It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no address. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it; overspending, running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and powder for Grandma…
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, at 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended and before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear to protect a wrestler’s ears. They obviously could not afford.
Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
Mike loved kids—all kids—and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
小题1:Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A．Precious Present
B．Christmas Gift
C．The Small White Envelope
D．The Good Old Tradition小题2:Why did Mike hate Christmas according to the passage?
A．He didn’t like the true meaning of Christmas
B．He didn’t like people spending too much money on presents
C．He hated buying presents for Uncle Harry and Grandma
D．He didn’t want to receive gifts like shirts, sweaters or ties.小题3:Which is the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “take the heart right out of them”?
A．make them excited
B．make them inspired
C．make them lose confidence
D．make them kill themselves小题4:Why was his smile the brightest thing about Christmas that year? ( paragraph 9)
A．He received some sporting goods
B．He found a potential wrestling team
C．His son won the wrestling match
D．His wife sent presents to those poor kids小题5:What can we infer from the passage?
A．The tradition of sending presents will pass from generation to generation.
B．The children were eager to get their new toys ignoring the envelope.
C．With the presents, the poor kids will surely win the match one day.
D．Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
