阅读理解。
Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train
sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a
convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame (羞耻) on his
family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because
they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for
them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near
the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go
far away.
As the train neared his hometown his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the
window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put
his hand on the young convict's shoulder. "There it is," he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. "It's all
right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."
1. For which of the following reasons might the young man be worried?
A. His family might not allow him to go home.
B. His family would not remember him.
C. His family hadn't written to him frequently.
D. His family hadn't visited him for a long time.
2. The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by _____.
A. pain
B. interest
C. worry
D. happiness
3. Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?
A. The young man couldn't live with his family.
B. There were many white ribbons on the apple tree.
C. He was moved by the young man.
D. The young man was very sad.
