4、Around the Family Drum

The power of the family drum remains tied to my heart. Every winter as long as I can  1  , family and friends gathered at my grandfather’s home in the  traditional village of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, on January 6.

I remember   2  great fondness as a young boy watching and eventually   3  the buffalo dance during the day. In the evening my grandfather’s home became the central   4  place for family, friends and relatives.

My father loved to   5  , the old Taos Pueblo and Apache round dance songs dating back   6  the late 1800s. I would watch him close his eyes and he seemed to travel back in time trying to   7  a particular sage’s （先哲的）song. With a growing smile, he would start beating the   8  and introduce an ancient song.

The day I was finally   9  to sit around the family drum was a   10 time for me, involving extreme boyhood concentration, not only to memorize the   11  , but also to beat the drum on tempo（节拍）and put the singing together with the drum beat. I made my share of   12  , and I must have sounded like a young wolf howling among those more experienced,   13  in time I gained confidence, and a voice  14  enough to start leading some of the songs.

Sitting around the family drum with my father and uncles brought me a sense of great comfort and inner  15  . It was a wonderful experience to be   16  around the circle of love, acceptance and teaching.

Sometimes while we were singing, there might   17  a knock at the door. In Pueblo tradition, the person outside would peek his head in and   18  say, “I heard the drum, and I wanted to ask   19  to enter your house you ‘my’ grandfather would permit it! ” My grandfather would   20   nod and tell the visitor to enter and join us around the drum.

These are unforgettable memories, I often close my eyes and can hear uncles and my beloved father now departed singing around the family drum!

1．A．remember             B．recognize             C．realize                 D．remind

2．A．from                     B．with                    C．by                      D．to

3．A．joining in               B．going over           C．thinking of           D．talking about

4．A．chatting                B．visiting                C．gathering             D．comforting

5．A．create                   B．write                   C．sing                    D．play

6．A．as far as                B．as old as              C．as long as            D．as late as

7．A．record                  B．repeat                  C．recall                  D．recite

8．A．door                     B．drum                   C．foot                    D．head

9．A．ordered                 B．refused                C．allowed               D．advised

10．A．terrible                B．memorable           C．believable            D．comfortable

11．A．moves                 B．dances                C．stories                 D．songs

12．A．efforts                B．mistakes              C．progress              D．success

13．A．and                     B．but                      C．or                       D．so

14．A．strong                 B．sharp                  C．weak                  D．low

15．A．thought               B．emotion               C．calm                   D．joy

16．A．left                     B．found                  C．seated                 D．arranged

17．A．hear                    B．have                    C．sound                 D．come

18．A．respectfully         B．shamefully           C．peacefully            D．carefully

19．A．questions             B．reception             C．suggestions         D．permission

20．A．hesitatingly         B．cautiously         C．patiently          D．politely