Real gift at Christmas
IT was Christmas Eve, 1881. I was 15 years old and feeling like the world was over for me. I didn’t have enough money to buy myself the gift that I had wanted that year.
Dad came back in and there was ice in his beard. “You’ve been by widow (寡妇) Smith’s house recently?” he asked. Widow Smith lived two miles down the road. Her husband died a year ago and left her with three children.
“I rode by just today,” Dad continued. “Little Jack was out looking for wood (木头). They must be out of wood, Tom.”
We filled our sled (雪橇) high with wood. Then we went to the store and Dad bought some food, and a smaller pair of shoes. I tried to think through what Dad was doing. I knew we didn’t have much money, so why was Dad buying them so many things?
We got to the Smith’s house and went in. “We brought you a few things, madam,” Dad said, and put down the bag of food on the table. Then Dad handed widow Smith the pair of shoes. She bit her lower lip (下唇) to keep it from trembling (发抖), and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks.
My throat seemed to be filled with something, and there were tears in my eyes, too. Just then my dream gift seemed very unimportant. Dad had given me the look on widow Smith’s face and the smiles of her three children. He had given me the best Christmas of my life.
The writer was not happy on Christmas Eve 1881 because ___________.

A．he was worried that his father was still not back

B．it was the beginning of a new year and he didn’t want to grow up

C．he couldn’t have the Christmas gift he wanted

D．he didn’t want to go out in the cold

The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 4 refers to(指的是) “ ___________”.

A．food and shoes	B．Tom and his dad
C．sled and some wood	D．the Smiths

The father decided to help the Smiths because ___________.

A．he learned from widow Smith about her trouble

B．he saw the little child looking for wood out in the cold

C．he realized widow Smith had to raise three children

D．he saw their neighbors were not nice or helpful

How did widow Smith feel when the dad handed her the pair of shoes?

A． Surprised.	B．Moved.
C．Excited.	D．Worried.

What did the writer learn from that Christmas?

A．Helping those in need makes us feel good.

B．Christmas gifts are unimportant for poor people.

C．We should get along with people around us.

D．Being helpful sometimes brings people good luck.