When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering(递送) milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer (自动换币器) fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a coin out of his changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese and other milk products. If we needed to change our order, my mother would write on a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and put it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
All of this was about more than convenience(方便). There was a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, as a result, making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊). Every time my son’s friends ask what it is, I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
小题1: Why did Mr. Basille give the boy a coin out of his changer?
| A．To show his magical power. |
| B．To satisfy the boy’s curiosity（好奇心） |
| C．To pay for the milk. |
| D．To win the family’s trust (信任). |
小题2:What can be inferred (推断) from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house？
| A．He wanted to have tea there. |
| B．He was a powerful person. |
| C．He was treated as a family member. |
| D．He was fully trusted by the family. |
小题3:Why is there no home milk delivery today?
| A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. |
| B．The government has stopped it by law. |
| C．It has been driven out of the market. |
| D．Its service is becoming worse and worse. |
小题4:Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?
| A．He missed the good old days. |
| B．He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
| C．He missed it for his milk bottles. |
| D．He used it to beautify the back porch. |