On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway (快车道). He looked to be in his late 40s but was probably a lot younger. He had shoulder length straight black hair and a short beard.
Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, while coming off the ramp (坡道). So did he. Sometimes the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, “I’m blessed!”
Then one day I was called into my boss’s office and was told that I was being laid off. For the rest of that day all I could think of was “how am I going to provide for my kids as a mother, how am I going to pay rent?”
Needless to say that on my way home that day I was very sad and upset. I didn’t remember to look for my spare change and keep it ready like I usually did. Yet there he was as always, as I turned the ramp. He set his eyes on me, while still smiling and waving at others as usual.
While I was waiting for the red light to turn, he strolled (闲逛) over to my car. He had a big smile. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “Today I will give you a dollar.” He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.
You see that day he taught me a valuable lesson more than a dollar bill. No matter what material things are taken from you, no one can take away your choice to be joyful. Every time I’m faced with challenges, I think of the homeless man’s valuable lesson and remember that I am blessed.
【小题1】 The writer would have a short conversation with the homeless man when                .

“Mary, your bedroom is a mess ．Come and clean it up right now,” her mum said．Mary wanted to go outside and play．“I’ll clean it up later, Mum．”

“Oh no, you won’t．I’ve been asking you for days,” her mum said．

Mary went into her bedroom．She put away all of her clothes and put all the rubbish into a plastic bag．“Mum, I’ve finished,” she smiled, “I’m going outside to play now．”

She ran into the back garden．This was her favorite place to be．A small butterfly flew over and landed on Mary’s hand．“You’re a pretty little butterfly,” Mary said, “Does your mum make you keep your bedroom clean?”

“What if I left my rubbish all over and didn’t keep the garden clean and tidy? Would you have a nice place to sit among the flowers?” said the butterfly．

“I’d not be happy if I came out to see rubbish here and there,” Mary said．

“Everybody has to do their part and keep their rooms or their flower gardens clean,” the butterfly said and then flew away．

Mary hurried into the house and said to her mother, “I’ll keep my room clean from now on, Mum．I’ve got to do my part．” And she did just that．

1．What did Mary mean by the word “later” in the first paragraph?

   A．never              B．at once         C．in some days        D．after she played outside

2．Which is the correct order for the following to take place in the story?

   a．Mary played in the back garden．          b．Mary promised to keep her room clean．

   c．Mum asked Mary to clean up her room． d．A butterfly flew over and talked with Mary．

   e．Mary cleaned up her room．

   A．a, c, d, b, e     B．c, a, d, b, e     C．c, e, a, d, b        D．a, d, b, c, e

3．It can be inferred （推测） from the story that _________．

   A．Mum asked the butterfly to teach Mary

   B．the butterfly always picked up the rubbish left by Mary

   C．Mary’s back garden was clean and tidy

   D．Mary played with the butterfly every day

4．This story is most probably written for _________．

   A．insects （昆虫）       B．kids          C．parents       D．teachers