When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I   36   at the dinner table, “My teacher said we have to bring a box, a special box, for our valentines on Monday”.
Mother said, “We’ll see,” and she continued eating.
What did “We’ll see” mean? I had to have that box,   37   my second grade Valentine’s Day would be a disaster. Maybe they didn’t love me enough to help me with my   38   .
All Saturday I waited   39   and with Sunday arriving, my concern increased. However, I   40   that an enquiry about the box would   41   anger or loud voices, for in my house children only asked once. More than that   42   trouble.
Late Sunday afternoon, my father called me into the kitchen. The table was covered with different kinds of colorful   43   . A (n)   44   shoebox rested on top of it.   45   flooded through me when Daddy said, “Let’s get started   46   your project.”
In the next hour my father   47   the shoebox into an impressive valentine box. Colorful paper covered the ugly cardboard with red hearts   48   to what I considered all the right places. He sang while he worked. When he finished, he was so delighted that a   49   smile spread across his face. “What do you think of that?” he asked.
I answered him with a hug.
But inside,   50   danced all the way to my heart. It was the first time that my father had devoted so much   51   to me, for his world consisted only of work.
The holiday party arrived, and my classmates put cards and presents into the valentine boxes. Laughter filled our classroom until dismissal time   52  .
On the way home, I held out my valentine box for the world to   53   . The love that filled it meant more to me than all the valentines inside.
The valentine box became a symbol of his love that   54   through decades of other Valentine’s Days. My father gave me other gifts through the years, but none   55   compared with the love I felt within the limits of the old, empty shoebox.

A．announced B．appeared C．served D．sat

A．and B．but C．or D．so

A．design B．plan C．idea D．project

A．sadly B．anxiously C．disappointedly D．patiently

A．found B．realized C．knew D．imagined

A．start B．cause C．mark D．produce

A．invited B．took C．saved D．had

A．boxes B．gifts C．paper D．food

A．new B．big C．attractive D．empty

A．Relaxation B．Relief C．Cheer D．Calm

A．by B．at C．in D．on

A．folded B．packed C．changed D．pressed

A．joined B．attached C．linked D．connected

A．slight B．brief C．broad D．confident

A．joy B．fun C．interest D．amusement

A．money B．time C．support D．hope

A．reached B．set C．spent D．came

A．accept B．respect C．admire D．recognize

A．carried B．kept C．spread D．lasted

A．ever B．even C．yet D．still