My five brothers, my sister and I lived in Toronto with our parents. My father worked in a factory, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did!
But around Christmas in 1970, my father was out of work. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure how they’d provide for us.
That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not make the other kids in the neighborhood disappointed.
As my father left the house and went downstairs, another Santa Claus was walking up, with a great bag of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a merry Christmas. The
jolly man handed the bag and walked away down the block.
We never knew who showed us great kindness on the snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas.
Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger and his generosity(慷慨). Each year we tell the story of the mysterious(神秘的) Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving help to others in need.
【小題1】According to the passage, the writer’s father is ______on Christmas.
| A．brave | B．lonely | C．serious | D．generous |
【小題2】The underlined word “jolly” in the passage probably means “______”.
| A．handsome | B．strong | C．happy | D．silly |
【小題3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The family showed thanks to the Santa Claus and helped others in need. |
| B．The bag from the other Santa Claus was filled with gifts and money. |
| C．Santa Claus that helped the family lived a rich life in the same community. |
| D．The writer’s father arranged another Santa Claus to take the place of him. |
