Pete Richards was the loneliest man in town on the day that little Jean Grace opened the d

Pete Richards was the loneliest man in town on the day that little Jean Grace opened the door of his shop.
Pete's grandfather had owned the shop until his death. Then the shop became Pete's. The front window was full of beautiful old things: jewelry of a hundred years ago, gold and silver boxes, carved figures from China and Japan and other nations.
On this winter afternoon, a child stood there, her face close to the window. With large and serious eyes, she studied each piece in the window. Then, looking pleased, she stepped back from the window and went into the shop. Pete himself stood behind the counter. His eyes were cold as he looked at the small girl. “Please,” she began, “would you let me look at the pretty string of blue beads in the window?” Pete took the string of blue beads from the window. The beads were beautiful against his hand as he held the necklace up for her to see.
“They are just right,” said the child as though she were alone with the beads. “Will you wrap them up in pretty paper for me, please? I've been looking for a really wonderful Christmas present for my sister.”
“How much money do you have?” asked Pete.
She put a handful of pennies on the counter. “This is all I have,” she explained simply. “I've been saving the money for my sister's present.”
Pete looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. Then he carefully closed his hand over the price mark on the necklace so that she could not see it. How could he tell her the price? The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an old wound.
“Just a minute,” he said and went to the back of the shop. “What's your name?” he called out. He was very busy about something.
“Jean Grace,” answered the child.
When Pete returned to the front of the shop, he held a package in his hand. It was wrapped in pretty Christmas paper.
“There you are,” he said. “Don't lose it on the way home.”
She smiled happily at him as she ran out of the door. Through the window he watched her go. He felt more alone than ever.
Something about Jean Grace and her string of beads had made him feel once more the pain of his old grief. The child's hair was as yellow as the sunlight; her eyes were as blue as the sea. Once upon a time, Pete had loved a girl with hair of that same yellow and with eyes just as blue. And the necklace of blue stones had been meant for her.
But one rainy night, a car had gone off the road and struck the girl. After she died, Pete felt that he had nothing left in the world except his grief. The blue eyes of Jean Grace brought him out of that world of self-pity and made him remember again all that he had lost. The pain of remembering was so great that Pete wanted to run away from the happy Christmas shoppers who came to look at his beautiful old things during the next ten days.
When the last shopper had gone, late on Christmas Eve, the door opened and a young woman came in. Pete could not understand it, but he felt that he had seen her before. Her hair was sunlight yellow and her eyes were sea-blue. Without speaking, she put on the counter a package wrapped in pretty Christmas paper. When Pete opened the package, the string of blue beads lay again before him.
“Did this come from your shop?” she asked.
Pete looked at her with eyes no longer cold. “Yes, it did,” he said.
“Are the stones real?”
“Yes. They aren't the best turquoise(绿松石), but they are real.”
“Can you remember to whom you sold them?”
“She was a small girl. Her name was Jean. She wanted them for her sister's Christmas present.”
“How much were they?”
“I can't tell you that,” he said. “The seller never tells anyone else what a buyer pays.”
“But Jean has never had more than a few pennies. How could she pay for them?”
“She paid the biggest price one can ever pay,” he said.
For a moment there was no sound in the little shop. Then somewhere in the city, church bells began to ring. It was midnight and the beginning of another Christmas Day.
“But why did you do it?” the girl asked.
Pete put the package into her hands.
“There is no one else to whom I can give a Christmas present,” he said. “It is already Christmas morning. Will you let me take you to your home? I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas at your door.”
And so, to the sound of many bells, Pete Richards and a girl whose name he had not yet learned walked out into the hope and happiness of a new Christmas Day.
【小题1】When Pete saw Jean Grace, he was .A．very enthusiastic, hoping for some business to be doneB．cold but he still served the young customerC．cold, unwilling to serve the young customerD．very warm to the young customer though he did not want to sell anything to her【小题2】Pete did not say the price of the necklace because .A．the seller never tells anyone else what a buyer paysB．he priced the necklace too highC．he knew it would disappoint the girlD．he didn't want to sell the necklace【小题3】The eyes of Jean Grace brought Pete out of his world of self-pity and he .A．tried to forget the memory of his sweetheartB．began to look at the world optimisticallyC．remembered his lost loveD．no longer felt the pain in him【小题4】A young woman came into the shop because .A．she was afraid that there might be some mistakeB．she thought that the stones she had bought were not realC．she was not sure if she could get more stones like thoseD．she did not like what she had once bought【小题5】By saying “She paid the biggest price one can ever pay,” Pete meant that Jean Grace .A．gave the most money for the necklaceB．gave all she had with her for the necklaceC．appreciated the value of the necklaceD．wanted to have the best thing in the shop【小题6】 At the end of the story we see that Pete .A．found another girl that he could trustB．met someone who truly loved himC．found a place to go at lastD．regained his ability to loveB

(答案→)B 解析：文章讲述一个女孩用很少的钱想为姐姐买一条很贵的项链，店主Pete还是把项链卖给了她，因为这让他想起自己原来的爱人，后来女孩的姐姐找到他的店，通过他们的对话，Pete又重新获得爱的能力。【小题1】细节题：从第三段的句子：Pete himself stood behind the counter. His eyes were cold as he looked at the small girl. “Please,” she began, “would you let me look at the pretty string of blue beads in the window?” Pete took the string of blue beads from the window. 可知一开始Pete很冷淡，但是还是接待了这个女孩，选B【小题2】细节题：从第七段的句子：Pete looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. Then he carefully closed his hand over the price mark on the necklace so that she could not see it. How could he tell her the price? The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an old wound.可知女孩的钱不够，但是Pete不想让她失望，所以没说项链的价格，选C【小题3】细节题：从文章的第13，14段，可知这个女孩让Pete想起以前的爱人，选C【小题4】推理题：从文章中Pete和年轻女士的对话，可知她是害怕Pete的价格弄错了，选A【小题5】细节题：从第六段的句子：“This is all I have,” she explained simply. “I've been saving the money for my sister's present.”可知女孩把她所有的钱给了Pete，所以他认为她付的钱是最多的，选B【小题6】推理题：从最后一段的句子：And so, to the sound of many bells, Pete Richards and a girl whose name he had not yet learned walked out into the hope and happiness of a new Christmas Day.可知Pete重新获得爱的能力，选D

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