6．It's just a small，white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．No name，no identification，no inscription．It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so．
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--oh，not the true meaning of Christmas，but the commercial aspects of it--the overspending，the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma--the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else．
Knowing he felt this way，I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts，sweaters，ties，and so forth．I reached for something special just for Mike．The inspiration came in an unusual way．
Our son Kevin，who was 12 that year，was wrestling（摔跤） at the junior level at the school he attended．Shortly before Christmas，there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church．These youngsters，dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together，presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes．As the match began，I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear，a kind of light helmet（頭盔） designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford．
Well，we ended up walloping them．We took every weight class．And as each of their boys got up from the mat，he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado，a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat．
Mike，seated beside me，shook his head sadly，"I wish just one of them could have won，"he said．"They have a lot of potential，but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．"
Mike loved kids--all kids--and he knew them，having coached little league football，baseball，and lacrosse．That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon，I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church．
On Christmas Eve，I placed the envelope on the tree，the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years．
For each Christmas，I followed the tradition--one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game，another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas，and on and on．
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning，and our children，ignoring their new toys，would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents．
As the children grew，the toys gave way to more practical presents，but the envelope never lost its allure．The story doesn't end there．You see，we lost Mike last year due to cancer．When Christmas rolled around，I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up．But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree，and in the morning it was joined by three more．
Each of our children，unbeknownst to the others，had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad．The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope．Mike's spirit，like the Christmas spirit，will always be with us．
55．Why did Mike get so bored with Christmas at first？A
A．People would pour into stores to blindly purchase gifts over Christmas．
B．He wasn't satisfied with the Christmas presents he had ever received．
C．People couldn't come up with any fantastic ideas for Christmas gifts．
D．The true meaning of Christmas remained unchanged in people's minds．
56．The writer mentions what the two teams wore in Paragraph 4 in order toD．
A．show her pride in her children's present living conditions
B．explain the reason why her son's team won the match
C．reflect the financial difficulty of the inner-city church
D．express the shock those lower-class teenagers brought her
57．What did Mike mean by saying"losing like this could take the heart right out of them"（Paragraph 6）？C
A．They didn't care whether they could win the match or not．
B．They didn't acknowledge the defeat because of the unfairness．
C．Being defeated in this way could make them lose confidence．
D．Being defeated in this way could inspire them to train harder．
58．Mike's bright smile at the note suggestsB．
A．what his wife had done as against the Christmas spirit．
B．he thought the very Christmas gift had real significance
C．what was written on the note was easy to understand
D．he was amused by the Christmas tradition of his family．
59．What happened at the first Christmas after Mike's death？D
A．The writer asked her children to follow their family tradition．
B．All the children stood around the Christmas tree with expectation．
C．The writer removed the Christmas tree to avoid thinking of Mike．
D．The children each put an envelope on the Christmas tree for their dad．
60．In the writer's eyes，the white envelope is a symbol ofA．
A．Mike's spirit B．children's love C．unusual ideas D．special gifts．
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀，作者通過這篇文章主要向我們描述了在兒子的球賽上，我和丈夫看到了那些低階層的青少年，我送給了那些貧窮孩子的另類的圣誕節(jié)禮物，這讓我的丈夫很開心，也讓這個圣誕節(jié)過得更有意義．
解答 55．A．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第二段"but the commercial aspects of it--the overspending，the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma--"可知他是不喜歡圣誕節(jié)里的商業(yè)氛圍，人們會涌入商店盲目購買圣誕禮物；故選A．
56．D．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第四段"I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear"可知文章提到兩隊的穿著是為了表達(dá)那些低階層的青少年帶給作者的驚訝；故選D．
57．C．句意推斷題．根據(jù)文章第六段"They have a lot of potential，but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．"可知這些孩子是很有天賦的，但是這次失敗令人嘆息，可知他擔(dān)心以這種方式被擊敗可能會使他們失去信心；故選C．
58．B．推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章第八段"the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years"可知她燦爛的笑容是因為他認(rèn)為這份圣誕節(jié)禮物具有真正的意義；故選B．
59．D．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章最后一段"Each of our children，unbeknownst to the others，had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad"可知在邁克死后的第一個圣誕節(jié)孩子們每人給他們的爸爸在圣誕樹上放一個信封；故選D．
60．A．推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章最后一段"Mike's spirit，like the Christmas spirit，will always be with us"可知信封是邁克精神的象征；故選A．
點評 考察學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力，做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進(jìn)行比較，再做出正確的選擇．在做推理判斷題不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實，要根據(jù)文章事實進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷
