When I was approaching 50, I announced to my three grown children that I no longer wanted to celebrate my birthday and that they could phone me instead of sending a gift. At first they protested, but finally they agreed to go along with my wish. So when the doorbell rang on the morning of my birthday, I was surprised to see the florist delivering a huge, beautiful plant. Suddenly, without a word, she rushed back to the truck and , with a sad look, turned once to glance at me. Puzzled, I read the card attached to the plant: "To Mom-with lots of love-on your very last birthday.

Notes:

(1) approach v. 接近 (4) florist n.花商；经营花卉业者

(2) protest v.反对 (5) glance at瞥视；匆匆一看

(3) go along with 同意 (6) attach v.附上；系上

Exercises:

根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、误（F）：

① The mother was more than 50 when she decided that she no longer wanted to celebrate her birthday.

② She still hoped that her children could send her gifts.

③ The mother was very glad to see the florist delivering a huge, beautiful plant.

④ The florist felt sad because she thought that the woman was going to die.

⑤ The florist mistook the meaning of the words on the card.

47.最后的生日

接近五十岁的时候，我对我的三个成年孩子宣布说我不再想庆祝我的生日，并说他们可以给我打电话，不要再送礼物。开始他们反对，但终于他们同意随我愿。所以我生日那天早上门铃响的时候，我惊奇地发现花店营业员送来一束又大又美的鲜花。突然她一声不响地跑回到车上，并回过头来悲哀地看了我一眼。我感到纳闷，我看了一下花上的卡片，上面写着：“献给妈妈----无尽的爱----在您最后的生日里。”

练习参考答案：

①F②F③F④T⑤T