Theywere going to Florida — three boys and three girls. They were dreaming of go-组卷网

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They were going to Florida — three boys and three girls. They were dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the grey, cold spring of New York vanished behind them. Vingo was on the bus from the beginning.

As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice that Vingo never moved. He sat in front of the young people, his dusty face masking his age, dressed in a plain brown suit that did not fit him. He sat in complete silence and seemed completely unaware of the existence of the others.

Deep into the night, the bus pulled into a Howard Johnson’s restaurant and everybody got off the bus except Vingo. The young people began to wonder about him: perhaps he was a sea captain; maybe he could be an old soldier going home.

In the morning they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s and this time Vingo went in. A girl invited him to join them. He seemed very shy and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously, as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. When they got back on the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again.

“Are you married?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” she said.

‘‘Well, when I was in jail I wrote to my wife. I said, ‘Martha, I was going to be away a long time. If you couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, you could just forget me. I told her she didn’t have to write to me or anything, and she didn’t. Not for three-and-a-half years.

“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”

“Yeah. Well, last week, when I was sure the parole (有条件释放) was coming through I wrote her again. I told her that if she had a new guy, I understood. But, if she didn’t, if she would take me back she should let me know. We used to live in Brunswick, and there’s a great oak tree just as you come into town. I told her if she would take me back, she should tie a yellow ribbon (丝带) to the tree, and I would get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it, no ribbon and I’d understand and keep going on through.”

“Wow,” the girl said “Wow.”

She told the others, and soon all of them were caught up in the approach of Brunswick. Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took the window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-criminal’s mask, and ________ . Then it was 10 miles, and then five, and the bus became very quiet.

Then suddenly all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances, shaking clenched fists in triumph and exaltation. All except Vingo.

Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree through his misty eyes. The tree was covered with yellow ribbons, 30 of them, 50 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a flag of welcome, blowing and billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, the old ex-criminal slowly rose from his seat, holding himself tightly, and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.

【小题1】In the beginning, Vingo was sting in silence without interacting with others most probably because ________.

A．he was too shy and nervous to utter a word

B．he was lost in thought and uncertainty.

C．he did not want to ruin the joyful atmosphere among other passengers.

D．he felt inferior to others due to his criminal past

【小题2】What can we learn about the six passengers?

A．They embarrassed Vingo by breaking his silence.

B．They hid their great concern for Vingo’s past.

C．They showed trust and sympathy towards Vingo.

D．They hoped Vingo could make his own decision instead of waiting for his wife’s response.

【小题3】Which sentence will fit best in the blank in the third to last paragraph?

A．preparing himself for still another disappointment.