When I was a kid, my brother dropped the bomb: “No Santa Claus (Father Christmas)!” I fled to Grandma because I knew she would  1  me the truth. I told her everything. “No!” she said. “Ridiculous（荒唐的；可笑的）！Don’t   2  it.”

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After dinner, we went to General Store. Grandma handed me ten   3  . “Take it and buy something for whoever needs it. I’ll wait in the  4  .” I’d often gone shopping with Mother, but never had I shopped 5  . For moments, I stood there, confused,  6  what to do with it. I thought of everybody I knew.  7  I thought of Bobbie Decker. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough. We all knew that Bobbie would have no cough  8  he had a thicker coat. So I decided to buy Bobbie one. “Is this a present for   9  ?” the saleslady asked me kindly. I  10 shyly. She smiled, handed it to me and wished me a merry Christmas. Then Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Santa Claus  11  and ribbons and write “To Bobbie, From Santa Claus ”on it. Then she   12 me over to Bobbie’s house. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house. We  13  noiselessly and hid in the  14 by his front walk. “All right, Santa Claus,” she   15 , “get going.” I rushed out, threw the present down at his front door,  16 his doorbell and flew back to the safety. Together we   17  breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open.

Forty years I haven’t forgotten those   18  I spent shivering（颤抖）in Bobbie’s bushes. That night, I realized that the stories about Santa Clause were really “ridiculous”. Santa Claus was alive,  19 we were on his   20  .

1．A．tell                        B．teach                   C．take                    D．advise

2．A．trust                     B．believe                 C．understand          D．consider

3．A．bags                     B．keys                    C．coats                  D．dollars

4．A．home                    B．store                   C．car                     D．bus

5．A．separately              B．apart                   C．singly                  D．alone

6．A．wondering             B．worrying             C．expecting            D．looking

7．A．Luckily                 B．Surprisingly         C．Suddenly             D．Firstly

8．A．unless                   B．since                   C．as                       D．if

9．A．anyone                  B．someone              C．others                 D．another

10．A．nodded                B．smiled                 C．replied                 D．denied

11．A．gift                     B．name                   C．paper                  D．needle

12．A．sent                    B．drove                  C．walked                D．guided

13．A．stole                   B．struggled             C．stepped               D．searched

14．A．cars                    B．buildings              C．stairs                  D．bushes

15．A．sighed                 B．whispered            C．called                  D．shouted

16．A．knocked              B．pushed                C．pounded              D．switched

17．A．rushed                B．laughed               C．paused                D．waited

18．A．nights                 B．feelings               C．moments             D．bills

19．A．and                     B．but                      C．then                    D．therefore

20．A．side           B．team               C．part           D．staff