A Box of Kisses
一盒子的吻
A long time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and be became very angry when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.
However, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” The father was upset by his earlier overreaction, but his anger rose again when hefound out the box was empty. He shouted at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there should be something inside?”
The little girl looked up at him, tears filled in her eyes, and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They are all for you, Daddy.”
The father was shocked. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for herforgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. Her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
译文
很久以前，一位父亲因3岁的女儿浪费了一卷金包装纸而惩罚她。当时家里资金紧张，看到女儿想把一个用金纸包着的盒子放在圣诞树下时，父亲勃然大怒。
然而，第二天早上，小姑娘把礼物送给了父亲说：“爸爸，这是送给你的。”那位父亲对自己先前过激的行为感到忐忑不安。但是，当发现盒子里空无一物时，他又火冒三丈，冲女儿大声嚷道：“难道你不知道送别人礼物时盒子里应该放东西吗”
小姑娘眼里满含泪水，哭着对父亲说：“哦，爸爸，盒子里一点也不空啊。我向里面送了好多吻。它们都是送给你的，爸爸。”
那位父亲震惊了。他张开双臂抱住女儿，乞求她的原谅。
过了没多久，一场意外事故夺去了小女孩的生命。她的父亲好多年都把那个金纸包装的盒子存放在自己的床边。每当灰心丧气时，他就会取出一个想象的吻，想起了女儿曾放在那里的爱。
拓展练习
Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his three-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight（困窘的）, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier over-reaction, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty.
He shouted at her loudly, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it?”
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses in the box. I filled it with my love. All for you, Daddy.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her for forgiveness（原谅）. My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years. Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary（假想的）kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us as parents has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children. There is no more precious possession（财产）anyone could hold.
【小题1】Why did the father punish his daughter?
A. Because the girl had torn his favorite paper.
B. Because the girl was wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper.
C. Because the girl took the box under the Christmas tree away.
D. Because the father was in bad temper（脾气）.
【小题2】Why did the father become angry again when he opened his present?
A. Because the present is not suitable for him.
B. Because his daughter didn’t know that when she gives someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it.
C. Because he hated receiving present.
D. Because he found that the present box was empty.
【小题3】What kind of present did the little girl give her father?
A. The little girl had put her kisses in the box as a present.
B. The little girl had kissed the box as a present.
C. The little girl had filled the box with gold wrapping paper.
D. The little girl had filled the box with air.
【小题4】How did the father feel after he listened to his daughter’s explanation?
A. Happy. B. Sorry. C. Crazy. D. Impatient.
【小题5】What’s the meaning of the last sentence—“There is no more precious possession（财产）anyone could hold.”?
A. The possession is too heavy to hold.
B. There’s no more precious thing for us to hold.
C. It’s not necessary to hold the possession.
D. The present contained with children’s love and kisses is the most precious thing.
答案：BDABD