Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come to see the daffodils(黄水仙)before they are over”. I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. “I will come next Tuesday,” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “ Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”
My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden.”
We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. There were five acres of flowers. “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A- frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio(露台), we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs(球茎),” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun—one bulb at a time—to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top.
1. The author didn’t go to see the daffodils at first because__________.
A. she was not interested in them B. they were growing on a mountain top
C. the weather was not good enough D. it was a long drive to her daughter’s house
2. Which of the following best describes the author’s feeling seeing the daffodils?
A. Amazed. B. Disappointed. C. Confused. D. Moved.
3. What do we know about the woman living in the A-frame house?
A. She must be out of mind.
B. She acted as a gardener here.
C. It took her great determination to grow the daffodils.
D. She was poor and made her living by selling daffodils.
4. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. A Wonderful Daffodil Garden B. A Remarkable Woman
C. One Bulb at a Time D. I Love Daffodils
