12．
One year，a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold（金盏花）．The high reward attracted so many people，but in the nature，besides golden，the marigold is brown，and it is not easy to get the white one．So after they were excited for a time，many people had forgotten the announcement．
One day after 20years，the college received a letter and 100seeds（种子） of pure white marigold．It turned out to be an old woman of over 70years old．Some scientists in the college doubted it，but it was surprising that those seeds finally took root（根） in the earth．The miracle（奇迹）appeared after one year，the field was covered by pure white marigold．
So the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus（焦点）．
The old woman was a flower-lover．When she read the announcement 20years ago，she got very excited like others．But her eight children were against her decision．After all，a woman who never knew the seed genetics（遗传学） couldn't complete the job that scientists could never do，so her thought was only a daydream．
Still，the old woman didn't change her mind and went on working．She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them．A year later，when the marigold came out，she chose the faintest （最暗淡的） one from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed．The next year，she again grew them and chose…．Day after day，year after year，through many seasons，the old woman's husband died，her children flew far，a lot of things happened in her life，but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart．
Finally，after 20years on the day we all know，in the garden she saw a marigold，which was not nearly white，but as white as silver or snow．
A problem even scientists couldn't deal with was solved by an old woman who didn't understand genetics．Was it magic？
To take root in the heart，even the most common seed，can grow into a miracle!
41．According to the passage，A marigold is unusual．
A．white
B．purple
C．brown
D．golden
42．What does the old woman love？C
A．Seeds
B．Pictures
C．Flowers
D．Leaves
43．It can be learned from the passage thatA．
A．the children didn't agree on their mother's decision
B．the woman needed the great reward for her big family
C．the scientists also succeeded in growing the white marigold
D．the woman took good care of the flowers instead of her family
44．The woman successfully grew the white marigold at last because sheB．
A．was luckier than scientists
B．put her heart into flowers
C．got support from her family
D．studied the seed genetics well
45．The passage mainly talks aboutD．
A．the difficulties of getting the white marigold
B．the possibility of going beyond scientists
C．the unforgettable development of marigold
D．the importance of holding on to dreams．
