My neighbors across the street take pride in one of the most striking trees in the neighborhood—a towering oak that is over 75 years old. This year, after a wet, warm summer, leaves were a bit different in my Massachusetts town. And through some combination of events, that glorious oak seemed to have dropped all of its uncountable leaves on a single windy day. I arrived at home that afternoon to find our front walkway, driveway and sidewalk completely blanketed.

My son and I had a great time making a leaf pile for jumping and enjoying pillowy fun. The whole time, I was fascinated by the speed of this year’s leaf drop. Even though I was aware that it was an accident of wind patterns that left all the leaves in our yard, I kept looking up and feeling a zing of awe at the suddenly bare branches that watched quietly over our neighborhood, starting its restful season before setting spring leaf buds.

And I felt thankful for those fallen leaves as I was reminded of my favorite quote from the author and naturalist Hal Borland. He wrote it referencing October, but this year’s later drop had me change the month:“November is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations (星座) above them once again.”

When I lay in that pile of dry, crisp leaves and looked up into the oak tree across the street, I felt a clarity and peace that comes along with the inconveniently early sunsets and chilly temperatures of the transition from fall into winter. I could still admire the tree as I had in spring and summer, but I could also see through it, beyond it, to the big sky that blankets us all.

【小题1】What’s unusual this year?

A．Outdoor activities are limited due to heavy winds.

B．A series of special events happened in the neighborhood.

C．The weather is especially cold in winter in Massachusetts.

D．The neighbors’ big tree dropped all its leaves within a day.

【小题2】What kind of feeling does the underlined part “a zing of awe” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Anxiety.

B．Sorrow.

C．Comfort.

D．Amazement.

【小题3】Why is Hal Borland’s lines quoted in Paragrapn 3?

A．To express the author’s admiration for the naturalist.

B．To emphasize the importance of getting close to nature.

C．To express the author’s feelings about the leaf-falling season.

D．To emphasize the beauty of the author’s childhood memories.

【小题4】What is the best title for the text?

A．The Sky Far Beyond.

B．The Fall of Massachusetts.

C．The Beauty of a Newly-bare Tree.

D．The Memories of Peace and Beauty.