though her elder sister Susan showed her willingness to take care of her, Rosa decided to be    7    independent. And most of all she learned to do things on her own. Once she wrote the following in her composition: “I’m lucky. Though I lost my arms, I still have legs. Though my wings are broken, my heart can still     8  .”
　　One day，Joe and Rosa were both invited to a television interview program. Joe told the TV host about his     9    future at being left on his own, while Rosa was full of hope for her life. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. Joe wrote：My younger sister's arms are my arms;     10     Rosa wrote: Broken wings, flying heart.
They had both stood the same sufferings, but their different     11    determined(决定) the nature of their lives. It is true that life is unpredictable. How you deal with misfortune is the true test of your character. If you choose only to complain and run away from the suffering，it will always     12    you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

　　When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.

　　Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

　　One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.

　　She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”

　　Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1. The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.

A. at the age of 13                 

B. before she got married

C. after they moved to new homes   

D. before the writer’s family moved away

2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.

A. got married                   

B. had little time to do so

C. didn’t like writing letters        

D. could see each other on special time

3.There was an empty place in the writer’s heart be­cause she _______.

A. was in trouble               

B. didn’t know Linda’s address

C. received the card that she sent  

D. didn’t have a friend like Linda to share her happi­ness or sadness

4.The writer was happy when she _______.

A. read the newspaper         

B. heard Linda’s voice on the phone

C. met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda

D. wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman

5.They haven’t kept in touch _______.

A. for about 40 years          

B. for about 27 years

C. since they got married      

D. since the writer’s family moved away