第三部分阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. “Yes, honey. Of course,” she said.
“Can we write him a letter?”
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, “Yes.”
My heart jumped. “How? Does the mailman go there?” I asked.
“No, but I have an idea.” Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
“Just wait, honey. You’ll see” Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, what Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive, I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped(缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
“Okay, on the count of three, darted(猛冲) upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he’d persevere, dart up, and finally transcend(超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white sky and I prayed that his strength was hereditary(遗传的). I prayed to be a balloon.
56. When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother ________.
A. felt it hard to answer                          B. thought her a creative girl
C. believed it easy to do so                        D. found it easy to lie
57. When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.
A. jumped with joy                               B. became excited
C. started writing immediately                D. was worried that it couldn’t be delivered
58. In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?
A. A terrible disease.                              B. An unforgettable memory.
C. The hard time her father had           D. Her father’s smile.
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The strong red balloon                       B. An unforgettable experience.
C. Fly to heaven                                D. A great father.