阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项
My sister and I grew up in a little village in England. Our father was a struggling   36 , but I always knew he was   37  . He never criticized us, but used   38  to bring out our best. He’d say, “If you pour water on flowers, they flourish. If you don’t give them water, they die.”  I   39  as a child I said something   40  about somebody, and my father said, “   41  time you say something unpleasant about somebody else, it’s a reflection of you.” He explained that if I looked for the best   42  people, I would get the best   43  . From then on I’ve always tried to   44  the principle in my life and later  in running my company.
Dad’s also always been very   45 . At 15, I started a magazine. It was   46  a great deal of my time, and the headmaster of my school gave me a  47 ：stay in school or leave to work on my magazine.
I decided to leave, and Dad tried to sway me from my decision,   48  any good father would.  When he realized I had made up my mind,  he said, “Richard, when I was 23, my dad   49  me to go into law.  And I’ve   50  regretted it. I wanted to be a biologist,   51  I didn’t pursue my   52  . You know what you want. Go fulfill it.”
As   53  turned out, my little publication went on to become Student, a national   54 for young people in the U.K.  My wife and I have two children, and I’d like to think we are bringing them up in the same way Dad   55  me.
36. A. biologist             B. manager                   C. lawyer                            D. gardener
37. A. strict                      B. honest                       C. special                            D. learned
38. A. praise                        B. courage                         C. power                      D. warmth
39. A. think                         B. imagine                         C. remember                 D. guess
40. A. unnecessary         B. unkind                          C. unimportant              D. unusual
41. A. Another                 B. Some                          C. Any                           D. Other
42. A. on                          B. in                              C. at                                 D. about
43. A. in case                   B. by turns                     C. by chance                 D. in return
44. A. revise                    B. set                                    C. review                            D. follow
45. A. understanding             B. experienced                     C. serious                          D. demanding
46. A. taking up                   B. making up                 C. picking up                  D. keeping up
47. A. suggestion                  B. decision                         C. notice                            D. choice
48. A. and                           B. as                               C. even if                       D. as if
49. A. helped                B. allowed                     C. persuaded                   D. suggested
50. A. always                       B. never                         C. seldom                      D. almost
51. A. rather                        B. but                                C. for                                D. therefore
52. A. promise              B. task                            C. belief                        D. dream
53. A. this                           B. he                                 C. it                                  D. that
54. A. newspaper           B. magazine                       C. program                        D. project
55. A. controlled           B. comforted                      C. reminded                       D. raised