One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装)．
     On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she p ut him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is. ”What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
     One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”， “pitiful”， and “dying”， which sounded ominous.
     Christmas was coming. “Don't expect any presents this year，” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. “If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
     The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to a nswer it.From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He's all right？” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home！”     
      “Thank God！”  I heard Mum cry. 
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And  I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home.  I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
56. What happened to  the author on September 11th, 1958?
     A. He got a baby brother.        B. He got a Christmas gift.
     C. He became four years old.     D. He received a doll.
57. What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
     A. Impossible.       B. Boring.
     C. Difficult.        D. Fearful.
 58. Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
      A. Excitement.      B. Happiness.
      C.  Sadness.        D. Disappointment.
  59. What is the passage mainly about?
       A. A sad Christmas day.       B. Life with a lovely baby.
       C. A special Christmas gift.    D. Memories of a happy family.
【要点综述】“我”四岁时母亲给了“我”一件特殊的圣诞礼物：人娃娃 ——我可爱的弟弟Richard。但后来Richard发高烧差点夭折，经医院抢救得生，这使我更加珍爱我的“人娃娃”。
 56. A　细节理解题。虽然表面上是有了一个娃娃，但事实上是有了亲弟弟。
 57. D　词义猜测题。从该句前半部分中的 “hopeless”， “pitiful”， and “dying”可知该词意思是“令人害怕的”。虽然其他三个词均表示消极含义，但只有fearful表示“我”害怕“弟弟”离“我”而去。
 58. C　推理判断题。从第四段最后两句As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.可知父亲感到十分伤心。
 59. C　主旨大意题。第一段一开始便定义我的弟弟Richard是一件特殊的圣诞礼物。虽然弟弟Richard差点离我们而去，但后来还是得以平安回家，因此圣诞节并不悲惨。B和D选项外延过大，此段材料只是截取生活中的一个片段，并非 整个和Richard一起生活的全部。