Question

Last summer, after 16 years in the United States, I traveled to the city in Russia where I grew up. I was the first in my family to return after all those years. My mom gave me a hand-drawn map showing the location of my grandfather’s tomb at the local cemetery(公墓), and she asked me to visit it.

It was really important to her that I go there. My grandfather died when I was little, and she wanted me to remember him. He was still very much alive in her mind, and she wanted him to continue to live in my mind as well.

So I promised that the first thing I’d do when I arrived would be to visit the cemetery. However, I got caught up in work, and I had a lot of catching up to do with my childhood friends. It wasn’t until a day before I was leaving that I found time to go to the cemetery.

It was late in the afternoon, and right by the entrance was a lady who was selling flowers. By then she had only seven carnations left in her bucket. I bought them all, but when I reached for my wallet, I realized I didn’t have the map with me. I had no idea what had happened to that map. And I had no idea where my grandfather’s tomb was located.

I could call my mom and ask her. But the problem was that I had already told her I’d gone to the cemetery. What was I going to say?

I found the main office. Fortunately it was open, and inside was a small office. Behind the counter was an old woman, and she said she’d help me locate my grandfather’s records.

A couple of minutes later, she came back with a printout. It turned out there were 17 Abraham Pikarskis on the list. I chose the two whose age I believed closely matched my grandfather’s.

I set off to look for them. I hoped that at least one would have a portrait（肖像） on the tombstone. This way I’d know which tomb was mine.

I found the first tomb and it said Abraham Pikarski on it, but there was no portrait. Only an inscription (碑銘) : From the Loving Wife and Children.

I had no idea whether this was the right one, so I went off to look for the other one. I found it, too, and it was virtually indistinguishable from the first one. It said Abraham Pikarski, no portrait. The inscription was slightly different. It said: From the Grieving（傷心的） Family.

I had no idea what to do. Was my family the loving one or the grieving one? I was standing there waiting, thinking maybe some sort of special feeling would come to me. Maybe I’d feel some sort of close relationship with the person who was lying there.

I put three carnations on that tomb, and I went back to the first one. I stood there, too, for a while, and again I was hoping that I’d feel something special. But it was getting late, and I had to pack for the trip back to New York, so I put three carnations on this tomb.

I stood there with the last flower in my hand. Which Abraham Pikarski should it go to? Should I just throw it away? I had to come up with some sort of a solution.

Then, suddenly, I knew what to do. I put that flower on that same tomb where I was standing. I thought if this is really my grandfather who is lying there, then all is good, and he got the most. But if not, then let this be kind of comfort to the stranger, because somebody else’s grandson came all the way from America to pay his respects.

I went back to the hotel and flew home to New York the next day. I never found that map again.

Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport. On the way home from the airport, my mom started crying, “I’m so happy that you took the time to visit your grandfather’s tomb. It really means so much to me. You know when you called and told me you went there, I thought you were just saying it to make me feel good.”

When I was still in the air this morning, her cousin who lives in Russia had called and told my mother that she had just come from the cemetery and had seen my flowers there. So my mom knew that I had really done this.

Should I ask her how many flowers her cousin saw? Three or four?

But then I decided that maybe I should not say anything at all.

1.Why did the author visited his grandfather’s tomb just before he returned to America?

A. Because he was occupied with many other things.

B. Because he lost the map his mother drew for him.

C. Because he wasn’t well familiar with the cemetery.

D. Because he didn’t have affection for his grandfather.

2.Why didn’t the author turn to his mother when he couldn’t find the map?

A. He was able to locate grandfather’s tomb.

B. He couldn’t make up a reasonable excuse.

C. He intended to recover the map by himself.

D. He was unwilling to be thought to lie.

3.The author chose the two tombs out of the 17 according to ________.

A. their portrait

B. their age

C. their inscription

D. their location

4.Why did the author’s mother cry on the way home?

A. She kept grandfather in mind.

B. The author showed respect to a stranger.

C. The author kept his promise.

D. Her cousin found the flowers.

5.We can infer from the last two paragraphs that ________.

A. he was ashamed of having telling a lie to his mother

B. he was content to have presented the followers to a stranger

C. he got to know which tomb was his grandfather’s in the end

D. he thought there was no need to figure out the location of the tomb

Answer 1