完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
We always celebrated Dad’s birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home . As years went on , these events took on a  36  meaning for me : A traditional birthday party for Dad , and thanking for all that he had been doing to me in my life . When we knew it might be his 37  birthday, the whole family decided to  38  together for a huge birthday celebration at the nursing home . 
Dad was a good story-teller and here was the  39  he had had .During a quiet moment , I announced it was now Dad’s  40   to listen to stories for a change . I wanted everyone to tell Dad what we loved about him . The room became  41   . Then one after another , people told stories from their hearts , while Dad  42  with tears in eyes . People  43  kinds of stories — stories about when they were little , stories about when Dad was young , and stories that shared family treasures .
The stories  44   . Everyone seemed to have more than one story . Even the little grandchildren couldn’t 45  to tell Dad why they loved him . For a man who had been kind to so many people in his life , here was our  46  to celebrate him . A few months later , at Dad’s memorial service , we more fully realized what we had  47   Dad that night . Those are the stories people  48 tell at a funeral (葬礼)after a loved one is no longer  49  to hear the words . They tell stories , full of  50  . But we had given those memories to Dad in his  51  , and we had told them through laughter , accompanied by hugs and joys . He had them to  52  and roll over in his mind during his last days and months .
Words do  53  , and they are enough . We just need to say them or to speak them  54  to the ones we love . That’s the way to  55  love and our chance to celebrate a person in his or her life .
36. A. special      B. valuable        C. double           D. complex 
37. A. another      B. last            C. important         D. fiftieth
38. A. unite        B. arrange        C. move            D. gather
39. A. career       B. pride          C. happiness          D. audience
40. A. choice       B. wish          C. turn              D. right
41. A. lively       B. still           C. cosy(舒适的)      D. noisy
42. A. thought      B. nodded         C. listened           D. accepted
43. A. understood   B. invented        C. recalled           D. discussed
44. A. flowed       B. passed         C. unfolded          D. differed
45. A. stop         B. stand          C. afford            D. wait
46. A. responsibility  B. situation       C. chance            D. desire
47. A. returned      B. left            C. given             D. owed
48. A. sincerely     B. gently          C. normally          D. regularly
49. A. available     B. happy         C. eager             D. alive
50. A. tears        B. feelings         C. joy               D. peace
51. A. mind        B. life            C. world            D. work
52. A. hold         B. share         C. consider          D. continue
53. A. suit          B. fail           C. survive           D. matter
54. A. willingly     B. publicly        C. actually           D. truly
55. A. get back      B. call up         C. give back         D. keep up