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 prisoner
returning home from a faraway prison. His behavior had brought shame on his family, and they had neither
visited him nor written. 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 for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had
forgiven him, they were to put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him
to be back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train got near 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. According to the passage, the white ribbon on the big apple tree means _____. [ ]
A. pleasure
B. forgiveness
C. happiness
D. education
2. The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can be replaced by _____. [ ]
A. pain
B. interest
C. worry
D. happiness
3. Why was Michael asked to watch for the apple tree? [ ]
A. The young man was afraid that he was refused by his family.
B. The young man's seat was far from the window.
C. The young man was afraid of seeing the white ribbons in the tree.
D. The young man was sure that his family would accept him.
4. Why were Michael's eyes filled with tears? [ ]
A. The young man couldn't live with his family.
B. He was moved by what he saw.
C. He was touched by the young man.
D. The young man was very sad.
