8、The pickle jar（腌菜罐子）as far back as I can remember sat on the floor in my parents’ bedroom． 1   he got ready for bed，Dad would empty his pockets and toss his   2   into the jar．When the jar was   3  ，he would take the coins to the bank．Taking the coins to the bank and say  4  to the cashier，"These are for my son’s college fund（资金）．He’ll   5  work at the mill（磨坊） all his life like me．"

The years passed，and I   6  college and took a job in another town．Once，while visiting my parents，I noticed that the pickle jar was gone．It had served its purpose and had been removed．My dad was a man of   7   words，and never lectured me on the  8  of determination，perseverance and faith．The pickle jar had taught me more than   9  could have done．

When I married，I told my wife Susan about the  10  ．In my mind，it showed how much my dad had   11   me．Dad continued to drop his coins into the jar，no matter how   12things got at home．

 The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born，we spent the holiday with my parents．After dinner，Susan  13   our baby into my parents’ bedroom to feed her．When Susan came back into the living room，there was  14  tears in her eyes．She handed Jessica to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room．

"Look，" she said   15  ，her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor．To my   16  ，there，as if it had never been   17  ，stood the old pickle jar，the bottom already   18 with coins．I walked over to the pickle jar，dug down into _19___ and pulled out a handful of coins．With the strong emotions choking me，I dropped the coins into the jar．I looked up and saw that Dad，carrying Jessica，had slipped quietly into the room．Our eyes  20 ，and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt．Neither one of us could speak．

（    ）1．A．While                B．If                           C．When              D．Unless

（    ）2．A．coins                 B．wallet                     C．money             D．bill

（    ）3．A．emptied             B．filled                       C．sold                 D．broken

（    ）4．A．seriously            B．gently                     C．proudly            D．anxious

（    ）5．A．still                   B．also                        C．always             D．never

（    ）6．A．finished             B．started                    C．entered            D．dropped

（    ）7．A．no                     B．many                      C．few                 D．big

（    ）8．A．worth                B．values                     C．use                  D．differences

（    ）9．A．money               B．words                     C．books              D．actions

（    ）10．A．coins               B．jar                          C．determination   D．faith

（    ）11．A．loved               B．treated                    C．supported        D．encouraged

（    ）12．A．rough              B．easy                       C．smooth            D．wrong

（    ）13．A．led                  B．carried                    C．brought           D．took

（    ）14．A．upset               B．cold                        C．worried           D．strange

（    ）15．A．happily            B．angrily                    C．loudly              D．softly

（    ）16．A．surprise           B．delight                    C．comfort           D．satisfaction

（    ）17．A．used               B．lost                         C．removed          D．forgotten

（    ）18．A．covered           B．filled                       C．spread             D．supplied

（    ）19．A．the pillow         B．the jar                     C．my hand bag    D．my pocket

（    ）20．A．separated         B．left                         C．locked             D．escaped