Night after night, my mother came to my bed, even long after my childhood years. She would   21  down and push my long hair out of the way, and then kiss my forehead. I don’t remember when it first started  22  me-her hands pushing my hair that way, for they felt work-worn and rough  23  my young skin. Finally , one night, I shouted out at her, “Don’t do that any more-your hands are too rough!” she made no  24  and left quietly. But never again did my mother do it with that familiar expression of her  25  .
With the passing years, my   26  returned to that night time after time. By then I   27  my mother’s hands and her goodnight kiss. Sometimes the incident seemed very  28  , sometimes far away, but always it was  29  in the back of my mind.
The years have passed, and I’m not a little girl any more. Mom is in her seventies, and those hands I once  30  to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family.
Now, Mom no longer has Dad and lives  31  . One night on Thanksgiving Eve, I found myself  32  to her house to spend the night with her. As I slept in the bedroom of my youth, a familiar hand hesitantly ran across my face to  33  the hair from my forehead. Then a   34  , ever so gently , touched my forehead. I burst into tears.
In my memory, thousands of times, I   35  the night my young voice complained. Catching Mom’s hand in hand, I told her how  36  I was for that night. I thought she’d remember  37  I did. But Mom didn’t know what I was talking about. She had already forgotten and   38  long ago.
That night, I fell asleep with a new  39  for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was   40  to be found.

A．lie B．bend C．look D．fall

A．annoying B．astonishing C．delighting D．disappointing

A．along B．above C．against D．aside

A．reply B．promise C．request D．agreement

A．pity B．sadness C．apology D．love

A．views B．opinions C．spirits D．thoughts

A．missed B．forgot C．held D．shook

A．strange B．close C．serious D．common

A．stressed B．existed C．hidden D．exposed

A．expected B．changed C．reminded D．complained

A．yet B．away C．alone D．long

A．drawn B．carried C．moved D．stayed

A．cut B．wash C．brush D．take

A．tear B．kiss C．press D．hand

A．returned B．remembered C．realized D．recalled

A．sorry B．happy C．angry D．nervous

A．when B．how C．why D．as

A．disappeared B．forgiven C．apologized D．abandoned

A．imagination B．inspiration C．decoration D．appreciation

A．still B．soon C．nowhere D．anyhow