For years, I thought a present and a gift as the same thing.
I grew up in a household where presents marked special ____16____ There was always a box for each of us under the tree at Christmas. ____17____, Dad always gave Mom something each Valentine’s Day and anniversary. He would carefully plan his shopping trips to find just the ___18___ thing. His joy in the hunt was proof of the ___19___of giving and of his love for her. I saw these presents as the ___20___ of a husband's devotion.
So when I married a man who did not give presents on a regular basis, it was an ___21___
I wrestled with my expectation. Gary did hot ___22___ avoid gift-giving. Gary would return from sea armed with a brown paper bag inside of which was something that ___23___ him of me. But mostly, he ignored holidays, ___24___ to shop for a thing to present to me as a sign of love.
I tried to change him ____25____. I prepared gifts for Christmas and for his birthdays ____26____. He appreciated the caring, but refused to do the same thing for me. I dropped hints, they ____27____ deaf ears.
I began to tell him what I wanted, giving ____28____ instructions. When Gary left for the market one Saturday, I asked him to find me diamond earrings as a birthday present. Yet he came home with a road scraper （刮路机）.
____29____when the snowstorm stopped later that year and he was at sea, I used the road scraper to plow （犁）out both our driveway and our neighbor's, thinking how ____30____ earrings would have been and it was then that I realized he had been giving me gifts all along. The gestures, large and small, born of his caring and concern were the ____31____that he gave daily.
We ____32____ to teach others how to love us. In that struggle, we often forget how to ____33____ the love they already give us as only they can give it.
I finally began to understand the ____34____ between a present and a gift. A present is a thing. But a gift is a small act of kindness, the willingness to ____35____ another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort.
16. A. locations B. situations C. occasions D. conditions
17. A. Additionally B. Originally C. Fortunately D. Consequently
18. A. cheap B. astonishing C. splendid D. right
19. A. pleasure B. ambition C. intention, D. addiction
20. A. example B. emphasis C. experiment D. expression
21. A. improvement B. adjustment C. excitement D. enjoyment
22. A. actively B. willingly C. patiently D. wholly
23 A. warned B. reminded C. convinced D. informed
24. A. refusing B. announcing C. demanding D. rushing
25. A. by tradition B. by force C. by example D. by accident
26. A. on purpose B. in order C. at random D. on time
27. A. absorbed in B. cared for C. fell on D. broke down
28. A. some B. specific C. brief D. unusual
29. A. And B. So C. Though D. But
30. A. precious B. practical C. useless D. ugly
31. A. promises B. gifts C. blessings D. instructions
32. A. struggle B. fail C. attempt D. decide
33. A. express B. appreciate C. return D. share
34. A. distance B. similarity C. difference D. conflict
35. A. fight against B. laugh at C. turn down D. bend to
