17、  The pickle(咸菜)jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside my parents’bed．  21    he got ready for bed，Dad would empty his pockets and drop his   22   into the jar．When the jar was    23    ，Dad would sit at the kitchen table，   24   the coins，then take them to the bank，and put the rolled coins on the    25   ，saying     26   ，“These are for my son’s college education．He’ll    27     work at the mill(磨坊)all his life like me．”

    The years passed，and I    28    college and took a job in another town．    29     while visiting my parents．I noticed that the jar was gone．It had served its purpose and had been    30   ．My dad was a man of    31   words，and never lectured me on the   32   of determination and faith．The jar had taught me far more than any    33    could have done．

   When I married，I told my wife Susan about the important part the    34     had played in my life as a boy．In my mind，it showed，more than anything else，how much my dad    35     me．No matter how     36    things got at home，Dad continued to drop his coins into the jar．

   The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born，we spent the holiday with my parents．After dinner, Susan carried the baby into my parents’bedroom to feed her．Minutes later, Susan came back into the living room with a／an     37    look．She took my hand and led me into the bedroom．“Look，”she said     38    ，her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the bed．To my     39    ，there，as if it had never been removed，stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins．l walked over to the jar, dug down into     40    ，and pulled out a handful of coins．With the strong feelings choking(使…哽咽)me．I dropped the coins into the jar．

二、选择题

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