3．阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项．
Joseph sat on a hill in the middle of nowhere，writing his name into the dirt with a stick．
"Joseph!"his mother called．Joseph looked at the farmhouse that was now supposed to be his home．As he finished the last（35）C，he noticed something metal shining in the rosy late-afternoon sunlight．He picked it up：a rusty old （36）B．He put it in his pocket and walked down the hill．
Grandpa passed away last year，leaving the house and farm to his mother．Joseph had hoped that she would just（37）A it and buy a house in the city．However，she chose to move to the farm．Joseph had been very （38）D about leaving his friends and his school．
In the city，dinnertime had always been an opportunity for conversation between Joseph and his mother．Here，though，he had（39）C to say．He knew his silence hurt his mother，but surely it was better than the angry words waiting behind it．It was best to keep （40）B．He quickly finished his food on the plate and went to his room upstairs．
Later，he went down the stairs to look for something to read．In the deep silence，his mother sat alone on the living-room sofa．On her lap lay a photograph album．Looking up，she smiled （41）Cand said，"See what I found？Here's your great-grandfather．He's about your age in this picture．Do you think you look like him？"
Joseph stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged （耸肩）．He（42）A the old key．
As he moved closer to look at the photograph，something else （43）B his eye．"What's that？"he asked，pointing to a painted wooden box on the coffee table．
"It's a silent music box，"his mother said softly．"Years ago，when I was a little girl（44）Cbrother，2years older than me，took the key away．He didn't mean to lose it．But he dropped it out somewhere．We searched and searched but （45）B found it．"
Joseph sat down beside her and handed the rusty key to her．
Suddenly his mother's eyes sparkled．With trembling hands，she wound up （转动） the music box．As its sweet melody played，mother and son listened together．
"It has been silent for a long，long time，"she said．
"It's so clear!"said Joseph．"It sounds as good as new．"The silence had been（46）D．
| 35．A．name | B．number | C．letter | D．picture |
| 36．A．box | B．key | C．photo | D．stick |
| 37．A．sell | B．fix | C．buy | D．paint |
| 38．A．worried | B．excited | C．pleased | D．unhappy |
| 39．A．something | B．anything | C．nothing | D．everything |
| 40．A．brave | B．quiet | C．calm | D．strict |
| 41．A．surprisingly | B．seriously | C．hopefully | D．thoughtfully |
| 42．A．felt | B．found | C．took | D．carried |
| 43．A．hurt | B．caught | C．took | D．had |
| 44．A．her | B．his | C．my | D．your |
| 45．A．still | B．never | C．almost | D．ever |
| 46．A．kept | B．beaten | C．improved | D．broken． |
