2．As a young boy，I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad．He was a rural mail carrier～and on
Saturdays he would ask me to go with him．Driving through the countryside was always an adventure：There were animals to see，people to visit，and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop，and Dad did．
In the spring，Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens，and when I was a boy it was such fun to stick your fingers through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers．
On Dad's final day of work，it took him well into"the evening to complete his rounds because at least one
member from each fatuity was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service．"Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route，"he used to say，""and a story at every one．"One lady had no
mailbox，so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind．Once inside，he read her mail and
helped her pay her bills．
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail．One note left in a mailbox read，"Nat，take these eggs to Marian； she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs．"Mailboxes might he buried in the snow，or broken，or lying on the ground，but the mail was always delivered．On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate．A young girl wrote letters but had no stamps，so she left a few buttons on the envelope in the mailbox； Dad paid for the stamps．One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank．Once，the amount came to $ 32，000．
A dozen years ago，when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad's death，the mailboxes
along the way reminded me of some of his stories．I thought I knew them all，but that wasn't the ease．
As I drove home，I noticed two lamp poles，one on each side of the street．When my dad was around，those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground．One box was painted green，and the other was red，and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering：SANTA CLAUS，NORTH POLE．For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes．
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house．Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps．There，at the door，stood Frank Townsend，Dad's
postmaster and great friend for many years．So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories．
At one point Frank looked a～me with tears in his eyes．"What are we going to do about the letters this
Christmas？"he asked．
"The letters？"
"I guess you never knew．"
"Knew what？"
"Remember，when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street？It was your dad who answered all those letters every year．"
I just sat there with tears in my eyes．It wasn't hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old oak table in our
basement reading those letters and answering each one．I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood，and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families．
For me，just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime．
55．It can be inferred from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad usC．
A．great chances to help other people
B．happy occasions to play with baby chickens
C．exciting experiences with a lot of fun
D．good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies
56．The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show thatB．
A．Dad had a strong sense of duty
B．Dad was an honest and reliable man
C．Dad had a strong sense of honor
D．Dad was a kind and generous man
57．According to the passage，which of the following impressed the writer most？D．
A．Dad read letters for a blind lady for years．
B．Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl．
C．Dad delivered some eggs to Marian．
D．Dad answered children's Christmas letters every year．
58．The method the writer uses to develop Paragraph 4isC．．
A．offering analyses
B．providing explanations
C．giving examples
D．making comparisons
59．What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply from Santa Claus every year？D．
A．Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole．
B．Santa Claus answered all their letters every year．
C．Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children．
D．Santa Claus had so much information about their families．
60．Which of the following is the best title for the passage？A
A．The Mail B．Christmas Letters C．Special Mailboxes D．Memorable Travels．
分析 本文講述了在作者還小的時候，有時會跟父親一起去鄉下．父親是鄉下的郵遞員，每逢星期六他都會讓"我"跟他一起去送郵件．經過鄉村的時候往往都會有很多豐富的東西--因為父親熟悉那兒，所以他們有可愛的動物可以看，有熱情的人民可以拜訪，還有美味的巧克力味美食可以品嘗等．
解答 55．C 推理判斷題．根據文章的前兩段作者和父親一起經歷的所見所聞所感，可知那些是愉快的經歷，故答案C正確．
56．B 推理判斷題．根據"One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank．Once，the amount came to $ 32，000．"商人把那么多錢放在郵箱里托付給爸爸存入銀行，可見爸爸是一個誠實的、可以信賴的人，故答案B符合題意．
57．D 推理判斷題．根據文章最后幾段對父親給孩子們回復圣誕老人的回信的回憶描述，可以推斷出答案D符合題意．
58．C 推理判斷題．根據第四段的整體理解，可知本段主要用了舉例的寫作手段，故C項符合題意．
59．D 細節理解題．根據文章倒數第二段最后一句："and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families．"可知答案D符合題意．
60．A 文章標題題．本題可用排除法．根據文章的整體理解，本文主要講的是郵遞員爸爸的簡單而又樸實的郵遞生活，故答案A符合題意．
點評 做閱讀理解題，只要讀懂文章的大意就可以，并非每一句都要讀懂．然后再帶著問題在文章中找信息句，可以支持問題的答案即可．
