A Gift of Love“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny and pink face, she cried loudly. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was spoiled.Ten years later, when he rushed home from school one day and fl ung himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks. He cried out the tragedy. “A boy, a big boy...called me a freak.”As time passed by, he grew up. He was handsome and a welcome student in the class. He developed a talent for literature and music. But there were still some students who often laughed at him, because he had no ears. His mother was very sad about it.Soon, the boy s father had a session with the family physician. “I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be obtained,”the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. Then, one day,the father said,“You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it is a secret.”The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs. He was confi dent in doing everything. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. “But I must know the fact,” he urged his father. “Who donated ears for me? Why was he willing to help me? I should meet him and tell him how much I have owed him. I could never do enough for him.”“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you could not know it.”The years kept their deep secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father close to his mother. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal that the mother had no outer ears. “Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?”Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart.Real treasure lies not in what that can be seen, but in what that cannot be seen.Real love lies not in what that is done and known, but in what that is done but not known.Activity 1Make your choices according to Text A.Why did the mother cry out when she saw her newborn baby? Because ______________ .

A. the baby was a son instead of a girl<br>
B. the baby had only one ear
C. something was wrong with the baby’s sense of hearing
D. the baby had no ears at all

The biggest problem of the boy was that __________________ .

A. he could not study literature and music although he was fond of them
B. he could not get along well with his classmates
C. he was always laughed at because of no ears
D. his mother was too sad

The father told ____________ before the operation was performed.

A. a white lie
B. the truth
C. his son who had donated him the ears
D. his son that his mother donated her ears for him

When did the son discover the real donator? ______________

A. When he was married.
B. When he became a diplomatist.
C. When he himself found that his mother had no outer ears.
D. When his father was raising his mother’s hair.

The purpose of the last three paragraphs (8, 9 and 10) is to _______________.

A. tell you what can be learned from the story
B. tell you what the boy wanted to tell you
C. tell you that one cannot always be judged by his appearance
D. ask you to pay attention to those that cannot be seen

Activity 2Understanding author’s purpose, attitude or opinion.By writing the love story “A Gift of Love”, the author mainly intended to tell us that ____________ .

A. we should love our mothers forever
B. father also contributes his own efforts to us
C. only parents have given us real beauty, real treasure and real love and we should respect them forever
D. we should pay attention to real beauty, real treasure and real love which are often hidden and not easy for us to see, to hear and to get to know

Fill in the blanks with the proper forms of the words given in brackets.1. He had a neatly ________(fold) handkerchief in his jacket pocket.2. He was the winner for a second ___________(succession) year.3. Sugar _________(obtain) by crushing（压碎）and processing sugarcane.4. He wrote a _____________(heartbreak) news report about orphans.5. Try to act ___________(confident), even if you feel nervous.

Translate these sentences into Chinese.Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart.Real treasure lies not in what that can be seen, but in what that cannot be seen.Real love lies not in what that is done and known, but in what that is done but not known.