Passage 2
During the years of the Depression (经济危机) in a small southeastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Brother Miller’s roadside stand for farm-fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively.
One particular day Brother Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily looking at a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Brother Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
“Hello Barry, how are you today?”
“Hello, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Just admiring them peas, sure look good.”
“They are good, Barry. How’s your Ma?”
“Fine. Getting stronger all of the time.”
“Good. Anything I can help you with?”
“No, Sir. Just admiring them peas.”
“Would you like to take some home?”
“No, Sir. Got nothing to pay for ’em with.”
“Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?”
“All I’ve got is my prize marble here.”
“Is that right? Let me see it.”
“Here ’tis. She’s great!”
“I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?”
“Not exactly ... but, almost.”
“Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.”
“Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller.”
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, “There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps.”
I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Utah, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there I learned that Brother Miller had died.
They were having his viewing (追思会 ) that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary (殡仪馆) we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts ... very professional looking.
They approached Mrs. Miller, standing there smiling and calm. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the coffin. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the coffin. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the coffin. “Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they were grateful for the things Jim “traded” them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size ... they came to pay their debt. We’ve never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,” she confided, “but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.”
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.
46. In Paragraph 1, “bartering” probably means ______.
A. trading goods for other goods
B. making a bargain step by step
C. replacing things with other things
D. having a discussion person to person
47. From the conversation between Brother Miller and the small boy, we can learn that______.
A. the boy had good skills at bargaining
B. the boy was a great collector of marbles
C. Brother Miller had a very peculiar interest in marbles
D. Brother Miller knew the conditions of the boy’s family
48. Brother Miller impressed the narrator most as a man who was very _______.
A. humorous B. considerate
C. patient D. childish
49. Looking back on the bargains Brother Miller had with them, the three young men knew very well that he changed his mind about marbles all the time so that _______.
A. they could learn how to be successful in business
B. they could keep on with their hobby of collection
C. he could offer them something free without hurting their self-esteem
D. he could keep the boys coming to visit his stand and to buy something
50. In this story, “the three red marbles” in Brother Miller’s hand are actually a symbol of_____.
A. honesty B. responsibility
C. devotion D. appreciation
