One afternoon a few months after Tom and I were married. Max walked into the dining room, where I was looking through my old photos.
These months I was learning to let Max come (1) on his own. If I moved too quickly, he ran away. If I was(2) , we often ended up playing, laughing, and recently, even sitting together on the sofa with a book.
"Who' s that?" he pointed to one photo.
"My mom. I suppose she is your(3) Sylvia."
"Cool. Who is that to me?"
"That was my grandfather. He died a few months ago."
"Hmm. Too bad he had to die."
Death is always a painful(4) ,especially for a seven﹣year﹣old child who'd lost his mother only two years before. I secretly put away the pictures of(5) relatives.
He began to finger through the photos. "Who is that to me?
Under his finger I could see my own face. I should have known the answer to his(6) question. But I said, "I'm your(7) mom. I' m sorry that your first mom died."
"What should I call you?" he asked.
Mom, I wanted to cry. I held back.
"You can call me Mom or Betsy. (8) feels OK for you."
I waited, expecting a pronouncement of my new(9) .
"Sweet," he said, walking out of the room.
For a couple of days afterward, Max (10) a new title for me. "Can we go bowling?" "Can I watch TV?" he'd ask, and then(11) the questions by mouthing the word Mom. Mom was always(12) .
One weekend, he suddenly said, "I notice I don't call you Mom."
"I noticed that too."
"(13) I say Betsy, I mean Mom. Moms die, you know. I think it's maybe(14) if you' re just Betsy."
Tears(眼泪) were filling my eyes.
"Hey, Betsy?"
"Yeah," I said, taking pleasure in the new (15) of my old name.
(1)A. down |
B. near |
C. close |
D. back |
(2)A. kind |
B. patient |
C. helpful |
D. confident |
(3)A. grandmother |
B. mother |
C. aunt |
D. cousin |
(4)A. subject |
B. speech |
C. message |
D. sign |
(5)A. dead |
B. boring |
C. unknown |
D. strict |
(6)A. simple |
B. proper |
C. stupid |
D. funny |
(7)A. natural |
B. past |
C. only |
D. second |
(8)A. Whoever |
B. Whatever |
C. That |
D. Anybody |
(9)A. position |
B. name |
C. title |
D. call |
(10)A. worked out |
B. turned out |
C. carried out |
D. tried out |
(11)A. answer |
B. follow |
C. confirm |
D. raise |
(12)A. alive |
B. wise |
C. silent |
D. lost |
(13)A. Until |
B. Before |
C. When |
D. Unless |
(14)A. politer |
B. safer |
C. sadder |
D. riskier |
(15)A. pronunciation |
B. announcement |
C. voice |
D. sound |