One cold day in the early spring of the year, my father, who was a farmer, was ploughing(耕地)．I, eleven years old then, was 　　1　　 the horse．I didn't do the 　　2　　 well as it was rather cold．I thought the task was a little 　　3　　 for me．

　　“Dad,”I said,“　　4　　 must I stay in the field?”“An hour,”he answered．An hour 　　5　　 a long time and I said, “I 　　6　　 if I can go home now．My 　　7　　 aches．”

　　“I'm very sorry,”said my father,“but can't you 　　8　　 till it's time for dinner?”“I think not－my headache is getting 　　9　　．”

　　“Well,” he said, taking me 　　10　　 the horse and suspecting(怀疑)that my disease was rather in my heart than my head,“you may go home．I don't want you to work 　　11　　 you are sick．Go straight home, and tell your mother that I say you must take a large bowl of rhubarb(大黄)．Tell her that I think it will 　　12　　 you a lot of good!”

　　There was no choice．I went home, of course, and I had to offer the 　　13　　 to my mother．I told her that I thought my head was better, 　　14　　 not to take the terrible 　　15　　．But it was of no use and it was too late．She understood my case(情况)as 　　16　　 as my father did．She knew well enough that my disease was 　　17　　．So she prepared a large bowl of rhubarb and I had to swallow all of it．Dear me!How 　　18　　 it was!I am sure I would rather ride the horse all day than be treated 　　19　　 that way．Since then I've never told another 　　20　　．

　　Honesty is the best policy．

阅读理解

　　It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．

　　I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?

　　"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life, she was still happy．

　　When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．

　　After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．

　　Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．

　　When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．

阅读理解

　　It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．

　　I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?

　　"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life ，she was still happy．

　　When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．

　　After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．

　　Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．

　　When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．