When I was growing up,I had an old neighbor,Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard,but he was a very kind person.
When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives,he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them,and that if you watered them,each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker,so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow (〉戈的) roots,and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak and,instead of watering it every morning,he'd beat it with a rolledup newspaper. I asked him why he did that,and he said it was to get the tree's attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then,I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twentyfive years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much,whenever a cold wind blows in,they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed,I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈禱) that their lives will be easy. But lately Fve been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere,so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart. So when the rains fall and the winds blow,we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down.
( ) 11. We know from the reading the doctor .
A. didn't know how to plant trees at all
B. wasn't good at his own medical job
C. had his own way of planting trees
D. had nothing to do but plant trees
( ) 12. When Dr. Gibbs said "... pick out the weaker trees early on" ， he meant that
A. some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning
B. he would choose the weak trees to water earlier
C. the weak trees would be sent to his patients later
D. he would not plant weak trees so early anymore
( ) 13. The passage tells us that the writer .
A. should beat his trees with a rolledup newspaper
B. didn't often water his trees
C. didn't have a large field
D. took too much care of his trees
( ) 14. The writer wants to change his prayer,hoping that .
A. his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs,
B. his trees will not be beaten down
C. his sons will be better at planting trees
D. his sons will be able to face difficulties
( ) 15. Which can be the best title of the reading?
A. Watering Trees
B. Growing Roots
C. Doctor and His Neighbor
D. Father and His Children
